Garylee McCormick
Garylees photography in "The Timmel Collection" are a mix of old and new, and reflect the photographers efforts to blend the old with the new. Some of the photos capture on film the misty image that appears when eyelids close but sleep is still moments away. That image is one in which physical beauty takes on a heavenly character. Garylees inspirations are everyday events and he uses them to show how an event from the Christian tradition might have looked had it happened in todays times.
Garylees silk screen prints begin with a posed photograph. He then scans the photos and makes changes. This process is then followed by both positive and negative color separations. These separations become different screens for each color making them have the look of old icons.
The icon plays a major role in Garylees work. Although he uses the modern media of photography, photo silk screen, and Xerography, as well as egg tempera, is work is mostly based in the tradition of the icon. This interest reflect the influence on his life as a Trappist monks and his many stays in Russia where he has studied traditional icon painting in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra Monestary in St. Petersburg. Having both lived and studied there, he looks at the world from a different perspective than most.
Garylee envisions Archangels as having human form: masculine, strong, beautiful, but also heavenly and spiritual. Archangels are portrayed in the bible as messengers and warriors of God, being mediators between God and man. He believes that each mortal has a guardian angel that intercedes and protects each of us.
His work reflects his lifelong interest to blend photography, art, and his religious faith.