In the practices of Beverly Price and Gordon Parks, photography operates on a continuum. Images, for them, are both dynamic and archival, documenting a singular moment that continues to communicate with the viewer long after that time has passed. The Language We Share, opening this month at the Center for Art and Advocacy, probes these expansive and evolving interpretations of the practice by putting Price and Parks in direct conversation.
One of the most lauded photographers of his time, Parks (1912-2006) embedded himself in American life from the 1940s onward, creating distinctive images for magazines like Ebony and Glamour and embarking on projects rooted in civil rights and social justice. He considered his work not only a way to capture the realities of what was happening in homes, offices, and the streets from New York to Washington D.C. to Chicago but also an urgent means of advocacy. “I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs,” he said. “I knew at that point I had to have a camera.”
When Parks died in 2006, Price was just being released from 20 years of incarceration and wouldn’t pick up a camera for another decade. But when she did, she entered into a dialogue with the late photographer. Price, who was a 2023 fellow at the center, similarly considers her practice advocacy for those who might not otherwise be heard, particularly focusing on prevention and the children most affected by the same issues Parks had grappled with.
As Price began to create images around her Washington D.C. neighborhood of Southeast Anacostia, a geographical overlap developed between the two photographers. In The Language We Share, we witness the affinities between Price and Parks in a presentation that explores how these particular social and cultural landscapes have evolved and the people most affected by their realities.
One throughline is that both photographers frequently focus on children. In an Anacostia housing project, Parks captures an adorable troupe of young dancers and their synchronized movements. Price, too, homes in on a moment of joy and reverie in an image of two drenched boys enjoying an open fire hydrant on a presumably scorching day. Childhood, in their works, is both sacred and vulnerable, and compounding forces like police violence, poverty, and discrimination threaten its sanctity.
The wide-reaching impacts of the carceral system also permeate throughout the exhibition. In an image from 1963 Harlem, Parks captures a young boy casually leaning up against a temporary barricade, while another photo from that time documents a protest against the police state. There’s also his striking look into a Chicago jail in which a man rests his hand through the steel bars, his shadow framed by the cage on the wall nearby.
Price, too, nods to policing with a tightly cropped photo of someone showing off an Air Jordan, an electronic monitor fastened just above the sneaker. “Photography, for me, is a powerful tool for social justice—a means to document truth, challenge perceptions, and advocate for change,” Price says in her artist statement. “It is my hope that through my work, viewers will gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of the black experience and join in the collective effort to create a more just and equitable world.”
The Language We Share runs from March 20 to June 19 in Brooklyn.
