Joy arises from moments of hope in photos of Harlem rallies shot by Gordon Parks in 1963, now on view at Jack Shainman Gallery. Elsewhere, a protester’s sign reading ‘Policy brutality must go’ connects powerfully to today’s protests while iconic images from Parks’ series Segregation Story document the lives of Alabama families impacted by discrimination. (On view at Jack Shainman Gallery’s two Chelsea locations through Feb 20th).
Granted access to Nation of Islam leadership and communities in 1963, Life photographer Gordon Parks shot remarkable images including this portrait of women’s leader Ethel Sharrieff. Now on view at Jack Shainman Gallery’s 24th Street location, the arresting show overviews selections from Parks’ lesser-known yet powerful series. (On view through Feb 10th).
Plants, ponds and (for a time) cows generated New York painter Lois Dodd’s subject matter as she painted the natural world in canvases that provocatively mix figuration and abstraction. This 1963 image, painted on summer vacation in Maine, continued Dodd’s studies in pattern, merging avant-garde painting style with bucolic pleasure. (At Alexandre Gallery in the 57th Street area, through Feb 25th).
This 164-foot scroll by Vietnam-based artist Dinh Q Le depicts just one image – the immolation of a Buddhist monk in Saigon in 1963. Stretched out to great length, the scroll seems to add duration to the still photograph while connecting that event to current acts of extreme political protest. (At Chelsea’s PPOW Gallery through May 24th).
Dinh Q Le, The Scroll of Thich Quang Duc, 150 foot c-print scroll and gold lacquer box, 2013.
