Washington, D.C. As in Moses' time, members of the St. Martins Spiritual Church remove their shoes during the annual "flower bowl demonstration" because during this service they walk on holy ground after 1942

Gordon Parks made this photograph, *Washington, D.C. As in Moses' time, members of the St. Martins Spiritual Church remove their shoes during the annual "flower bowl demonstration" because during this service they walk on holy ground,* using photography, a medium that captures light and shadow. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be Parks, walking into that church. To see those women standing there, barefoot, as if on sacred ground. As if walking into another world altogether. Look at how he uses black and white to bring out the texture in their dresses. The polka dots are singing! In my own painting, I explore the intersection of personal history and collective experience. Parks does that here, too, freezing a moment of reverence. He reminds us that art can be found in everyday life, in the ways that we connect with each other, and with something beyond ourselves. Ultimately, Parks' work is part of a larger story of image-making where each artist builds on the foundations of their predecessors, discovering new ways to see and feel.