Following on from the publication of the first six titles featuring The Library of Congress' internationally renowned collection of Farm Security Administration (FSA) and Office of War Information (OWI) photographs, the 'Fields of Vision' series continues with images showcasing the work of Arthur Rothstein, Gordon Parks and Carl Mydans. Providing a unique view of American life during the Great Depression and Second World War, each 'Fields of Vision' volume includes an introduction to the life of the photographer by a leading author or journalist, and 50 evocative images selected from their work. Transporting the viewer to American homes, farms and streets in the 1930s and 1940s, they also offer a glimpse of a new narrative and intimate style that was later to blossom on the pages of 'LOOK' and 'LIFE' magazines. For many Americans of the pre-television age, the diversity and complexity of their country was defined by the lenses of these men and women. Gordon Parks was born in 1912 in Fort Scott, Kansas, the youngest of fifteen children in a poor tenant-farming family. He was working odd jobs in Minnesota when he saw the work of FSA photographers in a magazine and was inspired to buy a camera. Parks early pictures landed him a position as Roy Stryker's apprentice in 1942. Among his extraordinary FSA photos is American Gothic, which shows charwoman Ella Watson posed with mop and broom against an American flag. After the FSA, Parks worked at Life magazine. He also became a respected writer and film director. He died in 2006.
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Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Gordon Parks was the only black photographer to work for Roy Stryker at the FSA/OWI. Stryker was at first reluctant to hire a black photographer and Parks quickly discovered that Washington was a 'hate-drenched city' but he did some of his best work in the city. The fifty photos in the book were taken in 1942 and '43 mainly in Florida, New York and Washington DC. Several of the New York ones are from a May-June 1943 assignment to cover the Fulton fish market, part of a series of studies the Government wanted on food production. Some of the Washington photos are from an assignment to record the life of Ella Watson, who cleaned the FSA offices. Included here is the famous one of Ella posed in front of the Stars and Stripes, holding a broom and mop, inspired by Grant Wood's `American Gothic'. I thought it was slightly unfortunate that the Fulton and Watson photos weren't placed as a sequence in the book.
The photos are full of interesting detail and mostly well framed, probably thanks to Roy Stryker's exact shooting scripts for photographers out on assignments. A stylistic point about Parks photos is that many of them are low down shots, as if he had the camera just above knee level, either straight on to the subject or slightly looking up.
The book is well printed with a 175 screen and the layout follows the same style as the other eight Fields of Vision books. This is an excellent collection, so far, of the sixteen FSA/OWI photographers.
+++LOOK AT SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
The photos are full of interesting detail and mostly well framed, probably thanks to Roy Stryker's exact shooting scripts for photographers out on assignments. A stylistic point about Parks photos is that many of them are low down shots, as if he had the camera just above knee level, either straight on to the subject or slightly looking up.
The book is well printed with a 175 screen and the layout follows the same style as the other eight Fields of Vision books. This is an excellent collection, so far, of the sixteen FSA/OWI photographers.
+++LOOK AT SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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3 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gordon Parks
16 July 2012
By Robin Benson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Gordon Parks was the only black photographer to work for Roy Stryker at the FSA/OWI. Stryker was at first reluctant to hire a black photographer and Parks quickly discovered that Washington was a 'hate-drenched city' but he did some of his best work in the city. The fifty photos in the book were taken in 1942 and '43 mainly in Florida, New York and Washington DC. Several of the New York ones are from a May-June 1943 assignment to cover the Fulton fish market, part of a series of studies the Government wanted on food production. Some of the Washington photos are from an assignment to record the life of Ella Watson, who cleaned the FSA offices. Included here is the famous one of Ella posed in front of the Stars and Stripes, holding a broom and mop, inspired by Grant Wood's 'American Gothic'. I thought it was slightly unfortunate that the Fulton and Watson photos weren't placed as a sequence in the book.
The photos are full of interesting detail and mostly well framed, probably thanks to Roy Stryker's exact shooting scripts for photographers out on assignments. A stylistic point about Parks photos is that many of them are low down shots, as if he had the camera just above knee level, either straight on to the subject or slightly looking up.
The book is well printed with a 175 screen and the layout follows the same style as the other eight Fields of Vision books. This is an excellent collection, so far, of the sixteen FSA/OWI photographers.
+++LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
The photos are full of interesting detail and mostly well framed, probably thanks to Roy Stryker's exact shooting scripts for photographers out on assignments. A stylistic point about Parks photos is that many of them are low down shots, as if he had the camera just above knee level, either straight on to the subject or slightly looking up.
The book is well printed with a 175 screen and the layout follows the same style as the other eight Fields of Vision books. This is an excellent collection, so far, of the sixteen FSA/OWI photographers.
+++LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The wonderful Gordon Parks
12 April 2013
By NCJ
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This volume hold some of Parks' finest photos. If you can have just one of his books, highly recommend this one..
5.0 out of 5 stars
Teaching about Diversity on the Elementary Level
15 Aug 2012
By Gayla L. Croan
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fields of Vision: The Photographs of Gordon Parks: The Library of Congree was a wonderful addition to my classroom library on diversity. Teaching the photographs and poetry of Gordon Parks makes students more aware of the world outside this small town. The students look over and over at the photos pointing out many things they notice and wonder about.
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