Artists who work with found materials are frequently described as making something out of nothing. This characterization is based on the estimation that the salvaged materials are ordinary, their value transitory or forgotten, and their existence ephemeral until the artist has intervened and provided them with a new reality or reason for being. Cornell's interest in the ordinary and fleeting was so elevated that he named it the ˜metaphysique d'ephemera,' suggesting that literal things can create an elaborate and subtle form of magic. - Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, Joseph Cornell: Shadowplay... Eterniday, p. 23*
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*Text and images are courtesy of Artnet's Artist Works Catalogues. See here, where it says:
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and Contemporary artists' sites brings insight into the depth and scope of
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faculty, museum curators, researchers, dealers and collectors.
Artist Works Catalogues reflect the dynamic nature of the Web, and our goal is
to present a growing body of artists' online monographs. Unlike published print
monographs and catalogues raisonnà s, these are living catalogues, which will be
constantly updated as artists create new works and estates release additional
information. Artnet offers these
catalogues free to the public as an educational resource. Simply click on an individual artist's image
to begin, and check back often to browse new catalogues.
