Josh Lee is an American artist living and working in NYC. Below he discusses his journey becoming a visual artist with mixed media applications and the art of fucking up a good photo.

Growing Up

I grew up on a military base in Germany but relocated to Georgia when I was 14. On the base, we lived in an apartment in a giant concrete box of a building. Very brutalist from my recollection, although the apartments were nice enough. There wasn’t much to do on the base, and we weren’t encouraged to socialize, so we entertained ourselves with whatever was around. My sister and I made up endless stories and adventures, building time machines out of cardboard boxes and forts out of pine branches in the bomb cratered woods. I think that resourcefulness carried over into adulthood too. Being a military brat, it’s hard to make friends when your family gets up and moves every 3 years. We were one of the few that stayed in one location for longer. Despite all this, my parents gave us the gift of travel. Christmases spent in Paris, summers in Italy, cabins in the Swiss Alps, visiting ossuaries in Prague – all of the cultures, art, and landscapes still influence me today.

First Creations

When I was 19 or 20, some friends and I made a music video in my living room using a MacBook front camera and the mirror effect. I couldn’t afford a camera at the time. It was creepy and purely visual, but I directed it and taught myself the editing software with a lot of trial and error.

When I Was Young, I Wanted to Be a Fiction Writer

Instead, I found myself doing visual display work in fashion but, ultimately, found it unfulfilling. The fashion industry isn’t known for having the most supportive employers – it’s a bit cutthroat. Someone above you in the hierarchy receives all the credit, and often you aren’t given the materials you need. This is where I felt the resourcefulness I learned as a child truly come into effect. When I look back to this time, emotions aside, I feel fortunate to have had the creative freedom and ability to make beautiful work for some awesome labels and houses.

Finding My Way

I suppose photography and filmmaking involve storytelling and visual design, making it seem like the most logical next step. Often, I find it much more effective to express myself visually than with words. I’m not sure if others feel this way, but talking can sometimes be exhausting. Not quite sure if I want to be known as only a photographer but, hopefully, a visual artist with mixed media applications. I’d hate to only take photos for brands and companies, although I do realize that’s where the money is. The world of photography is very, very oversaturated. Especially now, it’s hard to make your voice heard over millions on the internet. I think social media could be a great tool, but something about having to make your work so accessible bothers me. Most art is not meant to be viewed on a screen.

My Process

I like things a bit skewed and distorted; otherwise, it’s just a photo to me. Sometimes, I look at a photo and think, “how can I fuck this up”? I think society places too much attention on traditional beauty and perfection, so I like things a bit gritty and raw. I try to push limits and not regurgitate what’s already out there, but then again, is there any originality left? So, I take a perfectly good photo and fuck it up, either with house cleaning products, chemicals, paint, food coloring – often with in-camera alterations. With film, I don’t edit anything digitally, which is why I enjoy it more. The way it comes out is the way it is and often comes out better than if you tried to replicate it digitally. Quarantine really influenced my style. I had fallen out of love with digital, but there was nowhere to get my film developed with NYC’s lockdown. I started researching how to self process at home, but all the chemicals seemed unwise without proper ventilation. Then I came across a natural way to develop black and white film using coffee, vitamin c, and soda ash, and I enjoyed the process so much I’ve started doing mostly black and white. I also took old color negatives and soaked them in concoctions for months.

Inspiration

I find inspiration from lighting techniques, primarily inspired by tenebrism. Experimenting with different or strange ways to find new methods and outcomes. Also, nature and the occult.
The occult to me is: anything “otherworldly” and rooted in superstition. The occult was adamantly followed or, at least, believed at one time. I find that really fascinating. It’s fun to think of the possibility of such phenomena and that it was once taken as fact.
(We still have this today to some extent, found in the forms of religion and anti-science that have been especially highlighted during the pandemic).
I like to think the art I make can create that “otherworldly” ness.

There isn’t a lot of modern art I connect with, but many contemporary artists do extraordinary things. I get very inspired by classic artists, mainly from Spain, France, and Italy. I love Goya, especially his occultic work. Bosch and his strange and disturbing imaginings of the bible. De Riberas work with shadows and light, especially in pieces like Ixion. Bouguereau is another favorite.

Challenges

It’s always been a challenge to promote myself. I am terrible at that.
I often find my mind dancing back and forth between “who’s cares” and “I don’t care” when it comes to putting my work out there. Some days I don’t think I’ll be well received or maybe even bullied and others I’m like, “fuck em all.” It’s also a lot of work on your own.

It’s essential to be critical of your own work, but I find overthinking it usually ruins the authenticity. In the same way, caring less how it will be received has power in itself. Art isn’t always universal; it’s very personal because you’re making yourself vulnerable and exposing your deepest thoughts and emotions.

In the end, you are either creating and expressing or catering and trying to be agreeable.

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