Kansas 1972: Kansas Through the Camera's Eye
October 7, 2022
How did Kansas photographers in the early 1970s engage with Kansas and Kansans in their work? Terry Evans used her camera to capture the stories of Kansans, especially in rural spaces, who were experiencing the effects of social and economic change. And Gordon Parks used the camera’s perspective to work through his complicated relationship with his home state.
Go Deeper
Archival Audio Sources
- The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936)
- Paper Moon trailer (1973)
- The Agricultural Midwest - Farming in the Corn Belt, 1970s
- The Land (1962)
- The Learning Tree trailer (1969)
- Shaft trailer (1971)
- Gordon Parks, A Choice of Weapons (1970), Read by the author
Photographs
- Terry Evans, Two Children, 1972, The Art Institute of Chicago
- Terry Evans, Untitled (Four Teens), 1974, The Art Institute of Chicago
- Gordon Parks, Muhammad Ali in training, Miami, Florida: The Redemption of the Champion, Life Magazine, September 9, 1966; Beach Museum of Art
- Gordon Parks Muhammed Ali, The Redemption of the Champion, LIFE Magazine, September 9, 1966. Beach Museum of Art
- Gordon Parks, Pastor Ledbetter, from the Metropolitan Baptist Church, 1953, Beach Museum of Art
- Gordon Parks, Show-stoppers of collections were fabulous ball dresses like these Fall designs, 1951, Beach Museum of Art
- Images taken by Kara Heitz at the Beach Museum of Art exhibit “Homeward to the Prairie I Come”, 2022.
Secondary Sources
Interviews
- Terry Evans, photographer
- Sarah Price, Registrar and Collections Manager, Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University
- Aileen June Wang, curator, Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University
- Kirk Sharp, Director of the Gordon Parks Museum, Fort Scott, Kansas
Music
By Clelia Walking
Banner photo: Gordon Parks at Konza Prairie, 1979 by Patricia DuBose Duncan. Courtesy: Beach Museum of Art.
Gallery
ViewTerry Evans, Konza Prairie, Manhattan Kansas, 1982. Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas.
ViewTerry Evans, Terraced Plowing, Saline County, Kansas, 1990. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
ViewTerry Evans on the prairie, 1982 by George M. Kren. Beach Museum of Art.
ViewPastor Ledbetter from the Metropolitan Baptist Church by Gordon Parks, 1953. Beach Museum of Art.
ViewGordon Parks on the Konza Prairie in Manhattan, 1979 by Patricia DuBose Duncan. Beach Museum of Art.
View"Show-stoppers of collections were fabulous ball dresses like these Fath designs," 1951 by Gordon Parks. Beach Museum of Art.
ViewSpecial insert to the Manhattan Mercury with poem by Gordon Parks, 1984. Beach Museum of Art.
ViewGordon Parks by Holly Miller. Beach Museum of Art.
ViewKansas Committee for the Humanities Project Abstract for "A State in Transition - The Human Dimension." 1973
ViewSalina Journal, January 1, 1972.
ViewGordon Parks exhibition, Beach Museum of Art, 2022.
ViewGordon Parks exhibition, Beach Museum of Art, 2022.
ViewStill from "The Plow That Broke the Plains."
View"No Mountains in the Way" book cover.
ViewUntitled (Four Teens) by Terry Evans, 1974. Art Institute of Chicago.
ViewTwo Children by Terry Evans, 1972. Art Institute of Chicago.
ViewStill from "Paper Moon."
ViewTerry Evans, 2021. Ulrich Museum of Art.