1. On the day Gordon Parks was born, how did the doctor save Gordon's life?
The doctor put Gordon in cold ice water and rubbed his back with ice.
2. Where was Gordon born? (what state?)
Fort Scott, Kansas
3. What did Gordon's class adviser, Ms. McClintock, tell him about college?
She told him not to waste his parents' money going to college, especially since going to college was rare for a black student.
4. How old was Gordon when his mother died?
Gordon was 15 years old.
5. Where did Gordon move after his mother died?
St. Paul, Minnesota
6. Did Gordon graduate from college?
He didn't graduate from college; He got an honorary doctorate
7. How did Gordon begin his fashion photography career?
He photographed for a woman's clothing store owned by Frank Murphy.
8. What is a "double exposure?"
It is when the photographer layers one exposure on top of another to create a single image. (For Gordon, it was a mistake)
9. Who was boxer Joe Louis?
He was the husband of Marva Louis who told him to move to Chicago. He was also a boxer.
10. What instrument did Gordon play?
He played piano.
11. What was the purpose of the Farm Security Administration?
The FSA educated the public especially about poverty.
12. When Roy Stryker hired Gordon for the FSA, what was Stryker's first assignment for Gordon in Washington, D.C.?
Stryker told him to get himself a topcoat, go to a restaurant for food, and watch a film, which came out to be impossible because Gordon was a Negro.
13. Who was Ella Watson?
She was the African American maid whom Gordon photographed. She had glasses and posed in front of the American flag with a mop and broom.
14. What was the inspiration for Grant Wood's American Gothic?
"Maid in America" by Gordon was the inspiration for Grant Wood's American Gothic.
15. What did Gordon learn from Stryker about photography?
He learned to approach people. He also learned he couldn't just photograph bigots and call them bigots. He had to show how and why they were bigots. Also, the people who were photographed were more important than the photographer.
16. When did the FSA shut down?
The FSA shut down in 1946.
17. After Gordon moved to New York, what magazine did he shoot for?
Gordon shot for the fashion magazine Vogue.
18. Who was the picture editor of Life Magazine when Gordon walked into the Life Magazine office?
The picture editor was
19. What was the first major story Parks covered for Life Magazine?
The first major story was on the Harlem Gang Leader.
20. Who were some of the artists that Gordon Parks mentioned influenced his work after he moved to the Paris Life Magazine bureau?
He was inspired by Picasso, (Moliere, writer), Prokofiev, Debussy, Bach, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Pablo Neruda and more.
21. How did Parks shoot fashion when he lived in France?
He allowed the models to move around to get action, and he kept the model in focus while moving with the model.
22.Where was Parks' concerto performed?
The concerto was performed in Venice
23. Who was Parks' second wife? (Who was her father? What did she do?)Parks' second wife was Elizabeth Campbell.
24. How old was Flavio de Silva when Parks met him?
Flavio de Silva was twelve.
25. When did Parks meet Flavio?
He met him in 1961.
26. Where did Flavio live when Parks first met Flavio and his family?
He lived in Brazil in the slums.
27. How is Gloria Vanderbilt? Who is her famous son? Who are her ancestors?
Gloria Vanderbilt is an artist. Her son is Anderson Cooper, the anchor of CNN news. Her ancestors are Vanderbilts (almost aristocratic), and her parents are Gloria Morgan and Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt.
28. How did Vanderbilt describe their relationship?
Vanderbilt described it as being a meeting with someone they knew from ages ago. They didn't have to act with the usual formalities of meeting a person in the beginning.
