(AllHipHop News) The connection between famed photographer Gordon Parks and rapper Kendrick Lamar will be explored in a new Exhibition in opening up in December.
“ELEMENT” will explore the direct connection between Gordon Parks’ photography, and the images in the video for Kendrick song “ELEMENT,” taken from his Grammy-nominated album DAMN.
Kendrick directly references Parks’ images in the video, including the 1963 photo “Boy With Junebug,” “Untitled” and photos from Parks’ 1948 “Harlem Gang Leader” series.
“Gordon Parks’ work is continuing to have a great impact on young people – and particularly on artists like Kendrick who, use the power of imagery to examine issues related to social justice and race in our country,” said Peter W. Kunhardt,Jr., Executive Director of The Gordon Parks Foundation. “WithELEMENT the music video, Kendrick has helped to call attention to one of the most important artists of our time.”
Super producer and noted art collector Swizz Beatz is a major supporter of The Gordon Parks Foundation and he spoke on his excitement over the new exhibition.
“I’m so inspired that my friend Kendrick Lamar chose the iconic imagery of the legendary Gordon Parks in his video for ‘ELEMENT,'” Swizz Beatz said. “It’s a prime example of how contemporary change makers – artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers – can borrow from the greats of the past who were also working towards social change.”
The “ELEMENT” exhibition will be on view at the Foundation’s exhibition space in Pleasantville, New York from December 1st to
February 10th.