Presentation 1: Stephanie
1.What was “Gris’ work of “Man at a Cafe” about?
He made a collage style to represent a man, table, and wall in the cafe. He used cubism to show small elements mixed together painted and make an abstract collage to have his idea come across.
2. What was the medium and style?
Gris uses paint and small amounts of paper on a canvas the portray a figure of a man uses abstract components.
3. How is Gris’ work of “Man at a Cafe” reflected in Cornell’s exhibition?
Cornell uses broken down elements he grabs from the original piece and uses solid shapes to play with a collage and representation of the cubist style in Gris’ work. Cornell was
4. What attracted Cornell to this work?
He was attracted visually to the black lines and all of the small components and because he thought of Gris as a familiar sense of himself in Gris’ work.
5. Why did Cornell use the Great white Cockatoo?
It could have been a private reference to his interest in music and a specific artist known as a songbird. Also, it is a good subject for contrast the dark surface background and could use this form as a parody.
Presentation 2: Marci Kwon
1. How does she describe the Cornell box?
She uses an objective and detailed response to describe the details within the box, breaking down the materials, objects, and symbols used. She moves on the getting more subjective by speaking about the ideas behind Gris’ and Cornell’s adaptation of it in one of his boxes in the exhibit.
2. How are the two different artists similar?
They both use interplay between materials and illusionism. Cornell uses a lithograph of a cockatoo bird and makes it into a 3D form foe the purpose of his adaption. The both stand in a zone between playing with both 2D and 3D forms.
3. What was Cornell working on prior to his homage to Juan Gris?
He gathered materials for his subsequent art and stored them in his makeshift studio. He worked on art and worked with different materials.
4. What were his religious beliefs?
He had a faith in Christian science, promoting a belief in the privacy of the mind over the material world. Mind not matter is the creator and all materials are subordinate to the mind.
5. How did his beliefs impact his work?
He used his beliefs from christian science to make work showing the separation of the natural and human world. His engraving of the moons craters continue his work that reflects the otherworldliness and terrestrial influenced artworks.
Presentation 3: Mark Dion
1. What started his interest in Cornell’s work?
When studying at art school in Hartford, he came across Cornell’s soap box and it caused a mental revelation for his work and materiality.
2. What ways does he think about Cornell’s work and style?
Mark loves his use of materials and his use of the natural and artificial world. He speaks about the collection of boxes that are mundane and old, but contain new and exciting materials such as photographs
3.What is his connection to materiality?
He loves different materials, and brings an empty bag with him to gather materials from different places and sources such as flee markets.
4. How does he collect materials and how does he work?
Mark creates work on the go and does not work in a studio and he is always on the hunt for interesting materials. He spends time finding the things he needs for current project and gaining inspiration for future projects through the search for materials.
5. How does he work with others?
He has people paint for him, make cabinets for him, and work for him on certain aspects of his projects. He cannot, however, work with someone to find the correct materials because it is a very personal choice to find the correct objects at the correct price for his work and his vision.
