Joseph Lomax's Life
A few years ago we received the Joseph Franklin Lomax materials from his brother John Lomax III. The collection is not completely ready for patrons, but in honor of Pride Month, we wanted to highlight it.
On February 19, 1949, Joseph Lomax was born into a family that loved and preserved music. His grandfather John A. Lomax and uncle Alan were famed song collectors. His father John, Jr. managed Lightnin' Hopkins, helped found the Houston Folklore Society, and recorded three albums and performed often.
Clifton Chenier, ca. 1980, photographer: Joseph Lomax
Joseph Lomax like his family never turned away from music. He documented Zydeco in the article "Zydeco-Must Live On!" from the book collection What's Going On? (In Modern Texas Folklore). He assisted the Houston Folklore Society. He co-owned Wings Press, which published the very collectible For the Sake of the Song song book by Townes Van Zandt. He began performing folk songs in the early 1980s, one of his last projects came at the Texas Tall Tellin' and Music Festival in May 1986 with frequent accompanist, Hally Wood.
Unknown, photographer: Joseph Lomax
Lomax also took photographs, lots of photographs. They detail his life in Montrose and his friends, parties at his home, photo shoots of Hally Wood and Frank Davis, nature, architecture, and his love of neon art. His collection contains many photographs of him though it's unclear if he took them.
Joseph Lomax, 1970s
In the 1970s as detailed in his journal in the collection, he began to struggle with his identity. He would later come out to his friends and family. One letter in the collection from his uncle Alan Lomax is an apology for his initial reticence to accept his nephew's sexuality.
In 1986, Joseph Lomax was diagnosed with Kaposi sarcoma and later HIV. From a set of pages dated September 16, 1986, he writes about waiting for his official diagnosis, and what comes next in his life. He struggles with giving up and assigning everything to karma and his life force being ready to leave this realm or the inverse of his karma wanting to fight. Drawing upon his work as a massage therapist, he wonders if there are alternative remedies outside the traditional medical establishment. While it's unclear what all he explored, there are photographs of him in the collection receiving acupuncture.
Sadly, Joseph Lomax passed on January 9, 1988, one of the many victims of the AIDS crisis. His memory is preserved in his collection, but also the AIDS Quilt. His panel sparkles like his collection does.
Screenshot of Lomax's panel from the AIDS Memorial Quilt website
If you'd like to hear more about Joseph from his brother John Lomax III, you can check out this link.
