James J. Taylor (c. 1931 – February 10, 2005) was a

videographer Videography is the process of capturing moving images on electronic media (e.g., videotape, direct to disk recording, or solid state storage) and even streaming media. The term includes methods of video production and post-production. It used ...

instrumental in the creation of the Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive.

Biography

Taylor was born and raised in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

and graduated from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. He entered the creative arts working as a technician and stage crew member for a college production of the

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

opera ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'' during his senior year. Drafted after college into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, he was stationed in Japan and learned Chinese military terminology until being discharged in 1956. He then earned a master's degree in

cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He went on to take graduate courses in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

and

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

, and became a

city planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

in the 1960s, beginning in St. Louis. He went on to work in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, and by the 1970s,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1977, he left his career to enter theater, becoming a stage manager at Stage 70, which later became the Round House Theatre in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

, with the troupe the New Playwrights. He learned videography in the late 1980s while directing programs at a Montgomery County public-access cable channel. Using inheritance money after his father's death, he bought video equipment and began recording and editing live theater for archival purposes, securing permission from the

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...

in New York City to tape stage performances in Washington. His recordings of area theater and dance from 1993 formed the basis and the bulk of the Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive, stored at the Washington, D.C. Public Library system. In December 2004, the archive was donated to the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

's Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. On March 28, 2005, following Taylor's death the previous month, the archive was named after him.

Personal life

Taylor married and divorced

Mimi Cazort Mimi Cazort (August 26, 1930 – January 27, 2014) was a scholar and a former Curator Emerita for Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Canada. From 1970 to 1997, she was the Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Canada ...

, Curator Emerita at the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

. Their children include

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

Anna Domino Anna Domino (born 1955, Anna Virginia Taylor) is an American indie rock artist based in New York and Los Angeles who released several albums for Les Disques du Crepuscule and Factory Records in the 1980s and 1990s. Domino has collaborated with ...

and TV and film director Alan Taylor. James J. Taylor, who lived in Washington, D.C., at the time of his death, died of cancer at age 74, at Washington Home Hospice.

References

External links

James J. Taylor WAPAVA Collection
at the

. Retrieved 31 Jul 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, James J 1931 births 2005 deaths Washington University in St. Louis alumni Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies alumni