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Anthony Lee has always felt drawn to something bigger. For him, life is about more than just a pretty picture. It’s about engaging, connecting and making an impact.
During his time at CCS, Lee was mentored by prominent Detroit artist and CCS Professor Gilda Snowden (1954-2014). Snowden offered Lee his first job working with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Detroit – sparking his love for mural painting. Since then, he’s painted more than 260 murals, partnering with well-known organizations, including DTE, Mercedes-Benz, the Detroit Pistons, American Citizens for Justice, the City of Detroit and Detroit Public Schools.
We had the opportunity to speak with Lee as he worked on his latest project, a collaboration with City Walls Detroit and the People Mover for the NFL Draft, and got to know him a little better.
The Interview
“I like mural painting because it’s public. It requires you to engage in environmental communities if you’re doing it right. That fulfills my desire for social practice but also fulfills my desire to paint.”
– Anthony Lee
How did you become interested in mural art?
I went into fine art because I wanted to find deeper meaning than just drawing and painting. And I fought within myself, how big can a painting be? I became obsessed with social practice for a while, where you show post-studio artwork and show how art can make a difference instead of just being in a studio all the time. I found that I didn’t have to sacrifice painting to do post-studio stuff because I’d be doing sculpture and performance. It was really cool, but I didn’t feel like I was engaging with a lot of people.
I like mural painting because it’s public. It requires you to engage in environmental communities if you’re doing it right. That fulfills my desire for social practice but also fulfills my desire to paint.
Can you tell me more about this project with the City of Detroit? How did you become a part of this project?
The People Mover project was posted by City Walls Detroit, a program sponsored by Mayor Duggan to combat blight and partner with businesses and neighborhoods that need some TLC, some care and some artwork. After getting a few years of success, they have bridged on to bigger things in the city. So, not just residential walls or business walls. Now, it’s the People Mover.
This mural was designed specifically for when tourists come for the NFL Draft. They wanted to have artwork that would be lasting and that would be there for long after the event, and also give people a sense of what Detroit is about.
My pitch was, “If we’re going to talk about Detroit at all, we’ve got to talk about Motown.” So I recommended using Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson. There are so many artists you could add. They wanted an old and new kind of vibe, too. So, I decided to add Eminem because of his contribution to rap history, but also Big Sean because of his contribution to Detroit.
What has the experience been like? What does this project mean to you?
The experience has been really, really awesome, super humbling.
I can see the responsibility at the moment because the People Mover station is a place people go to every day. And as I’m working on it, it was cool to see, like, young and old people be like, “What is that?” “Dang, that’s Smokey.” “Man, Aretha.” You know, it was cool to see the, “Oh, that’s Eminem.” I’ve had people come by to just shake my hand or say something nice. It seems like it means a lot to people in the neighborhood.
It seems that when people care about a space, it makes them want to care about it a little bit more. When you have pride in that area, it’s kind of infectious. Everyone gets this kind of pride.
It’s always good to see art serve a function other than just being pretty, you know what I’m saying? Which is sometimes all it needs to be, too. But it’s cool when it can serve a bigger purpose.
“It makes them want to care about it a little bit more. When you have pride in that area, it’s kind of infectious.”
– Anthony Lee
You’ve worked on some amazing projects. You’ve collaborated with organizations like FanDuel, the Detroit Pistons and American Citizens for Justice. Was there ever a moment where you were like, “Wow! This is it. I’ve made it!”?
Routinely. Almost every day I paint. Specifically right now as I’m working on the People Mover project. It’s cool because it’s part of Detroit’s DNA now. I’ve done so much stuff in the city. But just to know that it’s a city-sponsored project, and neighborhoods and businesses accepted my design. This, like, Chinese dude from the suburbs, when there’s not that many Asians around here. They saw a lot of value in my idea and wanted it to help represent Detroit.
Another important thing was the American Citizens for Justice mural, which got me in The New York Times. It was insane. I was going to CCS, longboarding over to Detroit Chinatown, trying to figure out why is this all abandoned. What’s going on here? Trying to dig and figure out how I could do something to show some love to the area. And then for 10 years, I’m researching, finding out there’s tons of trauma from the riots and racism, and what happened to Vincent Chin when he got killed, the injustice that drove Asian-Americans out of there. There was just so much injustice. Talking to the locals that lived there, there was so much trauma. So when I was called to have that painting put in Chinatown for Vincent Chin, it felt like, wow, okay. My community sees me, even though I hadn’t been deep in the Asian community at that time. They valued and needed my work.
I was, like, dang, I was born to do this. There’s a lot of meaning here and I can’t not meet this moment.
More about Studio Art & Craft at CCS. →
What do you love most about what you do?
I like engaging with spaces and painting large-scale, learning about new environments and engaging with new people.
This art form makes me step out of my comfort zone and forces me to engage. At every project, I’m always like, that was great. I’m glad I did that. I’m glad I learned something. I learned about an Arabic business, or I learned about horticulture, or I learned about this culture in general or this neighborhood. I didn’t know that. That keeps me curious and helps me with problem-solving.
The best part of being an artist is that you’re always reinventing yourself. You don’t ever have to close the book on yourself. You can constantly, at any point in your life, reinvent yourself and you’ll feel refreshed.
Making art makes us a part of this greater human tradition of creating in general. And that makes me feel like I’m in the same lineage as great artists, you know? I’m not saying that I’m the greatest artist, but, I feel like I’m in the same family or tribe of artists who have been here before. Other muralists like Diego Rivera and other street artists in general.
How did CCS prepare you for your career?
CCS helped me connect with people. It has taught me different techniques and processes that I didn’t consider before. It taught me the value of asking the right questions and prioritizing the right things in your process, and respecting and appreciating your practice. Disciplining yourself to do what you have to do to get the function or job done, you know?
The biggest thing is the people, though. The connections, the friends, the people you bumped shoulders into in the gallery, or who you had one class with. Those lasting memories and moments that – even though I graduated in 2016 – I still bump into people from school. I still get people hitting me up like, yo, I got this job. Do you want to do it?
When I first started, people from CCS would hit me up, and – Andrew Eckert, who worked in the Yamasaki Building, would hit me up about mural gigs. People would ask for murals at CCS, and they would refer to me. That would keep me fed. Sometimes those lifelines, without CCS even knowing, would keep me afloat for a little bit.
