Shots like this emphasize the disorientation and altered states inside Studio 54. Credit: HASSE PERSSON / COURTESY OF THE NORDIC MUSEUM

Shots like this emphasize the disorientation and altered states inside Studio 54.

Shots like this emphasize the disorientation and altered states inside Studio 54. HASSE PERSSON / COURTESY OF THE NORDIC MUSEUM

Studio 54 gets top billing at the Nordic Museum‘s exhibition of <a href="https://www.thestranger.com/events/40056105/studio-54-and-beyond-the-photography-of-hasse-persson“>Hasse Persson’s photography, and while the shots of that über-trendy and exclusive New York nightclub are fascinating, the real highlights may be the “Beyond” material, which the museum has placed in the first part of the exhibit.

A Swede working in the United States during one of the country’s most turbulent cultural and political eras (roughly 1968 to 1980), Persson insinuated himself into some highly evocative situations. His black-and-white shots of major cultural and political figures include Muhammad Ali, Coretta Scott King, Bob Dylan, Jesse Jackson, and Richard Nixon. (Nixon is captured in a caustically funny triptych.)

Dave Segal is a journalist and DJ living in Seattle. He has been writing about music since 1983. His stuff has appeared in Gale Research’s literary criticism series of reference books, Creem (when...