3.9.09

picture this...

...you are browsing through a photography exhibit and are suddenly, inexplicably captivated by one image in particular. you stop and stare until it finally hits you: it's a picture of you. this is exactly what happened to Sharon Collins at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. unbeknownst to Collins, her image had been captured while working as an elevator girl in 1955 and imortalized in photographer Robert Frank's most famous publication, The Americans.

in an interview with NPR, Collins mused, "He saw in me something that most people didn't see. I have a big smile and a big laugh, and I'm usually pretty funny. So people see one thing in me. And I suspect Robert Frank and Jack Kerouac saw something that was deeper. That only people who were really close to me can see. It's not necessarily loneliness, it's ... dreaminess."

(article found via jezebel)

this amazing image and story reminded me of one of my favorite 'vintage' photographers, Gordon Parks

(found here)



(found here)








(found here)



(found here)



(help! I lost the link, but it's another fab myvintagevogue find)



and of course, the man himself (image and article found here)


Depression/Harlem Renaissance era photos are some of my absolute faves, and Parks has a special place in my heart not only because of his beautiful images that certainly speak for themselves. My lovely grandmother had the distinct privilege of both knowing and being photographed by Parks (or was the privilege his? :smile:) and I can't wait to have her photograph in my posession (as promised by my mother...) perhaps I will be able to share it with all of you!

(ps- major shout out to Jessica of myvintagevogue for her amazing flickr and photobucket collections! thanks so much!!!)

2 comments:

  1. amazing photos, I love the elevator photo.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for bringing these pictures to my attention, great stuff!!

    ReplyDelete

 
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