Rajesh Punjabi 03812304 GR616 - Influences Joseph Cornell On December 23rd, in 1903, Joseph Cornell was born in Nyack,

New York. His father, also named Joseph Cornell, died in 1917, and the family moved to Queens in New York City. The death of his father left his mother, Cornell, and his three siblings to sustain themselves. Cornell moved to Massachusetts to attend the Phillips Academy in Andover as part of the class in 1921. Although he did not graduate, the three years he spent there would be the only three years spent outside of New York state. Cornell stayed at home with his mother and brother Robert, who was rendered physically challenged as a result of his battle with cerebral palsy. While at home, he worked as wholesale fabric salesman to support the family. Cornell took responsibility to care for his mother and brother which led Cornell to be comfortable in isolation and shy in public. His dedication to his brother, and introverted nature, kept him from getting involved with a love interest. However, the time spent in relative seclusion allowed Cornell to develop his own new style of art. Boxed assemblages, in which he spent years combining photographs and images with objects found around the city from antique stores, thrift stores, and bookstores. During the Great Depression, Cornell lost his job as a fabric salesman in 1931. He then became a door-to-door appliance salesman until, with the help of his mother, he secured a part-time position designing textiles. At this time Cornell began applying his collages to film. In 1936, his film Rose Hobart was shown at the Julien Levy Gallery at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Salvador Dali was in attendance and became outraged yelled at Cornell stating that he had the same idea himself. This confrontation, in addition to Cornells inherent shy nature, led Cornell to avoid showing his films. In the 1940s Cornell briefly worked in a plant nursery, defense plant, and designed covers and features for magazines such as Harpers Bazaar, View, and Dance Index. It wasnt until after a solo show at the Charles Egan Gallery in 1949, that Cornell would start to sell his box assemblages and gain fame as an artist. Unfortunately, due to the decline in health of his mother and brother, Cornell produced fewer works leading up their deaths in 1965 and 1966. Cornell shifted his focus towards making collages and collaborating with filmmakers to make films. Cornell died on December 29th in 1972 at age 69.