Joseph Cornell
Joseph Cornell was born on 24th December 1903 and was the eldest of 4 children, parents- Helen and Joseph Cornell. He had two sisters, Betty and Helen and a brother called Robert. Cornell grew up in the picturesque town of Nyack, New York on the Hudson River, whilst growing up, Cornell’s parents shared their love of music, ballet and literature with their children. Their nights were spent around the piano or listening to some sort of music. They look regular trips to New York were they would attend shows in Times Square. However, Cornell's childhood was not just filled with happiness, his brother as born with cerebral palsy and was confined to a wheelchair, Joseph became his principal caretaker.
Joseph Cornell was not a sculptor, a draftsman, or a painter. This internationally renowned modern artist never had professional training. He was first and foremost a collector. He loved to scour old book shops and secondhand stores of new York looking for souvenirs, theatrical memorabilia, old prints and photographs, music scores, and French literature.
Background to the boxes:
By collecting and carefully juxtaposing found objects in small, glass-front boxes, Cornell created visual poems in which surface, form, texture, and light play together. Using things we can see, Cornell made boxes about things we cannot see: ideas, memories, fantasies, and dreams.
He was a kind of magician, turning everyday objects into mysterious treasures. In Homage to the Romantic Ballet, plastic ice cubes become jewels when set in a velvet-lined box, souvenirs of a famous ballerina's midnight performance on the frozen Russian steppe. A small glass jar filled with colored sand is transformed into powdered gold from a Mayan temple, carefully preserved in Cornell's Museum. A symbolist, Cornell used the found materials that inhabit his boxes—paper birds, clay pipes, clock springs, balls, and rings—to hint at abstract ideas. A metal spring from a
discarded wind-up clock may evoke the passage of time; a ball might represent a planet or the luck associated with playing a game. Although his constructions are enveloped in nostalgia—the longing for something that happened long ago and far away—their appearance is thoroughly modern.
This example of Cornell’s work inspires me because the idea could link in with beneath the surface. The jars in the foreground could represent memories being within the jars, which is them being safe in someone's mind. Also, the map of northern America in the background could represent all the places in which the individual has travelled within that space of land and the cylinders at the top of the box in the foreground could represent the places in which the person has had the best memories, and they are high up to show the importance.
I also like this example because it illustrates collections within the idea of the image. I also like the fact that it has been manipulated to look quite old which shows that this individual has been collecting these things for years. I think that the idea of this image is that throughout their life, this individual collects letters and photos from all the places they have travelled to in the world. I think that this is a good example because it is very personal and is clearly dedicated to one person and no one else could probably relate to every objects other than the individuals who owns all of these things. If I was to improve this image, I would decrease the aperture of the image because I think that it is overexposed.
I think that this final example relates to my project a bit more than the other examples as it is more clear to the viewer that this image is based on collections and one persons life. This box, like all boxes by Cornell, represents an individual however this example is more modern and more people are likely to understand why someone has collected these things. I think that this collection is based on belongings and things than an individual likes very much. Furthermore, this box is representing someone's life and so each of the objects will also have a specific meaning. For example the clock in the corner could illustrate that, for this individual, time is precious and so they spend and use it wisely.