GETTYSBURG, Pa. – “Food and Things Resembling Art,” by Lesa Cook, of Burkittsville, Md., will be on exhibit in the main art hallway of the Gettysburg Campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, Monday, Jan. 6 through Thursday, March 13, 2014. A reception for the artist will be held on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m.“This series of still life paintings started when a close friend that I grew up with in South Carolina had moved to Boston and was lamenting the fact that he couldn't find Duke's – a southern brand of mayonnaise. I used to mail him packages of Duke’s mayonnaise, especially in the summer when he would want tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches,” said Cook. “The first still life ‘Tomato and Mayo’ came out of that. Then I went on to do ‘Graham Crackers and Marshmallow Fluff’ and ‘RC Cola and Moonpie.’ I had a blast with the paintings, both because the colors were saturated and the lettering on the labels appealed to my inner graphic design geek. But, it also appealed to me because I realized that people have an emotional reaction to a lot of these ‘junk’ foods. They bring back memories. And, they are of the every day.”
Cook received a degree in studio art from the University of South Carolina. Her graduate work in computer graphics was completed at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. She continued her fine arts studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Md., and The Corcoran in Washington, D.C. Cook also studied at The Art League in Alexandria, Va. under Rob Liberace, Rick Weaver and Chuck Johnson.
Cook’s work has been shown regionally and nationally. She teaches at The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center in Frederick, Md. and Art Square in Leesburg, Va. She is also a copyist at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Cook considers herself a classical realist, drawing inspiration from the great masters and trying to capture not only the natural form but the emotional reality, as well.
For more information, contact Vanessa Larson at HACC’s Gettysburg Campus, 731 Old Harrisburg Road, at vvlarson@hacc.edu or 717-339-3509.
