Wendy Robert
Rich Allen’s gritty, black-and-white photographs offer a raw and unflinching look at a specific slice of New York City in the 1970s: the world of biker culture. These aren’t your romanticized biker gang images; Allen’s work focuses on the less glamorous side, hinting at the harder edge of this subculture.
The 1970s were a turbulent time for New York City. The city was facing a severe financial crisis, crime rates were soaring, and entire neighborhoods were left decaying and abandoned. This atmosphere of urban decline seeped into all aspects of life, even the seemingly insular world of biker gangs.
Allen’s photographs have a direct, almost documentary-like feel to them. He’s not trying to glamorize his subjects – the chopper gangs, the Hell’s Angels, and other gritty characters populating the streets of 1970s New York. His compositions are often stark, with an emphasis on contrasting light and shadow, giving the images a sense of foreboding and raw emotion.
One of Allen’s most striking series focuses on the chopper gangs that roamed the city. These were groups of young men who customized their motorcycles, chopping off parts and extending others, creating long, loud, and visually distinctive machines. Allen’s photos capture them hanging out, their choppers often lined up with an almost militaristic precision that belies their outsider status.
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