Biography

Artist and educator, Debbie R. Cooke has worked for 37 years in art and art education. She received her undergraduate degree from Winthrop University and her M.F.A. from Clemson University. A former consultant for the Polaroid Education Program, Cooke developed the “Polacollage” technique. She has served as an Artist in Residence with the University of Georgia’s International Studies Program in Cortona, Italy and as Co-Chair of the visual arts department for the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts Summer Program. Ms. Cooke has received awards and grants from The South Carolina Arts Commission, The South Carolina State Department of Education, The National Endowment for the Humanities, and the South Carolina Art Education Association. Her artwork has been featured in magazines and publications and exhibited internationally. She currently teaches photography at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

Artist Statement

In ancient Roman culture, mosaics depicting exotic fruits and vegetables were created as a sign of wealth and standing. Although the form has changed over nineteen centuries, our American culture continues that tradition. Instead of mosaics, we have created the cult of the object: plum tomatoes from San Marzano, Italy; camera cell phones from Tokyo, Japan; and cloth from Ghana, Africa. To display our superiority, education and wealth, we have become consummate consumers. Artifacts, foods, beliefs, resources, traditions, and even talents are all fair game. We demand and acquire just about anything from anywhere. Thus, our own culture disappears. Recent works have been created in reaction to the Iraq War and serve as an epithet of American values and culture. Although the form of my work continues to change, I remain committed to creating work that examines the relationship between values and valuation in Western culture.