CONZO: A LOOK BACK AT THE BRONX, 1977-8. Joe Conzo. until April 21. 202. Bronx Documentary Center, New York – Usa

Born in 1963 in the South Bronx, Joe Conzo Jr. acquired a passion for photography as a young boy. By some combination of luck and circumstance, as a teenager Joe found himself at the very center of cultural and activist movements changing the Bronx. His father was the personal confidant of Tito Puente, promoting some of the biggest salsa shows of that time; his grandmother, Evelina López Antonetty, was a community activist known as the Hell Lady of the Bronx; and Joe’s classmates at South Bronx High School were literally birthing the culture of Hip Hop. Starting at the age of 10, Joe began to carry his camera daily, photographing everything from school walkouts, to the infamous fires ravaging the Bronx, to rap battles between the Cold Crush Brothers and other foundational Hip Hop groups. Forty-five years later, Joe’s images provide an unmatched and intimate document of the complex forces that created today’s Bronx. The silver gelatin prints in this exhibition were created at the BDC from Joe Conzo’s original negatives generously loaned by Cornell University.

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Joe Conzo. Born and raised in the Bronx, Joe Conzo Jr. acquired a passion for photography as a young boy. He went on to study at the School of Visual Arts (NYC) and eventually joined the United States Army and received certification as a Combat Medic. He joined the NYC Fire Department as an emergency medical technician, a role that delivered him to the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001. He continued his photography and published a seminal book on Hip Hop culture that has received worldwide acclaim—“Born In The Bronx: A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop” (2007). In 2008, this entire collection of images became part of a permanent archive housed at Cornell University. The digitization of over 10,000 of Conzo’s film images has already begun—progress can be viewed at the Cornell University Library’s website. This collection is regarded by genre experts and academia as an important lens into the roots of Hip Hop culture, the urban NYC landscape of the 70’s and 80’s, and an integral source for any scholarship and discussions about the movement.

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The Bronx Documentary Center is a non-profit gallery, educational center, and cultural resource. The BDC uses community-based documentary practice and education to explore vital issues, stimulate critical thought, and drive social change.

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