A new exhibition from Chicago native Patric McCoy's photographs is an evocative look at gay Black men in Chicago during the 1980s — and a window into a community that's often been overlooked and stereotyped.
Chicago native Patric McCoy worked as an environmental scientist for the EPA for decades. In his free time, he documented the environment around him, taking pictures every day during much of the 1980s.
“One day, one of my friends who worked at Helix Camera Store said, ‘You need to step it up,’” McCoy said. “When I would go through all the different neighborhoods, invariably somebody would holler out to me, ‘Hey, take my picture!’” McCoy said, laughing. McCoy got to know people, often taking their picture multiple times. Many of them were regulars at the Rialto Tap in the South Loop.
“It’s a slice of Black American male life that we don’t see in art, you don’t typically see in museum,” said artist Juarez Hawkins, who curated the show. But as the ‘80s gave way to the ‘90s, McCoy felt less safe carrying his camera everywhere. Crack came into Chicago. And AIDS was taking a heavy toll.
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