Articles

The exhibition 'Gordon Parks' at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, showcases groundbreaking photographs taken by Gordon Parks in Fort Scott, Kansas, during the 1940s. The images capture the realities of life under segregation. Parks, the first African American full-time photographer at LIFE magazine, returned to his hometown in 1950 to document the everyday lives of African American citizens around the time before the Civil Rights movement. His photo essay titled “Back to Fort Scott” was never published but offers a rare and visually rich perspective on segregation-era America. Read Article

In 1950, Gordon Parks, the only African-American photographer working for Life magazine, returned to his segregated hometown school in Fort Scott, Kansas, to photograph his classmates and document segregation. Despite the significance of the project, Life never published the photos or Parks’ accompanying text, leaving these powerful images hidden for more than 60 years. An exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will finally showcase these never-before-seen photos, providing a poignant look at racial segregation and African-American life before the civil rights movement. Read Article

Dwight Garner’s New York Times review calls Julia Van Haaften’s biography, Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography, a "vital work of American cultural history" that chronicles the artist’s evolution from bohemian sculptor to pioneering modernist. The biography highlights Abbott's independent spirit and her work in documenting New York City's architectural shifts, though the review notes the narrative occasionally becomes bogged down in excessive detail. Read Article

Jim Grey reflects on improving his documentary photography by studying Berenice Abbott's work, particularly her 1930s photographs of New York City taken during the Great Depression under the Works Progress Administration. Abbott's images demonstrate how context, contrasting elements, and angled compositions can convey a strong sense of place and environment. Grey highlights specific techniques such as backing up to include surrounding context, framing multiple planes, and seeing through objects to create more engaging and informative photographs. He aims to apply these lessons to better capture the essence of the places he visits. Read Article

New York in the Thirties, published by Dover Publications in 1973, is an unabridged reprint of Berenice Abbott’s 1939 classic Changing New York. Featuring 97 photographs, the book documents the architectural and social transformation of New York City during the Great Depression. Abbott used a large-format view camera to capture the contrast between old low-rise buildings and modern skyscrapers, employing a sharp, realistic photographic style called straight photography. The volume offers valuable historical context through captions by Elizabeth McCausland and serves as an important record of a rapidly changing cityscape. Read Article

Berenice Abbott returned to the U.S. in 1929, inspired by a “fantastic passion” to photograph New York City. Over the next decade, she created the Changing New York project, funded by the Federal Art Project. This collection includes 305 photographs documenting the city’s evolution, accompanied by historical data. Abbott’s work marketing the modern city captured its contrasts—from elegance to decay. She began her artistic life in Greenwich Village, then moved to Paris, where she worked with Man Ray and embraced modernist approaches to photography, emphasizing clarity and documentary over pictorialism. Read Article

Margaret Bourke-White was a pioneering American photographer born in 1904. She studied science and art before becoming an influential industrial photographer in the late 1920s. Bourke-White worked for major magazines like Fortune and LIFE, covering significant global events including World War II, the partition of India and Pakistan, and the Korean War. She broke many barriers as the first female staff photographer at LIFE, the first woman to photograph Soviet industry, and the first to work in combat zones during WWII. Her impactful images span decades and continue to be widely recognized. Read Article

Hector Acebes, at age 82, has recently gained recognition for his black-and-white photographs of Africa taken between 1948 and 1953. These images, mostly from small villages in Western and Northern Africa, capture a time when tribal life and traditional religions dominated daily existence. His photos highlight intricate cultural details such as scar patterning, tattoos, and jewelry, reflecting deep relationships with his subjects. The exhibition and forthcoming book in Seattle showcase his keen eye for African aesthetics and the human expressions that define identity and culture in a bygone era. Read Article

Germaine Krull’s 1928 photobook Métal is considered one of the most significant photobooks of the twentieth century. Unlike conventional books, Métal is a unique object with a folded board cover and unbound plates showcasing industrial photography, printed as collotypes. The images depict machinery and structures from European cities like Paris, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, emphasizing modern industrial forms without captions, allowing viewers to create their own interpretations. The photobook’s innovative design and dynamic photographic style have continued to inspire artists and designers since its publication. Métal was the first of six photobooks Krull published during a prolific phase in her career. Read Article

Germaine Krull, a pioneering photographer of the early 20th century, gained prominence in 1928 Paris for her avant-garde photographs featured in the magazine VU. Known for her modernist style, Krull captured city life, industrial structures, and intimate images of female couples, challenging conventional representation of gender and queer desire. Her photo book Métal (1928) highlighted industrial Europe, while her earlier portfolio Les amies depicted tender moments between women, reflecting her own queer experiences. Krull’s work defied norms by portraying queer female sexuality openly during a time of widespread invisibility and anxiety about lesbian identity. Read Article

Germaine Krull was a pioneering modernist photographer whose work was championed by Man Ray but has since been largely overlooked. Born in 1897, Krull traveled extensively and developed a unique photographic style that ranged from nudes to urban landscapes. She was an innovator in photographic books and utilized experimental techniques such as multiple exposures and unusual perspectives. A recent exhibition at Jeu de Paume in Paris showcases over 130 of her prints, including rare early works and images from her travels in Southeast Asia. This exhibition highlights her lasting impact on 20th-century photography. Read Article

Germaine Krull was a revolutionary photographer and political radical whose work was once acknowledged by Man Ray as his equal. Active primarily in the 1920s and 1930s, she pioneered modernist photographic techniques and produced influential photobooks such as Métal, which redefined visual poetry through images of industrial structures. Despite her early success and contributions to fashion, portrait, and documentary photography, Krull's recognition waned compared to her male contemporaries. A recent Paris exhibition, Jeu de Paume: Germaine Krull (1897–1985): a Photographer's Journey, aims to restore her legacy as a groundbreaking artist and radical free spirit who lived a diverse and nomadic life. Read Article