Ep. 222: Jim Jocoy (Photographer)

In 1969 the family settled in Sunnyvale, California, and in 1976, at the start of the San Francisco punk scene, Jocoy became a student at UC Santa Cruz. By 1977 he had dropped out of school and spent his nights immersed in the bourgeoning San Francisco club scene. In full embrace of the culture, Jocoy and his friends explored art in every way they could: forming bands, making photographs and films, writing poetry and publishing zines.

Jocoy obsessively photographed what was in front of him. In bedrooms, bathrooms, strip clubs, at punk shows, alleyways and bars. Jocoy found outlets for showcasing his photos in his own punk/art zine, Widows and Orphans, as well as in seminal SF zines Search and Destroy, REsearch, and Punk Globe.

During this time Jocoy’s photos were shown in public only twice, the first, a show held at San Francisco State University featuring the Xerox color prints he’d produce during off hours at the photocopy shop where he worked, and later as a slide show presented at William Burroughs’ 70th birthday party. It wasn’t until 20 years later, through a series of serendipitous events, that Sonic Youth front man, Thurston Moore, and fashion designer, Marc Jacobs, collaborated to produce what would become Jocoy’s first and highly praised book, We’re Desperate, (Powerhouse, 2002) widely regarded as a celebration of the scene’s influential fashion.

https://www.instagram.com/jimmyjocoy

Credits

Stephen Bluhm - Sound Engineer and episode editor

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.stephenbluhm.fun⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Rich Wexler

Producer/Interviewer

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Episode Editors

Otter Castro

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