Shopper, Paris 1950

Gordon Parks made this black and white photograph of a woman in Paris. It looks like she is shopping in a deli. The slightly tilted angle of the photograph lends an air of informality to the shot. The woman’s gaze and slight smile make me think that she is looking at a friend. Her coat looks warm and I wonder what she will make with the sausage she buys. The way she is styled reminds me of the photographs that Brassai took in Paris around the same time. Parks and Brassai both made pictures of people who were probably overlooked. As artists, they were in conversation with one another even though they made very different artworks. They shared a sensitivity for the stories of ordinary people. It's lovely to think of artists seeing one another's work and being inspired to create new images.