Pace Gallery in Los Angeles is showcasing the works of renowned photographer, filmmaker, and writer Gordon Parks.
Despite lacking formal training, Parks produced a vast body of work from the 1940s to the 2000s, capturing the essence of American society, and focusing on race relations, poverty, and civil rights. He famously said, “I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs.”
Parks’ early career included work with the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information. He later became Life magazine’s first Black staff photographer, documenting social issues and iconic figures like Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, and Duke Ellington.
This exhibition, the first in LA since 2019, features 40 photographs spanning four decades, highlighting Parks’ empathetic storytelling. Key pieces include American Gothic, Washington D.C. (1942), Baptism, Chicago, Illinois (1953), and a 1966 portrait of Ali. The show also presents selections from Parks’ Segregation Story series and his short film Diary of a Harlem Family (1967).
