Gordon Parks: Back to Fort Scott On view at the MFA through September 13th
“Simply put, this is an extraordinary story. In researching an old black and white Gordon Parks photograph of a young African American couple standing in front of a movie theater, Museum of Fine Arts photographer Karen Haas uncovered a hidden portfolio. On assignment for Life magazine in 1950, Parks returned to his hometown, Fort Scott, Kansas to capture life under segregation. His subjects were his own former classmates. But for reasons lost to history, the pictures never saw the light of day. Until now. The intrepid Haas deserves an ovation for her work here. At least one of these photographs, if not more, will stay with me forever.”
When The Stars Begin to Fall On view at the ICA through May 10th
“A dynamic and deeply personal show, When The Stars Begin to Fall explores the ties of African American artists to the American South. A fusion of acclaimed artists and outsider ones, Stars sparkles for its deeply resonant depictions of the South as both a real and mystically fabled place.”
Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) Presented by the American Repertory Theater, it plays at the Loeb Drama Center through March 1st
“This is a fluid and richly poetic piece about the odyssey of the slave, Hero by Pulitzer prize winning playwright, Suzan-Lori Parks. Part 1, A Measure of Man finds him wrestling with whether to fight for the Confederacy alongside his master in exchange for his freedom. Part 2, The Battle in the Wilderness, finds Hero on the battlefield and Part 3, The Union of My Confederate Parts, has Hero reconciling his past and future. Parks’ prose is sublime.”
This week on Open Studio we tour the ICA’s When the Stars Begin to Fall show and hear more from Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks on the beginning of her epic Father Comes Home From The Wars.
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