Process, Progress, & Future Goals: A Q&A with EJ Mañón
By KBR
With a big city comes endless creative competition, but what makes an artist stand out from the rest? Originally from Mexico City, EJ Mañón is a photographer and journalist making more than just a splash in the Phoenix, Arizona art scene. Signed to Contagion Media since 2021, EJ is known for his personable attitude and emphasis on teamwork – both critical for successful productions. Since diving deeper into creativity, EJ has been published internationally, with his work emphasizing fashion, theatrical, and editorial. To reflect on his immense progress in the industry, I sat down with EJ Mañón to reflect on his creative journey thus far:
Photo of EJ Mañón
Q: Can you tell us about your creative process and how it influences your work?
A: My creative process starts with an idea or concept and the aesthetic. The aesthetic is inspired and most often taken from pop culture. I look for images that evoke feelings, experiences, and are aesthetically pleasing or impactful. This helps my work, to express patterns and geometric forms and support or execute those ideas with artistry and joy.
In my experience taking inspiration from culture and pop culture specifically can help to stretch and play with concepts. This isn’t new. Many artists search for an angle in other art pieces and they turn them into something fresh, almost new. The influence comes from the idea that I extract from the popular landscape. I mix the idea over and over and allow me to reinterpret that concept and make a new angle.
Q: Are there any artists who inspire you in your work? If so, can you tell us how they inspire you?
A: Yes, there are artists and photographers that fuel my inspiration like Annie Leibovitz, Dave La Chapelle, Vanessa Joy, Chris Night, Comic Book creator Alan Moore and film makers like Guillermo Del Toro and David Lynch. Also, local artists and photographers have inspired so many ideas and inspired me in so many ways. They inspired me with their craft and how they manage to create stunning imagery. The aesthetic is one of my goals. There is also a message in my work and I want to make it more of a sensation and an experience. The way all these artists inspire my work is to push the concept and materialize it.
Photo by EJ Mañón
Q: What do you want your clients to experience when they work with you?
A: I want them to experience how cool it is creating images. The confidence in what they want to show to their clients and audiences. Also, it is so valuable when they feel in a safe space and included in the process of making their photos. The clients can become part of something fun, meaningful, intentional and very helpful to explore their most satisfying feelings. Experiencing the excitement in creating lasting memories and imagery. Also, beautiful images that they can look at in the next few years.
Q: How do other art mediums influence your work?
A: Literature and cinema are helping me enter new worlds and create more intricate and complicated concepts and push myself to make it as clear and impactful as possible. Painting and music also help with the rhythm of my work. I try to visualize music as an inspiration for ideas. Cinema also can be the perfect tool to unify image, sound and movement. I am entering a new stage of my life and I do feel that developing more tools to help express the feelings that are within me can help and create an experience for others and maybe open conversations.
Photo by EJ Mañón
Q: How has your creative career changed since you started focusing on editorial and fashion work?
A: My career changed in different and significant ways. I feel the editorial and fashion work help me through these last couple years in opening myself to new ways of working and preparing the shoots. Basically, the way of this style is more discipline-oriented. There is also the process of planning the shoot and executing it that feels more empowering. This fast paced environment helped me prioritize the way I work my shoots and how to create the concepts with a more precise and assertive way.
Q: What is your proudest accomplishment as a photographer/artist?
A: I am proud of my work in the fashion area, but there is a lot to learn still. Nonetheless, I feel more interested in making more content and reaching a goal of making photography an interdisciplinary outlet. I do feel my major accomplishment is yet to come but in terms of what I have been doing in terms of creating images, my biggest accomplishment that I am proud of is being published in different magazines and working in fashion shows, one of them with Contagion Media.
Q: How has working with the Contagion team affected your work?
A: My work has been affected in many and positive ways. I believe the team work and team effort make me feel part of something bigger. It also helped me to be more in focus in the projects and gave more perspective on how things need to be done and how a team oriented staff can overcome challenging situations. Their trust in me has helped me to overcome some fears related to anxiety. The Contagion Media team helped me to be my best self.
Photo by EJ Mañón
Q: What are some of the biggest dreams you have for your art journey?
A: One of my biggest dreams is to be featured in a famous magazine, specifically Vogue, with a concept related to painting. I would like to start introducing my photography in an art gallery and have my art being displayed. I would really like to create concepts to be shown in a gallery and create a series. The goal will be to make a mix up of cultural and artistic angles in order to create eclectic products.
Q: What can your fans expect in the future?
A: They can expect me to do more cosplay in my photography. I want to achieve more concepts that can intertwine with other pop culture concepts to create crossovers. I want to print more of my work. I will probably start making more video content that is film-oriended.
The vast number of artists may seem intimidating at times, but the artist as an individual is always what sets them apart. EJ Mañón is a stand-out photographer/artist in the Arizona media industry that has paved his own way through compassion, kindness, determination, and dedication. Making an impact through fashion, cosplay, and editorial photography, EJ Mañón’s refreshing and authentic spirit sets him apart as one of the top creatives to work on your productions.
Want to work with EJ Mańón? Contact Contagion Media or Book a Shoot.
