Documenting Chicago club culture in the ’70s
- Text by HUCK HQ
- Photography by Michael Abramson, Courtesy of MMX Gallery
A new exhibition at London’s MMX Gallery will celebrate the work of late American photographer Michael Abramson. The show, which opens on Wednesday (March 21), will focus specifically on his shots of Chicago nightlife in the ’70s – a collection which saw him capture the city’s underground funk, blues and early disco scene.
Most of the pictures were taken in Chicago’s South Side, which is a predominantly black part of the city. Abramson, a white photographer, was welcomed into the area’s nightclubs and became an unlikely, but integral, part of each evening’s atmosphere. “I realise I have been to every part of the planet… but I have never been as far away as I was when I was on the South Side of Chicago,” Abramson said of the time. “Not because it was exotic, but because it was so exhilarating.”
The photographer, who passed away in 2011, eventually won a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for the series, carving out a successful career as a photojournalist in the years that followed. The photographs were also compiled into a book, which accompanied the Grammy Award-winning album Light: On the South Side – a compilation of classic tracks from the era collected by record label Numero Group.
“A camera is a window through which a photographer interacts with the world, and it’s up to the operator to decide whether his camera will be a barrier or a mirror between he and his subjects,” said Numero Group head, Joe Tangari, in 2009. “Abramson initiated himself into the nightlife of Chicago’s predominantly black neighbourhoods. He was very much a part of the scene he documented on film, drinking, laughing, and dancing with his subjects into small hours and becoming as much a part of the atmosphere as the locals who frequented the same nightspots he did.”
Tales from the South Side, 1970’s Chicago Clubs will run at London’s MMX Gallery, in New Cross, from March 21 – May 5, 2018.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
How Japan revolutionised art & photography in the ’60s and ’70s
From Angura to Provoke — A new photobook chronicles the radical avant-garde scene of the postwar period, whose subversion of the medium of image making remains shocking and groundbreaking to this day.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Artifaxing: “We’ve become so addicted to these supercomputers in our hands”
Framing the future — Predominantly publishing on Instagram and X, the account is one of social media’s most prominent archiving pages. We caught up with the mysterious figure behind it to chat about the internet’s past, present and future, finding inspiration and art in the age of AI.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The lacerating catharsis of body suspension in Hong Kong
Self-Ferrying — In one of the world’s most densely packed cities, an underground group of young people are piercing their skin and hanging their bodies with hooks in a shocking exploration of pain and pleasure. Sophie Liu goes to a session to understand why they partake in the extreme underground practice.
Written by: Sophie Liu
What we’re excited for at SXSW 2026
Austin 40 — For the festival’s 40th anniversary edition, we are heading to Texas to join one of the biggest global meetups of the year. We’ve selected a few things to highlight on your schedules.
Written by: Huck
In photos: The boys of the Bibby Stockholm
Bibby Boys — A new exhibition by Theo McInnes and Thomas Ralph documents the men who lived on the three-story barge in Dorset, giving them the chance to control their own narrative.
Written by: Thomas Ralph
Huck’s 20th Anniversary Issue, Wu-Tang Clan is here
Life is a Journey — Fronted by the legendary Wu-Tang Clan’s spiritual leader RZA, we explore the space in between beginnings and endings, and the things we learn along the way.
Written by: Huck
