Opening Reception
Friday, January 11
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Dandies, Debutantes and Dancers: Southside Chicago Nightclubs in the 1970s
Additional Opening Reception - January 11th ! Join us 6-9 p.m.
Michael Abramson (1948-2011) was an acclaimed Chicago photographer who produced a large body of artistic and commercial work. He established his reputation during the mid- to late-seventies with his intimate portraits of nightlife on Chicago's South Side. Abramson's South Side portfolio is often compared to the great French photographer Brassai, who captured scenes of Parisian nightclubs during the late 1920s-1930s.
During the late seventies, Abramson also photographed patrons at various ballrooms throughout Chicago and at the Festival Theater, a strip club in Chicago where photographers were occasionally invited to take pictures of the performers both backstage and during the show. Michael's portfolio is focused on the other photographers taking the shots. All of these B/W images similarly reflect a time and place where people went during the mid- to late-seventies in Chicago.