Comments on: Joseph Cornell

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:15:30 +0000

Joseph Cornell’s work, in addition to his biography, were very interesting and extremely unique. Cornell’s erratic lifestyle is reflected in his very surreal artwork. His combination of techniques makes for very original work. Many people have different opinions of Cornell’s work; to enjoy his art, one must have that special acquired taste. And to appreciate his art, one must also be open minded in what art can be interpreted as, even if it does involve junk and trash.

By: daniel

daniel — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:21:15 +0000

The work of Joseph Cornell was very interesting. Though I dint really appreciate the work, because it did not look like it required a lot of effort, I am sure it was designed and created with a specific reason behind each work. And I did not understand the most of the art work with the boxes. One of my favorite work was Abeilles. I understood the art, and i liked it. The activity that we did in the class was perfect to understand Cornell’s art. I was surprised that it took more effort to do the art work, than merely using a paintbrush to create art. After a while, I realized that I was really immersed into creating the box which was my form art. I have been inspired to learn other similar art as well.

By: christina squitieri

christina squitieri — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:04:35 +0000

Trying to create a box like Cornell’s on Thursday definitely gave me new appreciation for him and his work. Most of his boxes feel so fluid and seamless, everything feels to be in the place it was meant to be in. For me on Thursday, this felt like an impossible task. It is one thing to envision it, but to place it down takes such an eye that I feel like I lack. Cornell was able to see the piece in his mind, and then recreate it–including all the emotion he felt–perfectly inside a box. Although he is unconventional, and many people are quick to write him off (I admit before I read about him I though his work wasn’t the most skilled), when trying to recreate his work, you can see how challenging it is, and how skilled Cornell had to be in order to create such majestic pieces of artwork out of the simplest everyday things.

By: victor

victor — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 06:03:29 +0000

I believe we generally under appreciate what Cornell was able to do which such a simple concept. Having experience his form of art in class this past Thursday, I have a new found reverence for his work. Simply “placing objects in boxes” is not as simple as it may seem. There is far more then meets the naked eye in his work. To get his message across, for everything to appear so natural and stunning, requires a great deal of talent which due to the medium of the work, it can be easily written off. Yes, Cornell methodically collected things we would have quickly thrown away and placed them in boxes and yes anyone can do such a simple action. But, can we make it look as powerful and graceful as he did?

By: Derya

Derya — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:24:03 +0000

I can’t really imagine Joseph Cornell as an artist. He did create art that no other artist has probably ever thought of, especially in comparison to Cornell’s style, but I’m sure most children have. His idea of putting things inside a box doesn’t seem original when I think of what a kindergartener in art class would do.

I sympathize for him. His life was difficult but his art just illustrated a confused little kid cutting and pasting things in my mind.

By: Chinemerem (Sophia)

Chinemerem (Sophia) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:23:40 +0000

Joseph Cornell’s art in general, is interesting new and very original. He was always able to maintain that originality of expression in all of his works.
They bear no resemblance to any other art . His work bore similar forms with the art of the day..during his time as with his involvement in the prevailing surrealist art forms…however, he controlled their expression to be so obviously Joseph Cornell! It’s no wonder that he was considered a pioneering artist that set the stage for Pop art and other contemporary art works after the W.W. II.
I particularly like and am impressed with his art works that have duplicated copies within the frames and can’t help trying to play ’spot the difference’ when I see any of them. I find the picture on the last page quite intriguing too….Talk about intentional art! Seeing it, I can’t help but think that apart from genius,Joseph Cornell must have had quite a good sense of humour?

By: miriam s

miriam s — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:43:45 +0000

at first i thought cornell’s work was strange and disjointed, but after reading more about it, i began to apreciate his works, and now i even enjoy them. they are endearing because of their innocence and clarity but have a tinge of sophistication that give them depth. they stem from a childlike outlook outlook on life but with the real problems that adults face. his work leaves room for the imagination and for each person to have their own interpretation. the bright colors and unique materials he uses, make his art eye-catching and appealing to the senses.

By: gpapadopoulos

gpapadopoulos — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 05:22:06 +0000

Cornell’s art is definitely eye catching with all the different media that he uses, like the lobsters, however I cant quite picture him as a great artist. It seems as if hes just taking up time with a hobby and collecting random objects he finds. Then he uses his spare time finding symbolism in these objects and placing them in boxes. I, as a horrible artist, don’t like to consider works that i could possibly create as magnificent pieces of art. Reading about him and his unique life however gives me some insight on how he could have focused his life on making his creations. If i had not known about his experiences i would have probably thought it was a collection of crafts projects someone did as a hobby on their spare time. His art is unique in that many other works of art leave you in a quandary of what it could possibly mean, yet his work, as someone else mentioned, was completely different from what i thought it could mean and had a definite meaning that he set to symbolize something specific.

By: Colette

Colette — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:45:33 +0000

I feel that we are making a bigger deal out of Cornell and his work than he and it deserves. To me he is an average guy who had to much time on his hands and thought about things to much.
Anyone can see beauty in anything, it isn’t just Cornell who saw beauty in the everyday junk all around us. And he isn’t the only one that collected junk either. The only thing special about Cornell is that he organized his junk in a different, more artistic way. For that I’ll give him credit.
Hotel Casseopoeia portrayed Cornell in a much more depressing light than it should have. It focused too much on his being in his basement in awkward situations when he was actually out and about a lot ad very in the social scene. I don’t feel very bad for him because I think he secretly enjoyed being a depressed artist.

By: Diana

Diana — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:56:31 +0000

The first time I opened the book, The Essential Joseph Cornell, I merely flipped through it and glanced at his works of art. My first reaction was that his work is just different, unconventional. I didn’t find any of the works particularly stunning or eye-catching. Actually, I was wondering why Cornell was even deemed an artist. I could have stuck a bicycle wheel on a white stool as well.

However, when I read through the book, this time actually reading the biographical content of it as well, I was much more appreciative of Cornell. His ability to incorporate his emotions and life struggles into his artwork was astounding. The way he used text, images, glass, string and other random objects to create a piece of art was amazing. Also, upon examining each work more closely, I realized that to produce a work like Cornell’s, one needs a lot of creativity and skill. I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot harder than it looks. I guess we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

Also, after reading the book - Hotel Casseopoeia makes a lot more sense. Although it still isn’t my favorite show of all time, I now understand it and admire the creativity used in bringing Joseph Cornell’s works to life.