Jim Taylor Photographs

Biographical note

Jim Taylor’s interest in photography began in childhood. Growing up in Maywood, Illinois, Taylor always had a camera in hand. He was so devoted to his hobby that he built his own enlarger and darkroom. Upon graduation from high school in 1941, he enlisted in the armed services and was assigned to the racially segregated U.S. Army Air Corps as an aerial photographer. Although his regiment stayed in the United States for the duration of the war, Taylor’s service in the armed forces later allowed him to attended college. From 1947-1951, Taylor pursued a B.A. in photography from the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design. Taylor was a member of the Southside Community Art Center, which was instrumental in establishing Taylor’s first studio, which he shared with two of his classmates, Ted Williams and Lacey Crawford. They formed a collective called Studio 402. While completing his degree, Taylor began working on small commercial projects for Chicago advertising firms, making enough money to pursue his interest in photographing jazz musicians and creating album covers for local artists like Phil Upchurch and Stan Bronstein. The notoriety he gained from his commercial work led to photojournalistic projects for Ebony and Downbeat. He served as official photographer of the Monterey Jazz Festival for fifteen years. In 1971, Taylor left studio work to help establish the Community Film Workshop of Chicago, which provides training in film and media production to people of color. As Chairman of the Board of Directors, Taylor developed the film curriculum, supervised artistic and administrative staff, served as a liaison between the organization and the film and television industries, and mentored many film artists. He also established himself as a film photographer, and worked on over 30 feature-length films and television movies.