Gordan Parks traveled across different places in America. During his trip, he would capture the moments of different “crime scenes” he would see. He was using his camera for people to noticed the various of crime scene that he capture through his lens using his perspective.
One of the images I picked because it stood out to me was “Gordan Parks Harlem Gang Wars” (1948). The medium is Gelatin silver print with 10 15/16 × 10 1/2″ (27.9 × 26.7 cm) dimensions. The piece is demonstrating a group of people fighting with each other. Back then, there would be gang groups that would cause problems whenever they want, it would lead to bigger issues. The way Parks captured this image was printed in back and white, as well as the motion of what is happening. The black and white film gives a sense of danger vibe to it.
Another one of his pieces that was interesting was, “Gordan Parks, Untitled” (1957). The medium is Inkjet print, printed 2019 with 11 7/8 × 17 15/16″ (30.1 × 45.6 cm) dimensions. This piece is interesting because the way it was angle to shot. Especially the lighting of the image giving a certain vibe/expression when one looks at it. The danger sense of feeling at night that Parks wanted to show others when they look at the photo.
This week, I learned a few new things: the printing session. We had to print our magazine, and I never did or knew how printing worked more like the old printer. There are many steps to prepare before being able to print everything. The first was to strip your film, then put it into this platemaker box where it is engraving the letters onto the metal plate. After that, you would need to pour a solution to wipe off the top layer so that the ink is being shown. The following process is hole punching it to get tied onto/with the blots when you put it on the printer. After all the setup, you put ink, ensure you get enough, and then spread it around. Lastly, you start your printing process.
We did run into a few issues when running the printing. We would adjust and redo multiple times until we realized it was impossible to do. So we had to stop and wait for the experts that had experience with the printer to come in and help us. On weekends, the organization runs classes where you can get training, learn how to do/use the printer or design programs, etc.
Lastly, I had to redesign a card for another sponsor. It was for an Italian restaurant. As I was designing, I made a few different ones, so my boss could choose what was best for our client. It was good, but it was too much, and the restaurant didn’t shine through. Which got me thinking after a while; my boss gave me the idea to go simple and don’t overthink it. I took that approach, and we came up with something we all liked and workable.
