For my own submission, I gravitated heavily towards these two works by Gordon Parks. I felt like they really resonated with certain thoughts I’ve had about the current state of things. I also just really enjoyed the process attempting to recreate these works. I did my best to alter the contrast and the darkness of shadows at least feel somewhat like the originals. I feel like in that regard, the second image was the most successful.
The first image I chose called “Emerging Man” features a man rising from a manhole. His expression felt very cautious to me which peeked my interest. I chose to recreate this one because I felt it resonated with the tension and fear men of color have had to experience just stepping out side which to many still feels true to this day. Whether it’s violence on the streets or violence at the hands of of those meant to keep the peace. It’s just too often that we see this excessive violence on the news and attached to the face of a dead man of color.
The next image I picked was of a preacher with his hands raised in silent prayer. It was especially fitting of a pick to me due to current events. This year has not been kind to us with no shortage of stressors. On top of that, the many fatalities at the hands of covid have destroyed many families. My family was not unscathed in all this as I lost my grandfather months ago to covid when he was already in a bad state. I wanted to pick an image that embodied slowing down and taking the time to collect ourselves and reflect. A chance to cherish the ones we have with us now and those we lost along the way.
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