Untitled, Chicago, Illinois
Gordon Parks
American, 1912–2006
1957
A color photograph printed as an inkjet print that frames the back of a wounded man's head in a hospital corridor, with the photographer aiming to confront viewers with the immediate, personal consequences of violence and social neglect.
The shock of the glistening, exposed wound dominates the foreground while the hallway and medical attendants blur into soft lights and motion, making the scene feel intimate, tense, and painfully isolated.
Taken in the 1950s, Parks's empathetic, documentary gaze helped shift photojournalism toward a morally engaged practice that revealed social injustice and the human stories behind headlines.
Medium
Inkjet print, printed 2019
Dimensions
17 15/16 × 11 7/8" (45.6 × 30.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Family of Man Fund
Accession
448.2019
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
