Mt. Kisco Psychotherapist to Be Featured at Katonah Photo Exhibit
By Lindsay Emery
When you walk into Will Cook’s office in Mount Kisco, a large photograph of a guitar using bright red and white fiber optics greets you. The photo was made using a technique called light painting.
Cook is a psychotherapist with a strong love for photography that has led him to take a variety of striking pictures, from a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins with the Stanley Cup to hot air balloons, bald eagles and images made through light painting.
His photography became an instrumental part of his life in 2007, after he was in a self-described “burnout” state.
“For me, the photography breathed a new life into me,” Cook said. “It allowed me to really help my clients because I had a new energy.”
Cook uses metaphors in his practice and said that the photos in his office are used to relate to his patients. Cook said that he describes how to trust the instinct that he uses when shooting pictures to his own patients.
As a psychotherapist, Cook said it’s his job to help people restore a child-like state of awe and wonder and help them find out who they really are. That is what he aims to accomplish with his photography.
“I give people a different perspective because I’ll take what’s ordinary and find a way to unusually photograph it or make it pop or come alive,” Cook said.
By using his instincts, Cook said he tries to be a role model for his clients through his photography by showing them how beneficial it can be for them in their lives.
“When I made the commitment and I took the risk, it exploded and interesting things happened,” Cook said.
He has been contacted by news agencies in London and Brazil because they had seen his smoke art photography, which is the capturing smoke in an image.
Cook has a month-long solo exhibit opening Saturday at the 10536 Art Gallery in Katonah. The exhibit will feature 25 photographs, including landscapes, nightscapes, light painting and astrophotography. Cook prints some of his pieces on aluminum, which he says allows for the vibrant colors to become even more striking. His other pieces are printed on canvas, which can help portray textures particularly well.
He uses the interplay of light and the moment to create something magnificent, Cook said.
“I want to help people recover and rediscover the innocence that resides in the connection with who they really are,” Cook said.
Cook said that the idea of being creative allows people to find themselves and he is excited to be fully immersed in the art world.
He also wants to make a difference not only within his office, but outside of it as well. Cook has already booked shows through the end of next March, including some in Connecticut, and is excited for what the future has in store.
The solo exhibit by Will Cook will be hosted by 10356 Art Gallery, located at 103 Katonah Ave. in Katonah from June 1 to June 30. There will also be an art stroll, which will serve as the exhibit’s opening reception, on Saturday, June 15, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the gallery.
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