For Immediate Release - 05/31/11

ACP Announces recipient of 2011 Public Art commission

Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACPinfo.org) is pleased to announce that the recipient of its
annual Public Art Commission is Monica Cook of Brooklyn, NY (monicacookart.com).

Cook, traditionally a painter, has been expanding her oeuvre with stop-motion animation/
claymation for the last few years. Through her animations and sculptures, Monica has
experimented with transformations, including the literal and metaphorical mutation of human
into beast. She states “My work teeters between extremes that fortify and illuminate one
another, as do allure and repulsion, surfeit and want, desire and disgust. For me, these
extremes are the site of terrible beauty. I observe the subjects of my work with an unblinking
tenderness that revels in equal measure to their grotesqueries and flaws as to their strengths
and beauty, seeking a place where the two become indistinguishable.”

The project for ACP will be a sound activated, interactive animation (stop motion/claymation)
that will explore human-animal interface: Interspecies communication; animals as totems and
deities in early human cultures; anthropomorphism; and the ‘uncanny valley’ wherein human-
created beings, whether animated, robotic, or otherwise, hover in the disturbing zone between
real and imagined.

This animation will be activated by the sound of the audience's applause. In order for the
animation to play, clapping must continue, once it ceases, the visuals stop. Audience
participation is key; they must give in order to receive, yet, if the visuals appear slightly
questionable for the appropriateness of applause, the audience must decide to continue to
partake or withdrawal, knowing they could be equally judged if their interest overrides their
ideology.

The project, co-sponsored by Flux Projects, will make its public debut at FLUX, a one-
night art extravaganza in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood on Sept. 30th, and will be
presented at other locations throughout Atlanta during the month of October (locations
TBA).

ACP has a rich history of bringing lens-based, temporary public art to Atlanta, during
their fall festival. Previous projects have been produced by Paul Kaiser and Shelley Eshkar,
Amy Landesberg, Peter Bahouth, Joey Orr and Matt Haffner, Jason Fulford, Bradley McCallum
and Jacqueline Tarry, Beth Lilly and Karen Brummund.

For information, please contact ACP’s Program Manager: Michael David Murphy
info@ACPinfo.org

1135 Sheridan Rd. Atlanta GA 30324 404-634-8664 www.ACPinfo.org