Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination

by Lynda Roscoe Hartigan

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) was a self-taught yet highly sophisticated artist who is celebrated for his pioneering achievement in collage, assemblage, and film. Cornell's lyrical compositions combine found materials in ways that reflect a very personal exploration of art and culture and that represent his belief in art as an uplifting voyage into the imagination. This stunning book is published to accompany the first retrospective of the artist's work in twenty-six years.

In her essay, Cornell scholar Lynda Roscoe Hartigan focuses on the seminal experiences and concepts that shaped Cornell's evolution as an American artist with a singular style of seeing. His transformation of found materials, distillation of far-flung ideas and traditions, and mingling of the vernacular and the erudite resonate with the spirit of synthetic innovation associated with American art and culture. Additionally, eight thematic sections (Navigating a Career, Cabinets of Curiosity, Dream Machines, Bouquets of Homage, Nature's Theater, Geographies of the Heavens, Crystal Cages, and Chambers of Time)explore the major ideas that recur in his work. The book also includes a bibliography, numerous illustrations of the artist's source material and previously unpublished works, and much more.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

392 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2007

Reviews

[Jolanta (knygupė) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) - fantastiškas sekretų darytojas.

O čia oficialiai: JAV menininkas, siurrealizmo įtakotas avangardinis filmų kūrėjas, tačiau labiausiai žinomas, kaip asambliažo pradininkas.

[Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of Cornell's life and work complete with beautiful reproductions. As a side benefit, as it weighs in at 2.4 kg, the book will also give you arms of steel while reading.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incredibly difficult for me to assess in any objective light; it is the accompanying catalog to the Joseph Cornell retrospect which I saw in Boston last summer – perhaps the single most important museum exhibition in shaping my current thoughts on art. As a document of that experience, and a reference/catalog of Cornell's work, this book is invaluable.

As far as I'm concerned, the book has only one failing – seemingly minor, but unfortunate nonetheless: virtually all of Cornell's pieces on view in the catalog were shot against a white background. The images in Hardigan's earlier book, Shadowplay/Eterniday, were shot against black, and it does wonders in terms of preserving the mystery of Cornell's work (already so harder to capture in the reduction to two dimensions) – the boxes and collages glow like little jewels against the blackness. The white backgrounds are even more strange when set against the exhibition itself, which was deliberately dimly lit for exactly the reasons noted above. In the end, though, I'm simply grateful to have an artifact of an exhibition for which the personal importance cannot be overstated.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful trip through Cornell's inner world. It offers an amazing collection of photos of his work, biographical information and reveals many of his sources of inspiration. Cornell is the ultimate cataloger artist.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

joseph cornell you are a plagerist of my unconcsious mind.

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can only buy one book on Cornell, this is the motherlode.

[Tammy Marie Jacintho · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as a present... these are magical boxes inside boxes... each page sends you further down the rabit hole of Cornell's practicle dreams. Each page lends itself to meditation. What does it mean? Where do the images come from? What strange strings connect these objects? This will be an undertaking. At least a page a day... who knows, it could last all year!

[Mary-Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastical pennyarcade amazement joy to look at: I want it.

[Gwyndolyn]

very beautiful

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura already captured my feelings about this book so much better than I could ever have done on my own:
"joseph cornell you are a plagerist of my unconcsious mind."

Is this plagiarism??

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't actually read this book -- I was really just looking at the images. Cornell's work is magical. I'd like to buy this book and ponder it all further.

[Tina Redmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Mostly pics of the art, which is what I wanted. The only negative? The book is huge and heavy! 200 pages of his art-loved it.