The Smithsonian Institutions’ Deputy Assistant Secretary for External Affairs Marc Pachter interviews Gordon Parks as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s education series, Living Self-Portraits. As a photographer, artist, poet, director, and composer, Gordon Parks transformed American perspectives through his keen interest in the human condition, capturing poverty and racial struggles in his work. His successes include several photographic essays in Life magazine, fashion editorials in Vogue, a successful writing career, becoming the first African American director in Hollywood, and being a man who sees the individual for what they are, themselves. Pachter and Parks delve into his past focusing on how his struggles and courageous family with admirable morals shaped his future. Coming from a large but broken family, Parks was homeless by the age of 15. Regardless of his circumstances, Parks saw a future for himself and knew that he was meant to use his creativity to serve the public. The conversation between Pachter and Parks examines the growth and development that occurred throughout Park’s life and how he became one of the greatest documentary photographers of the twentieth century.
Recorded on June 25, 1991
Full transcript available upon request from NPGResearch@si.edu. Please include the Object Number in your request. Please allow 3-5 business days for processing.