Artwork by Hank Willis Thomas at Gordon Parks Foundation

A family looking at pictures from the set of "The Learning Tree" October 25. The 1969 film was the first Hollywood film directed by an African American. (Pleasantville Press/ Christina Bubba)

Posted By: cb10981p October 27, 2019

“Exodusters” commemorates 50th anniversary of film “The Learning Tree” 

A new exhibition at Pleasantville’s Gordon Parks Foundation commemorates Parks’ novel and film, “The Learning Tree.” Artist Hank Willis Thomas’s exhibit “Exodusters” had its opening reception Oct. 25. The exhibition will be on display through Jan. 31.

The Gordon Parks Foundation preserves Parks’ work through exhibitions, books and electronic media. The exhibitions educate the community and give artists a platform to express their work. 

The exhibit is named “Exodusters” after the word used in the Great Depression era to describe African American people who fled to Kansas from southern states. Photo from the exhibition at the Gordon Parks Foundation, October 25, 2019. (Pleasantville Press/ Christina Bubba).

Gordon Parks was the first African American director of a Hollywood film. The film “The Learning Tree” is based on his novel about the struggles of an African American teen growing up in the 1920s. Thomas’ series depicts images from the film, behind the scenes of the film and of his own photographs. The images are in the form of screen prints on retro-reflective vinyl and use lenticular materials. 

Three prints created by Thomas featured in the exhibition, Oct. 25, 2019. The prints Thomas used in his series were taken from the set of the film along with his own personal work (Pleasantville Press/ Christina Bubba).

“[The] innovation he brought to the work through modern technology…is incredible,” said Matthew Henderson, the coordinating producer of Kunhardt films, who attended the opening. “I have no idea how he did this… I’ve never seen anything like this before. This level of detail and the amount of thought that went into something like this is impressive.” 

Henderson admiring Thomas’ work at the opening reception, Oct. 25, 2019. Henderson knows of Thomas’ work because he made a sculpture for a film he worked on (Pleasantville Press/ Christina Bubba).

“Exodusters” was a term used after the Civil War and throughout the Great Depression to describe African Americans who migrated from southern states to Kansas to escape racial violence. The protagonist in “The Learning Tree” is an exoduster and is the focal point of many of Thomas’ images. 

Description of the exhibit displayed on the wall at the Gordon Parks Foundation, Oct. 25, 2019. The exhibit celebrates the 50th anniversary of Gordon Park’s film (Pleasantville Press/ Christina Bubba).

“I think I first met Gordon Parks when I was like six or seven years old, and didn’t really understand who he was or what he did and it probably took me almost 20 years to really understand the breath of his work,” Thomas said. “In this exhibition, we’re looking back at one of his most iconic projects… looking back at a very unique part of African American history.” 

This wall gives context to the the era of the film in the 1920s and the racial struggles happening in America at the time. Photo taken at the exhibition’s opening, Oct. 25, 2019. (Pleasantville Press/ Christina Bubba).

The exhibit aims to give its viewers a chance to consider their position in the world and how it impacts the way they interpret and understand their surroundings. 

“It’s just really exciting to be a part of [Parks’] legacy and looking back at his work and hopefully inspiring other, new generations,” Thomas said.