Meet Jojo Korsh | Photographer & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jojo Korsh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jojo, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I think my career as an artist was fated from a young age, long before I realized this was the path I would pursue. At the age of 13 I took my first darkroom film class, and immediately fell in love with the process, but had never considered it as something I could do for a living. Like most kids from my hometown I assumed I had to become a lawyer or doctor so I chose the latter and went to USC initially as a pre-med student. I took a few photo electives in those early years, but was so focused on achieving this “dream” of becoming a doctor, even though I was falling behind academically every semester. After 3 years of trying to fit myself into a mold that was clearly not going to take, I finally accepted this was an impossible challenge and I needed to make a change.

Photography was the only thing I had left, it was a constant source of enjoyment and success that came naturally to me. When I finished my undergrad fine art degree I was still somewhat unsure where I fit in as an artist and a photographer, so I took a job in PR; it was my final attempt at a career path I considered “safe” and “normal”. Within a year I had left that job and was feeling totally lost, until I received a call about becoming a photo editor with Billy Farrell Agency (BFA). From there it felt very clear to me, this is what I was meant to do, so I threw myself into it completely, leading me to where I am today.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
My art practice comes from a place of survival and catharsis at its core. At 16, I was first diagnosed with anorexia and severe depression. Because of that, I think my earliest projects as a teenager felt like my first attempt to use an image and art as a way to scream out for help. As my practice continued in undergrad, art almost acted as a documentary of my recovery over time, through success and failure. It is no surprise that most of my work at the time, and still much of my personal work today, is centered around self-portraiture; how I feel in my body, how I feel in my mind, and how I have come to terms with what I have endured.

The work I am most proud of probably comes from the darkest moment of my life. Following a series of repeated sexual assaults, I decided to make a series of pieces that worked through my own PTSD and examine the rampant uptick in violence against women titled “Unsettled by Some Realities”. Over one semester, I tracked and logged every assault in LA County on a map, visited those locations to tag them, interviewed female activist and artist, Suzzane Lacy, and wrote a piece about my own experience. I arranged this all together in a book, video, and installation piece for my Senior thesis show. Even though it is nearly 8 years old, this piece will always be so incredibly important to me, serving as a source of great pride. It serves as a reminder of what my art can be and what I hope my work in the future will continue to envelope, serving as a platform for healing, vulnerability and awareness.

I think like many people, certainly many young women, I feel the weight of imposter syndrome in my career. I get to travel the world as a photographer. Paris, Milan, New York fashion weeks; Art Basel in Miami; Formula 1 in Las Vegas; The MET Gala, yet part of me still feels it’s not good enough, that I don’t belong in the rooms I find myself in. There’s a constant stream of self-criticism ranging from thoughts that I’m not doing enough personal work, I’m not doing enough commercial work, I’m not taking enough time to be a young adult, I’m doing too much work, etc. I think finding a way to quiet these voices has been the biggest challenge of my career so far. Whether that means letting myself actually celebrate the huge successes I’ve had or being supportive of the goals I have for the future without judgment or doubt.

I am so incredibly passionate about my work and am deeply invested in the photographer I am now, and the photographer I am becoming. I like to think that the lingering rawness and vulnerability of my personal work is something that has helped shape my eye as a professional. My study of large-format film photography and large-scale darkroom printing, coupled with my years of anatomy creates a delicate attention to physical detail across my work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The ocean is my favorite part of living in Los Angeles and I want every person who visits me to love it as much as I do. So a trip to visit me would 100% include at least one drive up to Malibu for a sunrise surf session at First Point. There would be a lot of breakfast burritos, I mean a lot: including some of my favorites at Great White, Bluey’s, and Cofax. We must have a downtown museum day hitting the Broad, Moca, and Moca Geffen; right now there is an amazing Paul Pfeiffer exhibit there. Maybe we would make it over to LACMA and Hammer the next day if we haven’t fully gotten our art fix. Dinners at Matsuhisa, Olivetta, Jon & Vinny’s, Little Fatty: drinks at Sunset Tower, and El Chuco would undoubtedly be on the schedule. And of course, a trip to Erewhon would be a must. Aside from the food being really good, I think it is the most LA place to ever exist and some of the best people-watching.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are many people who have meant so much to me in this journey, I don’t even know where to start. My professors and mentors at Roski, Charlie White, and Jennifer West, without them I would not be an artist at all. My amazing team at BFA; Billy, Steph, Cami, they’ve given me the most amazing platform for my career to takeoff. And as cheesy as it is, my friends and family deserve so much credit for supporting me through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I would be nothing without them.

Website: jojokorsh.com

Instagram: jojo_jpeg

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/johanna-korsh-91124a105

Image Credits
photos 1 2 3 4 6 7 are Jojo Korsh/ BFA.com 2 8 are Jojo Korsh Photography