SUNY New Paltz Printmaking

Spray Paint and Street Altars: The Complex Installations of Brett Cook-Dizney

Influenced by aspects of zoology, graffiti, community art, education and fine art, Artist and teacher Brett Cook Dizney spray paints his way into the world of elitism, racism, homeless Americans, and portraiture, in galleries and public spaces across the nation. Cook-Dizney is best known for his large, complex installations inspired by graffiti, which incorporate drawings, words, photographs, and personal objects with portraiture. Much of his work is politically and socially charged, as well as celebratory. His portraits of famous African-American individuals including Ida B.Wells, John Coltrane, Angela Davis, Toni Morrison and many more, become altars or open street stalls, overflowing with books, plants, portraits, and other objects associated with each cultural icon. A more personal iconographic figure present in his work is “grandma” – a matriarchal figure surrounded by medications, a girdle, vitamins, therapeutic shoes, jewelry, and needlepoint – an inventory of objects and a document of attitudes suggestive of grandmothers in African American life. With a desire to expose his work to a larger audience, Cook-Dizney creates works in high-traffic public spaces like construction site fences, and abandoned buildings in Harlem and Brooklyn. Armed with spray enamel, he paints socio/political images on visible surfaces in an effort to provoke dialogue. In another aspect of his work, Cook-Dizney provides a voice for community residents through social collaborations installed in neighborhoods where participants live. In public spaces, he and his collaborators bring art to a wide audience that does not always frequent museums and galleries. His partnership with some Harlem residents produced 10 Development/Gentrification installations. “It’s about giving people a voice, empowering marginalized communities," explains the artist. Brett Cook-Dizney received a B.A. in art from the University of California at Berkley. He has been exhibiting his work at museums and galleries since 1991. His public projects have been executed in cities from California to Maine, and internationally in Brazil, and Barbados. Some have been commissioned by museums or public agencies while others have been self-initiated interventions on abandoned spaces. He has received a number of awards including several grants from ArtMatters, and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, as well as residencies at Skowhegan School and the Studio Museum in Harlem. He is represented by PPOW Gallery.