The high-school teacher who immortalised 1970s youth

The story of a photography icon — In a bid to close the 1970s generation gap, high school teacher Joseph Szabo found a way to stay forever young.

I think I first picked up a camera in high school. I was enrolled in the art programme and I started using photography as a tool to connect to everything that was going on – the yearbook, the newspaper, the photography club, the social events and all the different kinds of people. Photography gave me access to everything I wanted to be a part of.

Huck-JosephSzabo-Web4 Huck-JosephSzebo-Web3

After I graduated in sculpture at the University of Ohio, my wife and I moved to New York City and I was accepted at the Pratt Institute. They suggested I take a course in photography and that’s where I really learned that photography was a lot bigger, more important and more expressive than I could have ever imagined.

I began to discover photographers that were true artists – like American photographer Helen Levitt, who walked the streets of New York in the ’40s and ’50s and photographed how people were living at that time. Her photos had so much power and so much emotion. They made me feel like that was a direction I wanted to pursue too.

Huck-JosephSzebo-Web6 Huck-JosephSzabo-Web1

Shortly after, in the early ’70s, I got a job at Malverne High School in Long Island, but I didn’t think I’d last very long. Most of the students had no interest or excitement for high school and I was finding it really difficult to work there. After a couple of months I kind of reached crisis point and I knew something drastic had to change.

I decided that if I was going to be there any length of time I would have to make my classes as interesting and fun and exciting as possible, so I brought my camera to class to photograph the students in an attempt to connect with them. And of course that made all the difference.

Huck-JosephSzebo-Web5 Huck-JosephSzabo-Web2

Photographing the students at Malverne taught me to go back in my own mind to try and remember how it felt to be a teenager. I started to understand that it was very important to have an emotional connection, to have real empathy, with my subjects. And in trying to see things and understand things from their eyes, I actually began to open up to their point of view. I shared their enthusiasms and also their difficult moments.

When they were sad or upset or not quite right with the world, I shared a feeling with them about that. And when they were excited and thrilled I was tuned into that too.

If I ever started to experience burnout, which is common for teachers, I would photograph the students more to stay connected with them. It kept me young. And that was a wonderful thing because by the time I retired the students couldn’t believe that I was going. They just wanted me to continue.

Huck-JosephSzebo-Web4 Huck-JosephSzebo-Web7 Huck-JosephSzebo-Web8

I never had any agenda with my photography – it was never a money-making thing, it was just about connecting with young people – and so I think my photographs have a sort of authentic or genuine quality that a lot of people seem able to relate to.

I have always tried to capture these very personal moments, in an honest way, to show people doing exactly what they’re doing. They could just be sitting on the school steps smoking a cigarette or they could be hanging out of a car door waving their hands and saying, ‘This is the last day of school and I’ll never come back here again!’

They could be jumping in the air for excitement because of the music they’re listening to or they could be like one of my all-time favourites Priscilla – the little girl smoking at Jones Beach – who expresses something about girlhood as well as something about a certain kind of maturity and experience. All these subjects and moments mean so much to me. They helped me understand people and allowed me to connect with them over the years. I hope they mean something to other people too.

 See more of Joseph Szabo’s work.

This story originally appeared in Huck 46 – The Documentary Photography Special II. Get it now from the Huck Shop or subscribe to make sure you don’t miss another issue this year.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

 


Ad

Latest on Huck

Red shop frontage with "Open Out" branding and appointment-only signage.
Activism

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims

Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Cyclists racing past Palestinian flag, yellow barriers, and spectators.
Sport

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification

Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge
Music

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Weathered wooden building with a tall spire, person on horseback in foreground.
Culture

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South

Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Katie Goh

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.