Portrait of Ella Watson, charwoman employed by the government in Washington, also know as "American Gothic"This image was taken as part of the Farm Security Administration programme (an effort to combat rural poverty during the Depression, also known as the FSA) by newly recruited Gordon Parks. That the photographer was also African-American is crucial as the image is as much a political statement as well as a formal study of a portrait.
“My first photograph of [Watson] was unsubtle. I overdid it and posed her, Grant Wood style, before the American flag, a broom in one hand, a mop in the other, staring straight into the camera”
“American Gothic”, a portrait by Grant Wood of a male and female set in the rural American Midwest, had by the Depression come to represent endurance in hard times through the values of work, thrift and religious faith.
Grant Wood, "American Gothic" 1930In Parks’ portrait, the subject seems to be both visually and symbolically dominated by the stars and stripes flag behind her. The mop and broom the woman holds are as much commenting on her social and economic status as well as displaying the tools of her trade. The positioning of the flag with white background to the left and right is a rough composite of the rule of thirds running vertically down the image. The subject, broom and mop compositionally create a golden triangle. The strong dark vertical stripes frame and draw the viewers’ eye back down to the subject.
The combined elements seem a metaphor to represent the oppression of the black community in America. Although for some the land of opportunity, segregation was still legal and minority groups kept down in terms of education, health care and social status.
On Parks photographing Ella Watson: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fachap07.html
FSA: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html
Gordon Parks International Photo Contest: http://gordonparkscenter.org/photocontest.asp
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