Garyk Lee: “LGBT Designer Creates Political Art That Makes A Difference: Don’t Be On The Wrong Side of History”

Separated by a powerful tree is Garyk Lee’s sensitive, haunting and compelling rendition of a humanity that cares as opposed to an apathetic community and the consequences. It’s an explosive message urging society to vote, become aware and involved.

On one side of the tree is a population branded by a kaleidoscope of color, laughter, fun, and parties, whereas the other side is marked by a dull, monochromatic, depressing, polluted, caged, society existing in a darkened, and oppressed world.

I spoke to Garyk hoping to grasp the exact meaning and influence of his poster and was rewarded with his thoughtful answers. The importance of his themed masterpiece is a relevant and current conundrum that affects us all….

Eileen Shapiro  What inspired your newest drawing, which is bound to become iconic?

Garyk Lee  Thank You…What really pushed me to create this vision of the country divided is the separation of children from their parents at the border as the parents sincerely came here to seek asylum. Their countries were becoming extremely dangerous and as any good parent…they were simply seeking refuge for their families. I was blown away with the stories of these …for lack of a better word…Concentration camps! Knowing what with social media we all have a voice…I decided to create a piece of Art with a strong message through little words.

Eileen Shapiro  Can you describe exactly what was in your head when you created it?

Garyk Lee  Being extremely upset with those precious children caged…I wanted to elude to the serious possibility that anyone that’s not in the bubble world our President seems to live in could end up being caged even if it’s through legislation passed that takes away their constitutional rights…It is clear, with this current administration getting in bed with far right, extreme evangelicals whose sole purpose is to be rid of the gay population is quite scary and more serious than most realize. I show all walks of humanity on both sides of the poster. A fantasy Happy Ever After on the Left and a doomed polluted, dark society on the right…While a harmonious society is never totally accomplished…Why not work towards it?

Eileen Shapiro What would you like to see happen with it?

Garyk Lee I would like to see it appear in as many places where people feel like their vote won’t matter…Each vote truly matters…seeing that less than half of America voted in 2016 is just wrong! I would like to see it up in businesses where young people gather…shared on the internet…used as a conduit to start discussions on how we can make a difference through being involved.

Eileen Shapiro Was this poster something that just came to you one day or have you thought about it for a while?

Garyk Lee It literally came to me in a day as most of my  “Fine Art lifestyle” prints do…I have a vision and I put it away in my mind…as soon as I have a moment I quickly sketch it rough and then I know I won’t lose sight of it…Once I have time to start rendering…I then work on it until its complete…It can get timely as it’s both hand-drawn and computer-enhanced…It involves photographing individual elements and then dropping them to scale into the picture.

Eileen Shapiro How can one get a copy of it?

Garyk Lee It is available on my website as a limited edition 18″ x 24″ Glossy Poster…Click shop at the top of my site.  www.garyklee.com

Eileen Shapiro What’s next for you? Will we be staying political?

Garyk Lee I’m sure I will always make my opinion heard if  I’m in a world that requires us to stand up for our rights…Unfortunately, I don’t see that going away…So, in answer…I would say yes…As far as my Art…I will continually produce new lifestyle prints…I have a new one that I will release this month…Currently, I am in pre-production on my How to show for my Youtube channel…I will be shooting it this fall…It is actually a continuation from my docu-dramedy “Garyk Lee Retro Reflection” … A How-To Lifestyle show that helps to understand that living among a beautiful environment doesn’t have to cost you the farm…