Making my own Cornell-boxes

Joseph Cornell's Manual of Marvels

One of Cornell's more unique projects started with a copy of a French agricultural journal from 1911 entitled the "Journal d'Agriculture Pratique," which he discovered on one of his excursions and became immediately transfixed. Treating it similarly to his sculptures, Cornell transformed the French journal into a Surrealist masterpiece by making additions and alterations to its frail pages. After Cornell's death, the book, now known as the "Manual of Marvels," was discovered in his basement studio and placed under the care of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

This book explores why astronomy captivated Cornell, and considers hundreds of his works--found-footage films, three-dimensional space-object boxes, enigmatic collages, and cosmic ephemera--that contain references to astronomical phenomena. Kirsten Hoving considers Cornell's enormous collection of astronomy materials, ranging from eighteenth-century books to recent works; newspaper and magazine articles that Cornell clipped and sorted; and diary entries of his observations while stargazing in his backyard. She examines how Cornell explored many dimensions of astronomy through his identities as a Christian Scientist and surrealist artist.

    Joseph Cornell on The Simpsons

                                                               


Joseph Cornell: Brownies and Cherry Coke

A Joseph Cornell Exhibition for Children, arranged by Dore Ashton, Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture, February 10 March 2, 1972 (images from A Joseph Cornell Album, Dore Ashton, Viking Press, 1974 photo essay by Denise Hare)

Cornell exhibited 26 boxes and collages.The works were hung at child's-eye level, no more than 3 feet off the ground.Brownies and Cherry Coke were served at the afternoon reception. Cornell gave the children a tour of the show and enthusiastically answered questions. This was the last exhibition Cornell attended before his death.