ancarrol /photo analysis

Gordon Parks took the image above,_Reverend Vondell Gassaway stands in a bowl of sacred water banked with the roses that he blesses and gives to celebrants_, in 1947.

The main focal points of the photograph are between a priest and The Saint Mary Magdalene. The reverend/priest/holy-man is dramatically clad in heavy Christian ornamentation and attire. He stands upright in the middle forefront of the shot commanding the attention of the viewer. The garments he wears are in varying shades of black, some reflective of the surrounding light. The crucifix around his neck hangs to his abdomen and peaks through his thick cloak. His posture and face is stoic. His eyes stare down at the camera from his slightly elevated baptismal alter. The priest stands in a basin of long stemmed roses. His form emerges from the darkness. The room behind him is cast in shadow.

A statue of the Saint Mary Magdalene stands on a square wooden alter to the left of the priest and basin. The Saint is adorned in white robes and a black cloak. Her arms are outstretched. Her expression is peaceful and welcoming. A glass of red wine sits at her feet. Between the priest and the Saint stands a solitary light. There are no identifying markers to determine the local of this ritual. The ceilings are low. The noticeable structure of the room seems to be comprised of wood and cement. The space is claustrophobic. In the right of the frame sits the edge of a wooden object, the positioning of which suggesting a bed or pew with a bright white cloth hanging from its side. This white cloth sits between the wooden banister and the priest. The top of the frame states in bold black text “GOD”. Written in a smaller white text on black cloth, to the right of the GOD text is “Saint Mary” which runs out of the frame of the image.

This photograph cleverly contrasts racial and religious motifs through display of archetypal objects/themes. Many of the objects within the image; (The Saint Mary Magdalene, the Priest, The sanctuary, The light, wine, roses, altar) all hold great symbolic reference in association with the Christian faith and culture. The use of black & white film juxtaposed with blatant racial black & white relationships, (the priest, the saint), evoke questions of assimilation, colonization, Christianity, and the Black Church.

The narrative, or message, of the image speaks to the concept of salvation, and questions the means by which a man, catagorized and cloaked in the title of Black, receives such. The priests very stance can be considered performative, in that through baptism and offering, he may adequately cleanse the assumed evil of his naturally dark state. Concerns about black self worth in association with hue hierarchies are also a prevalent theme in this image. If the act of baptism is analyzed in the context of the idea of initiation a larger dynamic is revealed. The priest becomes the sacrificed and the humbled. In order to cleanse himself, he must immerse himself whole-heartedly into the surrounding whiteness to escape the dark. Thus the image reinforces the convictions and assimilatory methodologies of white supremists, and more relevantly early Christian missionaries. The question of the priests freewill in this framework, is problematic.