We never knew until we snagged the press release from White Walls Gallery in San Francisco, California, that Brett Cook-Dizney was actually born Brett Cook, and that the "Dizney" was in fact an adopted pseudonym used during his days of tagging as a teenage graf writer in San Diego where he executed a number of murals attacking social topics like homelessness and racism. We're assuming that the statute of limitations has run out on any arrest warrants.
White Walls is hosting a solo exhibition of the artist whom we also remember as a graduate of the Studio Museum's highly-regarded residency program. The show, entitled "Reflections," includes two of the monumental, shrine-like, kaleidoscopic self-portraits for which Brett is best known. The show also includes work from the "Models of Accountability" series. Ok, so the title might sound like homework, but the work itself consists of portraits and texts of social transformers (Mohandas Gandhi, Arundhati Roy) painted on mirrors.
Honestly, we had wondered where Brett went, as we seemed to be hearing his name less often than we used to. We're glad to hear he has been continuing his practice of socially engaged art in the U.S., Brazil, Barbados, and Mexico, and continues to work as an active teacher and lecturer.
