The exhibition including more than 100 photographs by Chris Cook offered by the Valentine Museum of Art was displayed in the Library and in various other campus locations for the entire year. The photographs were taken during the protests in 2020.

Chris Cook is a New York based freelance photographer born and raised in Brooklyn. Cook has exhibited his pieces in group gallery exhibitions throughout New York, from Lower East Side to upstate Auburn.

Artist Statement

Since 2013, I have called myself a “native tourist.” I’m a Brooklyn native who has the confidence of a local and an eye of a tourist. I capture images in my daily routine freezing moments in time. My eyes are always anticipating a “decisive moment” in each photograph. The fulfillment of each narrative I choose to represent is not realized until an image has been processed and reproduced.

Through photography, I’m creating an archive of how I visualize life. I focus on connecting the past and the present. I enjoy the experience of human interaction in all of my work. I’m constantly noticing emotions and symbols which are aesthetically pleasing. I believe I’m a creator of my images. I process and reproduce visuals in multiple techniques. I enjoy experimenting with materials such as canvas, paper and more to push the boundaries of fine art photography. My photo projects create a patchwork representation of a complicated and expansive communities, seeking to be both timeless and specific to that era.

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