Louis Jacinto began photographing in 1975 and is noted for his images of the Punk Rock music scene in Los Angeles.
Both Jacinto and the East L.A. art collective, ASCO crossed paths throughout the 70’s and 80’s, most notably in Jacinto’s series of photographs documenting an exhibit, “GRONKPATSSIPARTY” in ‘78. Three images from that event were featured in the ASCO Retrospective in 2011 as part of the Pacific Standard Time: Art In Los Angeles 1945 – 1980.
In ‘81 and ‘82 Jacinto was the official photographer for the Sunset Junction Street Fair in Los Angeles. His images captured a neighborhood coming together – gang involved youth and the queer community – working side by side for the betterment of all Los Angeles.
In 2017 Jacinto participated in 3 Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA exhibitions. Jacinto exhibited his work in Axis Mundo, a survey of Queer Chicano artists in Los Angeles. He co-curated two Pacific Standard Time exhibitions. With art historian Kene J. Rosa, Here/There looked at Latino artists in Southern California and artists they knew from Latin America. Along with art critic Mat Gleason, Jacinto curated Nervously Engendered: The Art of Gerardo Velasquez, a retrospective of the pioneering punk artist.
His most recent museum exhibition is Copy Machines Manifesto which opened at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and is on view at the Vancouver Art Gallery in Canada.
In 2020 Jacinto was named Cultural Trailblazer by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
