Untitled (Lighted Owl)
<p>Cornell’s bird boxes often play with forms of representation and with the contrast between the natural and the artificial. In his trips into the countryside, he would often gather materials for his boxes, and in this one, the large, angular piece of bark placed toward the right interior edge may be the lump Cornell reported finding in January 1948 and described as “magnificently dried bark for owl bark, single piece, for owl boxes” (Cornell 1993, p. 152). In any case it adds a sense of depth to the box by providing a kind of opened curtain, from behind which the owl is revealed. The sheet of blue glass renders the interior as dark as a forest at night, and the small electric bulb above, when lit, suggests moonlight. The dramatic chiaroscuro effect prompts comparison with photography, as well as underlining the contrast between the two-dimensional pictorial representation of the owl and its “real” habitat. The numerous worm holes in the wood frame are the result of simulated rather than authentic insect damage and appear to be original to the box‘s construction. For more on Cornell‘s Owl Boxes, see <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/99760"><em>Untitled (Large Owl)</em></a>.</p> <p>— Entry, Dawn Ades, <em>Surrealist Art: The Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago</em>, 1997, p. 61.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1944
- Dimensions
- 36.6 × 26.1 × 13.2 cm (14 3/8 × 10 1/4 × 5 3/16 in.); +: D.: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Joseph Cornell
Artist
Printmaking
A leading 20th century American artist and a pioneer of assemblage art, Joseph Cornell has become most well known for his “shadow boxes,” a series of works made from found objects and raw materials that are constructed in such a way as to illustrate narrative surreal, even fantastical scenes. His many variable interests, which ranged from Surrealism to opera to Romantic literature, deeply influenced his work, leading to allegorical and personal memory themed objects. Surrealism specifically was significant to his artistic style, with the method of juxtaposing objects and subjects in surprising combinations featuring heavily across his oeuvre.
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More by Joseph Cornell
Untitled (How to Make a Rainbow) from Prints for Phoenix House
1972 · Screenprint with stencil and varnish additions from a portfolio of three lithographs, two photogravures, two screenprints with stencil and varnish additions, one aquatint, one etching and aquatint, and one screenprint
Untitled (Hotel du Nord) from Prints for Phoenix House
1972 · Screenprint with stencil and varnish additions from a portfolio of three lithographs, two photogravures, two screenprints with stencil and varnish additions, one aquatint, one etching and aquatint, and one screenprint
Untitled (Landscape with Figure) from Prints for Phoenix House
1972 · Photogravure from a portfolio of three lithographs, two photogravures, two screenprints with stencil and varnish additions, one aquatint, one etching and aquatint, and one screenprint
Untitled (Derby Hat) from Prints for Phoenix House
1972 · Photogravure from a portfolio of three lithographs, two photogravures, two screenprints with stencil and varnish additions, one aquatint, one etching and aquatint, and one screenprint
Untitled (Satie and Ravel)
1968 · Collage composed of cut and pasted, commercially printed papers, with graphite, on cardboard
Now, Voyager
1966 · Collage composed of cut and pasted, commercially printed papers, with brush and black ink and touches of yellow gouache on untempered masonite
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Joseph Cornell
- Year
- 1944
- Dimensions
- 36.6 × 26.1 × 13.2 cm (14 3/8 × 10 1/4 × 5 3/16 in.); +: D.: 0.7 cm (1/4 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1944-031393
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified