Johnny Joo
{{short description|American photographer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Johnny Joo
| image = Johnny Joo on Toilet.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = American photographer Johnny Joo in the village of Yellow Dog, PA May 2017
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| occupation = Photographer
| years_active = 2007-present
| website = {{URL|oddworldstudio.com/}}
}}
Johnny Joo is an American photographer. He photographs urban decay in abandoned and historic structures.{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/09/abandoned-structures-photos-johnny-joo_n_5295654.html|title=28 Abandoned Structures Still As Vibrant As The Day They Were Deserted|last=Campbell|first=Andy|date=May 9, 2014|work=HuffPost|access-date=26 November 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/haunting-photographs-abandoned-icons-american-dream-1586441|title=Haunting photographs of abandoned icons of the American dream|last=Sim|first=David|date=October 14, 2016|work=International Business Times UK|access-date=26 November 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://usaartnews.com/photo-video/16768|title=Johnny Joo Photographs Forgotten Structures Overtaken by Nature {{!}} USA Art News|last=Helen|website=usaartnews.com|access-date=26 November 2018}}
Work
Joo photographs abandoned and derelict buildings.{{cite news|url=https://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/04/exploring_the_abandoned_clevel.html|title=Johnny Joo captures abandoned places, from Mike Tyson's mansion to Geauga Lake|work=The Plain Dealer|first=Maura|last=Zurick|date=22 April 2016|access-date=7 February 2019|via=Cleveland.com}} He has taken photographs of the abandoned Land of Oz theme park on Beech Mountain, North Carolina,{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/land-of-oz-amusement-park-2016-3#while-keller-blames-some-of-the-more-recent-media-attention-on-the-park-for-the-vandalism-joo-respects-all-the-abandoned-places-he-photographs-i-love-piecing-together-the-history-and-past-lives-lived-within-these-spaces-there-are-so-many-pieces-of-our-history-scattered-all-along-the-country-that-i-feel-need-to-be-seen-with-many-of-them-currently-being-ignored-he-said-10|title=This bizarre Wizard of Oz amusement park has been closed for 36 years – a photographer got inside and took these eerie photos|work=Business Insider|access-date=26 November 2018}} Mike Tyson's former mansion in Ohio,{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2015/03/31/abandoned-mike-tyson-mansion/70714138/|title=Go inside Mike Tyson's deserted Ohio mansion|work=USA Today|access-date=26 November 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbssports.com/boxing/news/mike-tysons-former-ohio-mansion-is-being-converted-into-a-house-of-worship/|title=Mike Tyson's former Ohio mansion is being converted into a house of worship|work=CBSSports.com|access-date=26 November 2018}} and the Steele Mansion of Painesville, Ohio.{{Cite news|url=https://www.news-herald.com/news/ohio/mentor-photographer-discovers-love-for-steele-mansion-on-urban-exploration/article_14033e92-d1be-594a-884d-83ed4fed42e2.html|title=Mentor photographer discovers love for Steele Mansion on urban exploration|last=Turchan|first=Devon|work=The News-Herald|access-date=26 November 2018}} He self-publishes books of his photography, including Empty Spaces: Photojournalism Through the Rust Belt in 2014{{Cite news|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/empty-spaces-abandoned-places-photographs-by-urban-explorer-johnny-joo-1483589|title=Empty spaces, abandoned places: Photographs by urban explorer Johnny Joo|last=Sim|first=David|date=January 15, 2015|work=International Business Times UK|access-date=26 November 2018}} and Americana Forgotten in 2016.
Bibliography
- Empty Spaces: Photojournalism Through the Rust Belt. Self-published (May 2014)
- Americana Forgotten (soft cover first edition). Self-published (May 2016)
- Americana Forgotten (hard cover edition). Self-published (November 15, 2016) {{ISBN|0998101613}}
- Unbuilt by Time: The World We Once Knew. Self-published (2017) {{ISBN|978-0-9981016-2-0}}
Exhibition
- Unveiled – Solo show – Mentor City Hall, Mentor, Ohio, 2017{{Citation|last=TMC|title=[unveiled] Johnny Joo|date=March 15, 2017|url=https://archive.org/details/tmcoh-unveiled_Johnny_Joo|access-date=26 November 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.news-herald.com/news/ohio/alt-rock-concert-among-new-mentor-recreational-offerings-planned-in/article_73302f4f-31b0-5a91-aa92-e236a38bc9ca.html|title=Alt-rock concert among new Mentor recreational offerings planned in 2017, official says|last=Scott|first=Betsy|work=The News-Herald|access-date=26 November 2018}}