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Essay: Explore American Gothic History: "Gordon Parks' Gov't Chairwoman at National Gallery of Art

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  • Published: 26 February 2023*
  • Last Modified: 29 September 2024
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  • Words: 1,130 (approx)
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Government Chairwoman (American Gothic) is a gelatin silver print 11 x 14 photo from a body of work documenting the daily life of Mrs. Ella Watson, by famous African-American photographer Gordon Parks.   The photo is a part of a special exhibition on display until February 18th, 2019 at the National Gallery of Art titled: Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940-1950. Gordon Parks who became the first black photographer for Life Magazine and went on to do fashion photography for Vogue, started photographing Mrs. Watson In July of 1942 during his tenure for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in Washington D.C. . She worked cleaning offices for the Department of Agriculture where the FSA offices were located. Parks on advice from a colleague began photographing around a theme using groups or sequences, during this time Parks spoke to Mrs. Watson, and the photographer learned more about his subject. Parks learned that Watson’s life was one filled with struggle, she was alone after her parents had passed and husband disappeared along with her two children.  Mrs. Watson for twenty-six years cleaned and swept hallways and offices overnight with no hope of advancement due to her ethnicity, during this time Washington D.C. was still segregated and not the diverse metropolis of today.  

The reason Parks decided to choose Mrs. Watson as the subject for his project was that her life was difficult, and it embodied many concerns about race and discrimination that he wanted to display in his body of work. Parks went on to take not only this photo, but photos of her adoptive daughter and her two children, her cramped and dilapidated apartment on Eleventh Street N.W., her church, and her neighborhood with its residents.  

Gordon Parks Government Chairwoman (American Gothic) greets you at the entrance of the exhibition as a giant canvas reproduction, unfortunately the dimensions for the canvas were unavailable, but the original print was further in the exhibit. The photo sets the tone for parts of the exhibition, serious yet beautiful. Parks use of vertical line with the American flag that is blurred draws your eye to Mrs. Watson as the focal point. You immediately are drawn into her austere face, it feels exhausted yet somewhat kind, you can see in her eyes that she has shared some hardship. Parks uses lighting to evoke the shape of Watson and create the drama of the subjects’ struggle and exhaustion. The lighting highlights not only Watson, but the American flag and the tools of her trade. The power of the piece comes from how carefully Parks has arranged the symbolism: from the blurred stars and stripes in the background that insinuates how her freedom in America has not come into full view, to the sharpness and clarity of Watson which shows how strong and defined she is in her role. It brings to attention the irony of the subject matter: a stoic and hardworking woman unable to advance within society due to the color of her skin, expected still during war times to support the country that belittles her existence.  Parks although he did not rename the photo until months later set up Mrs. Watson to mimic a famous painting by Grant Wood titled American Gothic. Grant Wood’s painting exhibits a Midwest farmer and what many viewers perceive to be his wife, but is his daughter, standing in front of what is called a cardboard gothic home.  Wood wanted his painting to convey a positive statement about Midwestern values , Parks wanted the same for his photo of Mrs. Watson but with an almost sarcastic lens. If you look carefully you can see that Parks used imagery to portray her like the farmer father in the painting, her broom serving as the pitchfork and her mop as her companion in the foreground.   Unlike the original American Gothic the feminine subject here is front and center not standing behind a man with a long forlorn look, also the color of her skin was a significant factor since many hard workers of color during this time were viewed as lazy.

The reason that I chose this piece of Parks work compared to the other pieces in the exhibition is that the photo resonates with how I feel our socio-political climate is heading.

History is repeating itself with African-American males and females being questioned and accused of whether or not they belong in certain spaces, for example their own luxury condos.  Racism granted subtle is rearing its ugly head again and this photo just feels like it has renewed relevancy, Mrs. Watson in the 40s could not advance her station in life, she could not live as freely as she wished because of the social stigmas thrusted upon her due to the color of her skin. Today we forget our privileges and are only reminded of them when micro-aggressions turn into bigger issues. The photo also resonated with me on a personal level as a young minority female that is also struggling. Although I am currently going to college to improve my station in life, an opportunity Mrs. Watson did not have, I identify with working a minimum wage job that offers little to no chance of advancement, the stoic and exhausted expression is one that I have worn coming off the clock late evenings after dealing with customers complaining that their grocery order was mispacked. I have worn it trying to balance my budgets according to the inconsistent pay I receive, and I have worn it sitting in this class struggling to pay attention after staying up into the wee morning hours. The American flag blurred in the background also relates as I feel my country that I love and cherish, that my parents have fought for, has turned its back not only on me, but also the immigrants that we are supposed to welcome, tear gassing them and their children, what the flag stands for is muddled now as it was then.

To conclude Gordon Parks Government Chairwoman (American Gothic) is a photo that has stood the test of time. Using elements of design such as lighting, line, shape, and powerful imagery, Parks created a social commentary about how minorities are treated due to society and its prejudices as well as its cruelty.  The piece when compared to another popular work of art at the time is shown to have traces of irony when compared. His piece although dated resonates through to current events that makes it seem as though history truly repeats itself, and that we as a people still have a long way to go. Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940-1950 is an exhibit worth seeing for one to make their own connections, and the body of work as a whole will put things into perspective.

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