When: closing February 18, 2019
With any luck, the government will have re-opened before this show is scheduled to close. Having a free lunch time to see this exhibit, I wasn't taking any chances on missing it. It was time well spent, for sure.
Gordon Parks, who was self-taught, viewed the camera as his "choice of weapon" in the fight against social injustice. He photographed those who were marginalized by mainstream society, particularly African Americans. He had a meteoric rise from making portraits in St. Paul and Chicago to becoming the first African American photographer at Life magazine in 1949.
He did photography work for the government during WWII, then worked for Standard Oil (New Jersey) doing corporate photography, and then turned his eye to international fashion. And that's just what he did in the 1940s. My favorite piece is "Government Charwoman," a portrait of a cleaning woman in a government office. It shows her holding a mop and broom, with a blurred American flag in the background. I was reminded of Grant Wood, and the wall notes tell me I was right about that.
Verdict: Great show, well worth seeing.
*Note: due to the government shutdown, the National Gallery of Art is currently closed.
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