Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Whatever, Pizza: the artwork of Gregory Scott Cook

Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Gregory Scott Cook explains his methods during an artist talk at Catapult Creative House on Feb. 1.
Photo by Monica Smith

Have you ever seen a three dimensional planet made from pizza? Students and residents from the Cape Girardeau area were confronted with that concept as Gregory Scott Cook encouraged the audience to think outside of the box with his ‘Whatever Pizza’ Art lecture and gallery Thursday and Friday evening at the Catapult Creative House.

Scott’s artistic styles center around making something out of nothing and figuring out solutions to make his ideas a reality. Resourcefulness is what he tries to instill in his students.

“Not having the tools you need isn’t a reason not to do the work,” he said. “Sticking with it is always the hardest part of anything really because no matter what you do,if it's worth doing it, it's gonna get hard enough that it feels like you should stop. There’s something about pushing at it as hard as you can.”

The Pieces in Scott’s gallery are a collection of random objects turned into interactive exhibits using made from scratch technology. One of his pieces in his gallery included an older Texas-Instruments calculator which he reprogrammed to send ghost messages. Some of his additional works include his website Whatever.Pizza, a website where the user can explore a three dimensional planet made from pizza.

Originally from Murray, Ky, Scott studied printmaking in college and now teaches visual communications at the University of Texas-Arlington.

Teaching is a an important part of Scott’s practice because it allows him to solve his own problems and share those solutions with others.

“I’m always learning from my students because they bring me more interesting problems than I can come up with,” Scott said.

Scott said other craftsman in his family sparked his interest in art.

“When I was a real little kid my grandfather put me in front of a welder and a bench grinder and I was like eight years old and he said start sticking stuff together,” he said. “It was kind of scary but at the same time it’s so exciting that you’re using these things that maybe aren’t really supposed to be for you but you’re doing whatever you want with them. And so I think that a lot of that has bled over into how I make things.”

Scott advised art students and students who are pursuing different majors to seek their own solutions to difficult problems.

“You have to be able to understand enough about the thing you're trying to solve to find your own answer inside of it,” he said.

To look more into Mr. Cook’s work, his exhibit will be at the Catapult Creative House from February 1st to March 31st. Guests are also encouraged to visit his website at Turnthatfrownupsidedownordontwhateveritdoesntreallymatter.com.

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