Emma Watson Gordon Parks photo Farm Security Administration Washington DC 1942 color added 2016
by David Lee Guss
Title
Emma Watson Gordon Parks photo Farm Security Administration Washington DC 1942 color added 2016
Artist
David Lee Guss
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
"Roy Stryker was head of the unit in 1942, and his first instinct was that a black photographer would be incapable of maneuvering around Washington, D.C, a city with a very southern mentality. To test the waters, on Parks' first day Stryker sent him off without his camera to make a purchase at a department store, go to a movie, and eat at a coffee shop. Parks quickly saw what he was up against, and he came back to the office boiling mad. As he and Stryker were discussing the day, Stryker pointed to Emma Watson, the black cleaning lady taking care of the building. 'Spend time with her. See what she has to say about life.'
Parks did so, and the first photo he took of Watson was what we now know as Gordon Parks' 'American Gothic,' with Watson posed with a broom and a mop in front of the American flag. While that has since become an iconic photograph, Stryker sent him back to take more pictures for a more nuanced story. With that introduction to the FSA, Parks went on to be one of the best of the best."
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September 13th, 2016
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