MICHAEL L. ABRAMSON (1948-2011)
EDUCATION
1974-77 Master of Science / Photography / Institute of Design / Illinois Institute of Technology / Chicago, IL
1966-70 Bachelor of Science/Economics / Wharton School of Business / University of Pennsylvania / Philadelphia, PA
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
1977-2011 Michael L. Abramson Photography, Inc. / Chicago, Illinois
1981-1983 Photography Instructor / Institute of Design / Illinois Institute of Technology / Chicago, Illinois
1977-1982 Photography Instructor / Columbia College / Chicago, Illinois
PORTFOLIOS
1975-1977 Nightclubs on Chicago’s South Side
1978 Ballrooms and Dance Halls, Chicago
1979 Festival Strip Club, Camera Night, Chicago
1983-2010 Freelance (gettyimages.com/photos/michael-l-abramson?)
1996 Indonesia
1996-2008 Global Capturing of Michael Jordan Image (Original photograph taken for Time Magazine, 1996)
2003 Cuba
GRANTS & AWARDS
2009
Grammy Nominee (Best Packaging) / Light on the South Side (Photographs by Michael Abramson) / Numero Group Recording Co. Chicago, IL.
1979
National Endowment for the Arts (Photography Fellowship of $3,000) / Washington, D.C.
ONLINE PLATFORMS
2020
Artsy (https://www.artsy.net/show/mmx-gallery-michael-abramson-tales-from-the-south-side-1970s-chicago-clubs)
2018
PhotoCulture (http://www.photoculture.com/2018/05/18/49960)
EXHIBITIONS
2023
Hot in August (8/4-8/25) Fotogalerie Friedrichshain / Berlin, Germany / [Group Exhibit]
2023
A Space To Appear, A Space To Tarry (6/8/23-7/8/23) Automat Collective / Philadelphia, PA [Solo Exhibit]
2022
Love in the Club (3/11-8/31) Stax Museum of American Soul Music / Memphis, TN [Solo Exhibit]
2021
South Side (7/22) The Crane Kalman Gallery (www.cranekalmanbrighton.com) / Brighton, England [Multiple Artists Featured]
2020
A Moment in Time: 70s Chicago Club Scene (2/1-5/31) / The Hub’s Fine Arts Photography Gallery / New Smyrna Beach, FL {Solo Exhibit}
2019
Dandies, Debutantes and Dancers: Southside Chicago Nightclubs in the 1970s (1/4-2/28) Rangefinder Gallery / Chicago, IL [Solo Exhibit]
AIPAD (4/4-4/7) Photo Show, Exhibit Sponsor: Unbound7! Gallery / New York, NY
2018
Unbound7! Gallery (7/6-8/4) Candela Gallery / Richmond, VA [Group Show]
Light on the South Side (8/2-9/2) Blue Sky Gallery / Portland, OR [Group Show)]
Photo London ((5/5-5/20) Photo Show, Exhibit Sponsor: MMX Gallery, London, England
Michael Abramson: Tales from the South Side. 70's Chicago Clubs ((3/21-5/5) / MMX Gallery / London, England [Solo Exhibit]
Light on the South Side (1/12-2/ 24) / Benhadj & Djilali Galerie / Berlin, Germany [Solo Exhibit]
2017
Rock, Funk, & Punk (6/10-8/27) / Fotografie Forum / Frankfurt, Germany [Group Show]
2015
A Lasting Vision: Photographs of the Institute of Design 1970-2001 (7/31-8/14) / Chicago, IL [Group Show]
2014
Pulse of the Night: Photographs of Michael Abramson (9/2-12/19) / Museum of Contemporary Photography / Chicago, IL [Solo Exhibit]
Focal Points: American Photography Since 1950 (5/18-9/1) / Madison Museum of Contemporary Arts / Madison, WI [Group Show]
2011
Salon Collections Exhibit (5/5-8/15) / Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL [Group Show]
2008
Made in Chicago / (10/18/08-1/4/09) From the LaSalle Bank of America Collection / Chicago, IL [Group Show]
Photographers of Chicago / Chicago Cultural Center / Chicago, IL [Group Show]
2004
Superhits of the 70’s: Photographs from the Collection (10/8-1/2/05) / Milwaukee Art Museum / Milwaukee, WI [Group Show]
Photographs of Cuba: Michael Abramson (Spring) / Catholic Theological Union / Chicago, IL [Solo Exhibit]
1989
Seein’ the Blues / Chicago Film Makers / Chicago, IL [Group Show]
1987
Stepping Out / Art Institute of Chicago / Chicago, IL [Group Show]
1983
Photography of Michael Abramson / Museum of Contemporary Photography / Chicago, Illinois [Solo Exhibit]
Five-Years at Creative Photography / Creative Photography Gallery / Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Cambridge, Ma. [Group Show]
1981
Chicago Photography / California Museum of Photography /Riverside, CA [Group Show]
1980
Gallery Artists / Zolla Lieberman Gallery / Chicago, IL [Group Show]
The New Vision: 40 Years of Photography at the Institute of Design / Chicago Cultural Center / Chicago, IL [Group Show]
1979
Michael Abramson / Zolla Lieberman Gallery / Chicago, IL [Solo Exhibit]
Photography of Michael Abramson / Milwaukee Art Museum / Milwaukee, WI [Solo Exhibit]
Michael Abramson Photography / Cincinnati Academy of Art / Cincinnati, OH [Solo Exhibit]
1978
Permanent Collection Exhibit (Michael Abramson) / Milwaukee Art Museum / Milwaukee, WI [Group Show]
COLLECTIONS
Art Institute of Chicago / Chicago, Illinois
Creative Photography Gallery / Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Cambridge, Massachusetts
California Museum of Photography / Riverside, California
Illinois Institute of Technology
Madison Art Center / Madison, Wisconsin
Museum of Contemporary Photography / Columbia College / Chicago, Illinois
Milwaukee Art Museum / Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Chicago Historical Society / Chicago, Illinois
Smithsonian Institution / Washington, DC
PRINT PUBLICATION
2018:
Men Photographing Women in the 70s / Hoxton Mini Press / London, UK [Solo Artist]
Chicago: Classic Photographs (Perv’s House - Chicago, 1976) / City Files Press / Chicago, IL, p 132
2016
The Oxford American, Southern Music Issue (Pervs House - Chicago, 1976) Vol.18, / Little Rock, AR, p. 9
2015
Gotta Go, Gotta Flow / City Files Press / Chicago, IL (Featuring the poetry of Patricia Smith} [Solo Artist]
A Lasting Vision: Photographs from the Institute of Design, 1970-2001 (Pepper’s Hideout – Chicago, 1976) Illinois Institute of Technology Press / IL, p. 26
2009
Light On the South Side / The Numero Group Recording Co. / Chicago, Illinois [Solo Print Artist]
2004
Miniature Rooms: The Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago (2nd Ed.) 1984 / Hudson Hill Press / Manchester, VT / Photographs by Kathleen Culbert-Aguilar and Michael Abramson
1983
Miniature Rooms: The Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago (1st Edition) / Abbeville Press / New York, NY Photographs by Kathleen Culbert-Aguilar and Michael Abramson
1982
The New Vision, Forty Years of Photographs at the Institute of Design / Aperture; First Edition (April 1982) / Millerton, NY
VISUAL MEDIA USAGES
2023 The History of Disco in Chicago (South side photographs featured in American Experience) / PBS / South Portland, MA
2021 Mama Gloria (www.mamagloriafilm.com) / South side photos featured / Chicago, IL
2021 The Numero Group / Eccentric Disco record cover (South Side photograph) / Chicago, IL
2019 Soul 4 Real Records / Wilson Williams 45 record cover (South Side photograph) /London, UK
2017 The Chi (South side photographs featured in bar scenes) / Showtime Original Series / Chicago, IL
2012 The History of Soul Music: Five Key Cities / VH1 Special Programming / Los Angeles, CA
PRINT MEDIA
1983-2010
Freelance Photography Publication Outlets
Periodicals
Time, Newsweek, People, Fortune, Forbes, Business Week, Travel and Leisure, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Discover, Stern, Der Spiegel, Panorama, Le Point, Harpers, Barrons, Bloomberg Markets, Smithsonian Air & Space, Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Money, Inc. Magazine, New York Times Magazine, Metropolitan Home, Smart Money, US News and World Report, Chicago Tribune Magazine, Chief Executive, Business 2.0, Ms Magazine, Bloomberg
Corporations/Institutions
Bayer, Miles Laboratories, Whirlpool, Northern Trust Bank, AM International, Northwestern University, Mitsubishi, Sears, Square D, Herman Miller, Zebra Technology, Warner Lambert.