Youth Filmmakers Explore the Lasting Impact of Gordon Parks’ “American Gothic” BY DEMETRIUS TRUNDLE
Ninety-eight years after Gordon Parks first arrived in Saint Paul, Minnesota’s youth are still walking in his footsteps. Students from TPT’s youth media program Don’t Believe the Hype had the opportunity to work on and star in a new film project called “Gordon Parks’ American Gothic: Liberating the Voices and Visions of a New Generation”. As crew member Darius Smith noted, Parks' American Gothic photography series encompassed more than just the photo of Ella Watson in front of the American flag. In his desire to show Mrs. Watson as a complete person, Parks spent weeks with her and her family. During that time, he photographed Mrs. Watson at home with her grandchildren and adopted daughter, as well as at church where she served as a deaconess. Parks also photographed members of Mrs. Watson’s community, including business owners, children, workers and other folks living life in our nation’s capital. This past January, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) opened an exhibit featuring these and many other photos taken by Parks during his apprenticeship with the Farm Security Administration in the summer of 1942.
Led by HYPE Executive Producer and grandniece of Gordon Parks, Robin Hickman-Winfield and the HYPE crew had the opportunity to visit the “American Gothic” exhibit at Mia. A small TPT film crew accompanied them on their trip to document their experience, thoughts and interpretation of “American Gothic” and the themes of Community, Faith, and Labor seen in the collection. The result is a 15-minute documentary that shows an inter- generational conversation between Gordon Parks, Ella Watson, Ms. Robin (as the HYPE crew affectionately calls her), and members of the HYPE crew. On June 20, 2024, “Visions and Voices” premiered at the closing celebration for Mia’s “American Gothic” exhibit. The HYPE crew were joined by friends, family, museum goers and TPT staff to screen and celebrate their work. After the screening, crew members participated in a Q & A session with the audience. During the discussion, the impact that Gordon Parks’ work had on crew members was evident: Aketzally Murillo shared that, although she was unfamiliar with Gordon Parks before her participation in HYPE, she now feels motivated to share her knowledge of him with her circle. Damarj Robinson shared that seeing Gordon Parks excel in multiple artistic fields has inspired him to take greater risk in his creative pursuits.
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AUGUST 2024
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