Escrevi a crônica abaixo em 18 de janeiro de 2016. Gordon Parks foi brilhante e pioneiro em tudo o que fez: fotógrafo, roteirista, cineasta, músico, coreógrafo, escritor. Uma vez, passei por ele na estação de metrô Bleecker Street, em Manhattan, e até hoje me arrependo de não lhe ter dito o quão fã dele eu era. Já faz 14 anos que ele morreu; é preciso mantê-lo vivo através da divulgação de sua vasta obra.
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TMC is showing "The Learning Tree" (1969), a film directed and produced by Gordon Parks. He also wrote the screenplay, based on his own novel. He also did the musical score. The presenter told us Gordon Parks was the first African American to direct a major Hollywood movie.
But, wait! There is more: Parks was the first African American photographer to be hired by a major publication ("Life Magazine"); that I already knew. I also knew he was a top fashion photographer; I once went to an exhibit of his work at the Newark Museum. My introduction to his brilliance was reading Flávio, a book he wrote about an impoverished Carioca kid.
Gordon Parks was the quintessential Renaissance man. Can I hear an "Amen"?