“Detroit After Dark” includes dramatic architectural studies, street scenes, graffiti and otherworldly vignettes as well as some of Detroit’s famous night haunts, like the premier jazz club Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, the legendary Grande Ballroom and punk and garage rock dens such as Bookie’s Club and the Gold Dollar.
While most of the photographers are from Detroit, the exhibition also includes rare after-hours views by Robert Frank, such as his 1955 “City Hall, Detroit.” A small supplement of work from Paris and New York, taken between 1920 and 1960, will also be on view in an area adjacent to the gallery, establishing Detroit’s part in a visual tradition and history shared with other great cities and the photographers who have shaped the genre of night photography.
From photography depicting notable Detroit musicians and the legendary concert halls, night clubs and even art galleries where they performed, to photography that alludes to Detroit’s more recent gentrification, you won’t want to miss this fabulous display of Detroit’s colorful and evolving history.
