Photographer J. Monroe on Using Art as a Catalyst

Growing up during the Myspace era comes with its own set of benefits. For some young people, the social networking platform provided an opportunity to use technology to make connections. For others, Myspace was the entryway to a world of creativity—and the start of content creation—providing its users with access to graphic and web design. 

For creative James “J. Monroe” Scott, the latter is true. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native and Langston University graduate’s affinity for creating runs deeps. The son of two entrepreneurs with a mom in web design, J. Monroe’s early years seem to foreshadow the trajectory that led him to where he is today. 

“I’m an artist because I truly do feel like everything that I do is a form of art for me,” J. Monroe told THE BLOCK. “I put my creativity into every aspect of my work.” 

As the CEO and founder of the New York-based Monroe Media, J. Monroe leads the multimedia consultant firm that specializes in graphic design, photography and a host of other creative services. The self-taught creative with natural instincts happens to have everything that the firm offers its clients in his personal repertoire. 

If you name it, he’s taught himself how to do it—everything from logos and animations to video concepts and television and movie decks. It all started with an interest in Photoshop that offers users the power to manipulate visuals. 

“Photography, graphics and design have always been a thing of mine,” he told us. “I tell people, Photoshop is the gateway drug, that was my gateway drug into art. From that, I picked up a camera because I used to be interested in modeling, and I would want to take my own pictures and manipulate them.” 

As J. Monroe continued to hone his craft in high school and throughout college, educators started to take notice and provided opportunities for hands-on experience in graphic design and photography. It wasn’t until a move to Atlanta provided revelation that the nine-to-five grind was lacking. Then, in 2017, a significant birthday occurred. On this day, he cut ties, no longer being an employee and took hold of Monroe Media full-time. 

Since then, he’s been going full-force, using his ability to upsell his skillset and firm’s offerings to  generate more business and opportunities for exposure and expansion into other creative arenas. What started as a photoshoot with a youth pastor eventually led to a campaign with the Vatican in Italy. A simple conversation with Derek Blanks evolved into him writing a treatment for one of rapper T.I.’s videos. All of this is a by-product of consistency and allowing your hard work to speak for itself. 

Since J. Monroe’s appearance on Hulu’s “Exposure,” a reality show where eight photographers compete for a prize, his personal brand has evolved as he transitions from behind-the-scenes to being more visible with hopes of shedding more light on his art. 

I’m a little black boy from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I’m literally my generation’s dream. I’m a black-owned business from Black Wall Street that was burned down. [I’m an] offset of what that could become.

J. Monroe

While the path to Monroe Media was not always straight, J. Monroe has always used his African American and Muscogee Creek culture, as well as his hometown, as inspiration. The TV in his childhood home was a portal to an outside world that he couldn’t quite touch, like the visuals from videos that aired on “106 & Park” or images that were printed in Ebony or Essence magazines.

“If I’m going to be a part of this world, I want to be able to contribute to it, and what I saw as a child is kind of what inspires me today,” he said. “And then, the biggest inspiration is where I want to be.”

“The fact that I started on Myspace shows that social media has always had an impact on what I create and how I create,” he added. “I’ve always wanted my stuff to be seen outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. So, me sharing my work has always just been trying to show people ‘Hey, just like people in New York and LA and Atlanta and Houston, there’s talent everywhere.’ So, it was more so me saying ‘Hey, see me.’”

Some of J. Monroe’s past work features black and white, which he described as his “black and white phase.” During this time, he shot fashion series, headshots and landscape images all in black and white. Now, he’s in a phase where he shoots Black women au natural, highlighting the differences, variety and beauty of Black culture. 

“It’s always bantu knots or braids or an afro or something different to show people,” he explained. “I feel like the fashion industry kind of creates Black women to only be like a caricature, you have to be extra dark or have extra big lips. We’re just beautiful people. Can we just be beautiful and exist as that?”

From the early stages of his career, J. Monroe had to overcome being placed into a box. Having a well-versed skillset somehow made it easier for others to encourage him to focus on just one talent at a time, which wasn’t his intention. 

“I was born at Black Wall Street, but my [mentality] was raised in the Harlem Renaissance,” he explained. “We’re in the current day Harlem Renaissance.” 

renaissance means someone is ultimately good in an array of things. Having that mindset has kind of helped me field myself as a renaissance man.

That’s why I’m  able to touch on so many different artistic avenues and be able to flourish in them in some capacity because I just want to create.

J. Monroe

Connect with J. Monroe via his website and Instagram.