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he likes bum

'''Joseph Cornell''', (Born in ] ], ] – died ], ]) was an American sculptor, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of ]. Influenced by the ]s, he was also an avant garde (artistic novelist) and ] who lived in ] for most of his life in a frame house on Utopia Parkway in ], with his mother and his crippled brother, Robert, who was afflicted with ].

==Sculpture and collage==
]
He had no formal training in art and his most characteristic works are his highly distinctive 'boxes'. These are simple boxes, usually glass-fronted, in which he arranged surprising collections of photographs or Victorian bric-à-brac in a way that has been said to combine the formal austerity of ] with the lively fantasy of ]. Like ] he could create poetry from the commonplace. Unlike Schwitters, however, he was fascinated not by refuse, garbage, and the discarded, but by fragments of once beautiful and precious objects, relying on the Surrealist technique of irrational juxtaposition and on the evocation of ] for his appeal (he befriended several members of the Surrealist movement who settled in the USA during the Second World War). Cornell also painted, created collages, and made films.

Cornell was heavily influenced by American ] (]), Hollywood starlets (to whom he sent boxes dedicated to them), the French ] (], ]) and great dancers of the 19th century ] (]).

==Experimental film==
Joseph Cornell's 1936 found film montage, '']'', was made entirely from splicing together existing film stock that Cornell had found in New Jersey warehouses, mostly derived from a 1931 'B' film entitled ''East of Borneo''. Cornell would play Nestor Amaral's record, 'Holiday in Brazil' during its rare screenings, as well as projecting the film through a deep blue glass or filter, giving the film a dreamlike effect. Focusing mainly on the gestures and expressions made by ] (the original film's starlet), this dreamscape of Cornell's seems to exist in a kind of suspension until the film's most arresting sequence toward the end, when footage of a solar eclipse is juxtaposed with a white ball falling into a pool of water in slow motion.

Cornell premiered the film at the Julien Levy Gallery in December of 1936 during the first ] exhibition at ] in New York. ], who was in New York to attend the MoMA opening, was present at its first screening. During the screening, Dali became incensed and overturned the projector, claiming that Cornell had stolen the idea from his 'subway chicken club sandwich'. Traumatized by this event, the shy, retiring Cornell rarely showed it again.

Filmography includes:
*'']'' (1936)
*'']'' (c. 1940)
*'']'' (1955)
*'']'' (1956) (made with ])
*'']'' (1957)
*'']'' (1957)
*'']'' (1955) (made with ])
*'']'' (1957)
*'']'' (c. 1965)
*'']'' (1970)
*'']'' (???)
*'']'' (???).

==Personal information==
Joseph Cornell, as noted, was shy. Although he expressed attraction to unattainable women, like ], his shyness made romantic relationships rare. In later life his bashfulness verged to the point of being considered reclusiveness and he rarely left the state of ].

He also devoted his life to caring for his brother who died in ]. This was another factor in his lack of relationships. At some point in the ], or possibly earlier, he read the works of ]. He would consider her work to be the most important book to him outside the Bible and became a lifelong ] adherent.

==Biography==
* Deborah Solomon (1996) ''Utopia Parkway'' New York: Noonday Press. ISBN 0374525714.

==External links==
*
*
*
*
*

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]
]
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Revision as of 10:49, 27 April 2006

File:Joseph Cornell.jpg
A photograph of Joseph Cornell

Joseph Cornell, (Born in Nyack, New York December 24, 1903 – died December 29, 1972) was an American sculptor, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant garde (artistic novelist) and experimental filmmaker who lived in New York City for most of his life in a frame house on Utopia Parkway in Queens, New York, with his mother and his crippled brother, Robert, who was afflicted with cerebral palsy.

Sculpture and collage

File:Cornell Cassiopeia 1.jpg
Joseph Cornell's 'Cassiopeia 1' assemblage

He had no formal training in art and his most characteristic works are his highly distinctive 'boxes'. These are simple boxes, usually glass-fronted, in which he arranged surprising collections of photographs or Victorian bric-à-brac in a way that has been said to combine the formal austerity of Constructivism with the lively fantasy of Surrealism. Like Kurt Schwitters he could create poetry from the commonplace. Unlike Schwitters, however, he was fascinated not by refuse, garbage, and the discarded, but by fragments of once beautiful and precious objects, relying on the Surrealist technique of irrational juxtaposition and on the evocation of nostalgia for his appeal (he befriended several members of the Surrealist movement who settled in the USA during the Second World War). Cornell also painted, created collages, and made films.

Cornell was heavily influenced by American Transcendentalists (Emily Dickinson), Hollywood starlets (to whom he sent boxes dedicated to them), the French Symbolists (Mallarme, Gerard de Nerval) and great dancers of the 19th century ballet (Marie Taglioni).

Experimental film

Joseph Cornell's 1936 found film montage, Rose Hobart, was made entirely from splicing together existing film stock that Cornell had found in New Jersey warehouses, mostly derived from a 1931 'B' film entitled East of Borneo. Cornell would play Nestor Amaral's record, 'Holiday in Brazil' during its rare screenings, as well as projecting the film through a deep blue glass or filter, giving the film a dreamlike effect. Focusing mainly on the gestures and expressions made by Rose Hobart (the original film's starlet), this dreamscape of Cornell's seems to exist in a kind of suspension until the film's most arresting sequence toward the end, when footage of a solar eclipse is juxtaposed with a white ball falling into a pool of water in slow motion.

Cornell premiered the film at the Julien Levy Gallery in December of 1936 during the first Surrealist exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Salvador Dalí, who was in New York to attend the MoMA opening, was present at its first screening. During the screening, Dali became incensed and overturned the projector, claiming that Cornell had stolen the idea from his 'subway chicken club sandwich'. Traumatized by this event, the shy, retiring Cornell rarely showed it again.

Filmography includes:

Personal information

Joseph Cornell, as noted, was shy. Although he expressed attraction to unattainable women, like Lauren Bacall, his shyness made romantic relationships rare. In later life his bashfulness verged to the point of being considered reclusiveness and he rarely left the state of New York.

He also devoted his life to caring for his brother who died in 1965. This was another factor in his lack of relationships. At some point in the 1920s, or possibly earlier, he read the works of Mary Baker Eddy. He would consider her work to be the most important book to him outside the Bible and became a lifelong Christian Science adherent.

Biography

  • Deborah Solomon (1996) Utopia Parkway New York: Noonday Press. ISBN 0374525714.

External links

Categories: