This week on Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up a retrospective of Gordon Parks' work is on in Berlin, plus Steven Kasher Gallery in New York acknowledges the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the Black Panther Party with the launch of a new book and exhibition featuring the work of Stephen Shames. Also Ruddy Roye's first solo exhibition opens in New York.
Exhibition: Berlin
Gordon Parks - I Am You: Selected Works 1942-1978
“A camera doesn’t simply take pictures. It can be a powerful tool against inequality, racism oppression, and violence. A chronicler of the fight for equal rights for African Americans, self-taught Gordon Parks incisively used photography as his choice of weapons, exposing the bifurcation of the American way of life and seeking to mediate between the various groups in a deeply divided society.”
Untitled, Watts, California, 1967
Gordon Parks diverse oeuvre is considered a visual social history of 20th Century America.
Parks' works include portraits of leaders of the civil rights movement including Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Muhammad Ali as well as luminaries of the arts, such as Duke Ellington, Ingrid Bergman, and Alberto Giacometti.
Throughout his career Parks also produced various socio-critical documentary films and was also a noted composer of music and writer of fiction.
‘I Am You: Selected Works 1942 to 1978’ is presented in partnership with The Gordon Parks Foundation, and features 180 works from the Foundation’s collection including vintage prints, contact sheets, magazines, and films. Steidl has published the companion catalogue.
Untitled, Washington, D.C., 1963
Untitled, Harlem, New York, 1948
American Gothic, Washington, D.C., 1942
Homeless Couple, Harlem, New York, 1948
Untitled, Harlem, New York, 1947
Husband and Wife, Sunday Morning, Detroit, Michigan, 1950All images The Gordon Parks Foundation
Until 4th December, 2016
C/O Berlin
Amerika Haus
Hardenbergstraße 22-24
10623 Berlin
Exhibition: New York
Power to the People: The Black Panthers in Photographs by Stephen Shames and Graphics by Emory Douglas
“Admired, reviled, emulated, misunderstood, the Black Panther Party was one of the most creative and influential responses to racism and economic inequality in American history. Founded in October 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Panthers preached the right of black people to self-determination, which included the right to self defense. They advocated armed self defense to counter police brutality, and initiated a program of patrolling the police with shotguns — and law books."
Stephen Shames, Steven Kasher Gallery
Kathleen Cleaver, communications secretary and the first female member of the Party’s decision-making Central Committee, talks with Black Panthers from Los Angeles, in West Oakland, California, USA, July 28, 1968
"The Black Panther Party sought to build a community through service to the people. The Panthers initiated more than 50 community survival programs including Free Breakfast for School Children, Free Medical Clinics, Free Food, Clothing, and Legal Aid programs, sickle cell screening, an award winning charter school. The Panthers electrified a generation of black youth and would become emblematic of the Black Power and anti-imperialist movements that shaped the tumultuous years of the late 1960s and early ’70s. The Panthers embraced the ideals of gender equality and gay liberation and sought to forge alliances with women’s rights and gay rights organizations.”
The exhibition features over 100 black and white images of the Party, many on show for the first time and provides an in-depth chronicle presented at a time when the US is once again grappling with issues of racial injustice. 'Power to the People' also includes 50 vintage copies of The Black Panther, the official Party newspaper with front and back cover graphics by Emory Douglas. The exhibition coincides with the launch of the book, ‘Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers’ by Stephen Shames and Bobby Seale.
Stephen Shames, Steven Kasher Gallery
Sand bags line the walls of the New Haven Panther office to protect against a suspected police raid during the Bobby Seal trial, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, May 1, 1970
Stephen Shames, Steven Kasher Gallery
Memorial mural for Jonathan Jackson, who was killed on August 7, 1970, during an attempt to kidnap California Superior Court judge Harold Haley and three others to exchange for the freedom of his brother, George Jackson, Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1970
Stephen Shames, Steven Kasher Gallery
Brooklyn, New York, USA: Writing on wall: “We the Blacks must rise.” , 1970
Stephen Shames, Steven Kasher Gallery
Oakland, California, USA: Black Panthers carry George Jackson's coffin into St. Augustine’s Church for his funeral service as a huge crowd watches., August 28, 1971
Until 29th October
Steven Kasher Gallery
515 West 26th Street
New York, NY 10001
Exhibition: New York
Ruddy Roye - When Living Is A Protest
This is the first solo exhibition for Radcliffe “Ruddy” Roye and features 20 large scale photographs, many taken in Roye’s neighbourhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. “Roye’s images give visibility to the usually invisible members of his community. His portraits are infused with dignity and integrity. Each photograph is accompanied by a text written by the artist, often quoting the subjects. Roye spends significant time with each person he approaches, listening to their stories. For Roye, narrating the stories of his “collaborators” is as important as the images they produce together. Roye’s is a unique voice in street photography, one full of anger, resistance and compassion.”
All images: Ruddy Roye Steven Kasher Gallery
Until 29th October
Steven Kasher Gallery New York
Sirte, Libya
