He was a multi-talented artist and professional dancer. After earning the role of principal dancer with the Los Angeles Repertory Company, Cook traveled the world. He returned to New Orleans where he established a studio in the mid-1980s.

Cook’s work is sometimes characterized as “disassemblage.” Often presented as an amalgam of incongruent objects “sculpture completely distinct from its individual parts, yet obviously borne from them,” Cook’s work also incorporates figurative elements and other more elusive forms. He was known to bind notes and other items in assemblage pieces. This practice by the artist was likened to his affinity toward gris-gris or Nkisi figures. Revered in the Congo region of Africa, Nkisi are believed by some to embody “defensive power and was used to protect a community. To complete this sculpture, a ritual expert placed potent ingredients associated with supernatural powers in the cavity carved into the figure's abdomen. Nails and blades activated the spirit that was now accessible through the figure.”

Similarly Cook, a one of the City of New Orleans greatest ambassadors, was also a surrogate guardian of the City’s cultural traditions. This is evident in the artist’s response to Hurricane Katrina, a transformational event in his life. In the aftermath of the storm Cook documented the refugees of the most significant disasters ever to impact the United States. As he had done in the past, Cook repurposed some of the “residue” Katrina’s residual effects. Cook repurposed a rusty bike that he found in the aftermath of the storm. He also influenced others to find relevance and meaning in what would have been discarded objects. An Ogden Museum’s Artists and Sense of Place program artist-in-residence who was assigned to Guste Elementary School, Cook relied on photography to turn buildings and streetscapes into works of art. He also influenced his students to re-incarnate the beauty in seemingly ordinary objects.

Cook’s Dogon Box, in the Amistad Research Center’s permanent art collection, features a box-shaped assemblage figure that is comprise of found and distressed objects that seems which recall the essence of Nkisi figures.