Say What You Need to Say

Born in New York City in 1963, Schorr studied journalism at the School of Visual Arts, a background that continues to inform her observational rigor and narrative curiosity. She began her career as photographer in 1986, initially gaining recognition for work that challenged conventional representations of gender and sexuality. Drawing inspiration from a diverse array of sources—ranging from August Sander’s typological portraits to the romanticism of 1970s fashion editorials—Schorr developed a visual language that is both intimate and disorienting, often working with recurring subjects over long periods of time.

In addition to her editorial work for publications like i-D, Purple, Interview, and The New York Times Magazine, Schorr has created critically acclaimed campaigns for brands including Saint Laurent, Dior, and Miu Miu. Yet her practice has remained deeply rooted in the art world. Her photographs have been exhibited at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and Tate Modern, and published in several monographs, including Forests and Fields (2001) and 8 Women (2014).

Here, we catch up with the acclaimed image-maker who recently photographed Wanted Man II, the latest campaign for the Johnny Cash by JMM collection. (She also shot the original campaign in 2023.) We discuss her creative rituals, personal obsessions, and the emotional architecture of image-making, gleaning insights into the tension, vulnerability, and vision required to follow one’s art.

Jacques Marie Mage (JMM): You’ve lived and worked in many places around the world. How does a sense of place influence your creative practice, if at all?

Collier Schorr (CS): I’ve mainly lived in New York City and a small town in Germany- so really polar opposites. I think New York raised me and I could understand who I was by being someplace like Germany where everything about me was unfamiliar. So maybe comfort and discomfort both activate a creative response. 

JMM: Which are your favorite cities, and what are the qualities that make them special?

CS: I love certain cities at certain times of my life. Right now Paris feels good. I love my friends there and I love how Paris loves to be loved. It’s a cliche isn’t it, but it’s true. It’s so pretty and makes one feel swept up. I am also curious about Antwerp. And I’ve spent some time in Marfa, Texas, which was almost unreal. 

JMM: Does your approach to shooting “brand” or commercial photography differ from that of shooting “art” photography? If so, in what ways?

CS: A brand is someone’s family. That’s how I always think of it. And when you start to collaborate you are being invited in. I love when I get to work over a period of time with a brand because I start to feel all the threads and connections. Art is art. It’s forever, it’s painful, it’s young: it’s hard to imagine not feeling vulnerable in making and showing art. That’s why I do commercial projects. It’s not advisable to feel that vulnerable all the time. 

JMM: What would you say is your longest standing obsession?

CS: Denim, Neil Young, muscle cars, love letters. 

JMM: Are you a fan of Johnny Cash? What is your relationship to his music? Do you have a favorite song/album/period from his oeuvre?

CS: I love the Folsom Prison concert. I love how he’s the Man In Black. The high boots. He was incredibly successful in a somewhat conservative genre but, you know, he was so dimensional and didn’t always fit in. 

JMM: Who is somebody you’ve never worked with that you’d love to photograph?

CS: The list is getting shorter and shorter. Maybe there are three people on it. [Laughing] I really would like to photograph Vicky Krieps, the actress. 

JMM: Which photographer has most influenced you? Which artist (of any medium)?

CS: Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ana Mendieta. I feel like we all say the same names. I think I like to think that when young people are asked that question they have more women photographers to reference. 

JMM: What advice would you give a photographer at the beginning of their career? 

CS: Attempt to think of it as not a career. Pretend a career is a lofty idea. And just really want to do it to do it. To say what you need to say. No matter what. 

JMM: What song would you choose to dance to at 5 in the morning?

CS: “Borderline” by Madonna. 

JMM: Can you tell us the story of the last time you felt “out of your comfort zone”?

CS: Pretty much every week every time I’m about to jump into the unknown or a place in which I need to be accountable. 

JMM: Where do you go, what do you do, to be alone?

CS: My terrace. I look at the cityscape and I feel alone but not lonely.

JMM: What is your favorite erotic image?

CS: I’ll let my work speak for itself.