Cornell, Joseph (1903-1972), was an American sculptor known for his assemblages. An assemblage is an artwork that consists of natural or manufactured objects or fragments of objects. Cornell created his assemblages within boxes he made himself. He arranged everyday items inside these boxes in a manner that suggested a personal, private world. These objects are often viewed through a glass window that forms one side of the box. Cornell frequently selected engravings and objects from an earlier time, evoking a feeling of nostalgia in his works.
Cornell produced his first handmade box in 1936, calling it Untitled (Soap Bubble Set). Like much of his later work, the box was divided into compartments. The compartments contained four weights, an egg in a wine glass, a small model of a child’s head, a clay pipe, and a map of the moon. The work was the first in a series titled Soap Bubble Set. A number of his other works feature cutout images of birds, especially cockatoos, owls, and parrots. He also used such objects as sheet music, seashells, and travel souvenirs.
Cornell was born on Dec. 24, 1903, in Nyack, New York. He had no formal art training. In the early 1930’s, he began creating collages, which often featured engravings placed in distinctive arrangements. He had his first one-man show in 1932.
During the 1930’s and 1940’s, Cornell helped support himself as a textile designer and as an illustrator. He began making experimental motion pictures during the mid 1930’s. During the same period, he directed and edited movies created from motion pictures made by other filmmakers. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, he directed and edited his own original movies. He also resumed making collages. Cornell died on Dec. 29, 1972. Joseph Cornell’s Theater of the Mind: Selected Diaries, Letters, and Files was published in 1993.
