Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) is one of those artists whose work I look at and think, "Well I could have done that." His work, however, is so evocative and poetic that I realize at a core level that I couldn't have done it, and well anyway, I didn't do it.
Because Cornell's work was so utterly unique, the art world found him difficult to classify. Heavily influenced by the work of Surrealists like Max Ernst but likened to the austerity of the Constructivists, Cornell created small wooden boxes populated with commonplace items, largely found objects. These included such things as apertif glasses, figurines, corks, bits of maps and photographs, and other disimilar items. Cornell's art was assembling these in such a way as to create a set or a stage from the incongruous things that resulted in a visual poem. At creating these dioramas, he was a master.
Among his subjects were often birds. These were usually two-dimensional images that he cut from nature books and the like and mounted upon a stage of 3-dimensional collage often hinting at the global exploits of his avian subjects.
Because Cornell's work was so utterly unique, the art world found him difficult to classify. Heavily influenced by the work of Surrealists like Max Ernst but likened to the austerity of the Constructivists, Cornell created small wooden boxes populated with commonplace items, largely found objects. These included such things as apertif glasses, figurines, corks, bits of maps and photographs, and other disimilar items. Cornell's art was assembling these in such a way as to create a set or a stage from the incongruous things that resulted in a visual poem. At creating these dioramas, he was a master.
Among his subjects were often birds. These were usually two-dimensional images that he cut from nature books and the like and mounted upon a stage of 3-dimensional collage often hinting at the global exploits of his avian subjects.
In A Convergence of Birds, Jonathan Safran Foer brings together 22 pieces of original short prose and poetry inspired by Joseph Cornell's work. Published in 2001 by D.A.P. (Distributed Art Publishers) Inc., A Convergence of Birds is a beautiful collection of tipped-on color plates of these dioramic masterpieces, each one prefacing a corresponding story or poem. Within the pages are contributions by Rick Moody, Joyce Carol Oates, Siri Hstvedt, Robert Pinsky, Lydia Davis, and others.
Prefaced with a brief introduction on what first brought Joseph Cornell to Foer's attention ("A gift of a gift of a gift.") and the difficulty he met with in pursuing the creation of such a book and suceeded by a biography of the artist, this collection of imagery and inspiration is a treasure for Joseph Cornell devotees and a wonderful introduction for the rest of us.
Prefaced with a brief introduction on what first brought Joseph Cornell to Foer's attention ("A gift of a gift of a gift.") and the difficulty he met with in pursuing the creation of such a book and suceeded by a biography of the artist, this collection of imagery and inspiration is a treasure for Joseph Cornell devotees and a wonderful introduction for the rest of us.
