Don Cook

COOK , Don Don Cook, 60, an often exhibited Baltimore area artist, died October 1, 2010, at University Hospital in Baltimore, from complications involving a cerebral hemorrhage. Born in Midland, MD, May 21, 1950, Mr. Cook graduated from the University of MD, receiving his Bachelor's in English, with honors, in 1973. Early on, he distinguished himself as a writer by winning the Calvert Review literary prize for the best work submitted to the magazine that year. Shortly thereafter, the multi-talented Mr. Cook began a long and fruitful career as a visual artist. Using various media, Mr. Cook produced two and three dimensional works of astonishing variety, and his influences included his heritage in Western MD, the cityscapes of Baltimore, and his eclectic tastes in both literature and film. He exhibited widely, with works at C. Grimaldis Gallery, the MICA Faculty Exhibition, the MD Secretary of State's Touring Exhibition, Gallery Imperato, School 33, and Artscape to name a few. Cook's show, City Stories, with his good friend the late Kevin MacDonald, at Creative Alliance, led J. Bowers, in a review for CityPaper, to state: "Don Cook paints gangster novels...There isn't a single person walking Cook's angular, unblemished city streets but the hum of humanity courses through all of his canvases, forcing you to pluck a tenuous narrative out of the terse, provocative captions that accompany each piece...The words are both titles and clues, vague hints at what might be significant about a particular streetlight, alleyway, warehouse block -- why Cook is looking, and why we should look, too..." Another show, Solitary Woman in a Glass House, at the American Institute of Architects in 2007, combined his interests in the poetry of Emily Dickinson, architecture, and painting to create a stunning collection of what he called "visual translations of selected Emily Dickinson poems". Selected other works will appear posthumously at the Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC, in November. An inspired artist, teacher, mentor, and writer, Don Cook taught in both the Maryland Poets and the Artists-in-the-Schools Programs for several years. Prior to his illness, he taught as a Studio Investigations instructor for the MD Institute, College of Art's Summer MA in Arts Education Program and as a Foundation Department instructor there. He also worked for the MD Historic Trust, where he produced mapping, architectural drawings, design projects, and taught seminars in drawing for field data collection. A recipient of three MD State Arts Council Individual Artist Grants and three Mid-Atlantic Foundation Visual Arts Residency Grants, among others, Mr. Cook also served as a Resident Artist at Creative Alliance from 2003-2006. He is survived by his parents, Donald and Libby Cook, of Cumberland, MD, several other relatives in that area, his former wife and dear friend, artist Linda Reeves, and a student and artist community that he noticeably changed and who won't soon forget him.
A memorial service to celebrate the life and works of Don Cook will be held at Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore, MD on Wednesday, November 3, 2010, at 7 PM.