Sunday, December 18, 2011

Master Class 2: Cornell & Rauschenberg


Welcome to the 5th edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday.

Style File and Techniques & Tools were the first two projects posted and links to all 23 posts can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The third project, Master Class, continues now...


Participants were asked : 'If you could take a class from one artist from anytime in history, including the present, who would it be and why?'
(Images and links have been added by The Altered Page)
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Chapter 2: Cornell and Rauschenberg
Many of the classes would be crowded, as there were quite a few artists who were selected by multiple participants in the survey. Today's post highlights two American artists, each of whom came to prominence in the 1950s, worked innovatively with collage and sculpture, and used found objects in their work: Joseph Cornell and Robert Rauschenberg.

Joseph Cornell

"Beauty should be shared for it enhances our joys. To explore its mystery is to venture towards the sublime"

"That's easy" said Rebeca Trevino. "Joseph Cornell for sure, and maybe not a class but rather an afternoon walk around New York City, to the places he used to go. I would like to talk with him about his art. I would like to get an idea of how he put things together, in his head, in his thoughts, and in his art. I would like to get a glimpse of how he selected the papers and objects he collected for his work. Later, maybe we would have time to visit his studio, and work on an art piece together.


Pat Pitingolo chose Cornell "because I would love to learn how he incorporates the magic into his art. Watching him assemble a piece of box art would be fascinating and hearing his thoughts behind the process would hopefully lead to insight into what makes his art so timeless and poetic.

Anne M. Huskey-Lockard chose Cornell noting that "his boxes are so ordered but intriguing; I would love to know the how's and why's of content selection. Was it random? Was there hidden meaning? How did he choose?"


These thoughts were echoed by Amy Duncan who said "Since I consider myself a collage artist, Joseph Cornell certainly comes to mind - he was one of the first to organize found objects into an artistic arrangement. It would have been interesting to hear his insights on what he gathered and how he determined the process in constructing his pieces."


Cornell was also the artist of choice from Pam McKnight. "I love the interesting bits and pieces he put together and how he got his inspiration from walking around in NYC." She added "I grew up in NJ but moved out west at an early age and wished I could have spent some time in the NYC art scene."

detail

Darlene AkA HugGer Wilkinson went right to the heart of the matter with her choice of Cornell, saying "he worked with assemblage creations and they are simple with wonderful composition."
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Robert Rauschenberg

"I think a painting is more like the real world if it's made out of the real world."

Robert Stockton said "I am always amazed and inspired by the fact that he is a master at taking the seemingly mundane and trivial aspects of his environment, and, through his art, transform this ephemera in such a way that the viewer begins to experience the everyday objects that he or she encounters in his or her own environment differently. He introduces us to ourselves, and I think that that is what is the strength of Bob Rauschenberg. We learn about ourselves through him. Yes! Give me that kind of teacher!"


Dorothy Simpson Krause "would love to have been able to work with Rauschenberg not only because he was a master at making powerful work by inventively combining photographs and found objects but also for his spirit of exploration and collaboration."

detail

Eric Adama "would have a look over the shoulder of Robert Rauschenberg, especially while working on his early works." Eric also adds Antonio Tapies and Cy Twombly (two of my favorites as well) to his list.


Laura Lein-Svencner would also take "a class with Rauschenberg, because of his ability to stick to his visual voice." She also included Jasper Johns on her list to, noting "I love his gray series and the use of the letters."

detail

Kim Logan says "I would have loved to have taken instruction from Rauschenberg. The time that he was most prolific as an artist was one of the most exciting times in the history of art. His influential friends and colleagues were testament to his energy and talent. I would have seen it as a privilege to have heard some stories of the time, and learned from a master.
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Next "Master Class" will be held on Sunday, December 25th.

16 comments:

Rebeca Trevino said...

what a great segment! i love Joseph Cornell, but i new very little about Robert Rauschenberg.

now i have two favorites.
thank you Seth!

CERULEAN said...

Hi Seth, thanks for adding. Looks great again. For those who are interested in RR, I've made a compilation and a link on my blog of some of his works shown in the exhibition "travelling '70-'76".

lyle baxter said...

Seth, you did a great job showcasing two of my longtime favorites. I, like rebecca knew Cornell. Lynne Perrella introduced me to Raushenberg whose art has influenced her work as has Cornell. I could spend years looking at their various works!thanks for the interesting post! the utube on R.R. is great!

*jean* said...

very interesting, thank you, seth, for being such a thoughtful, sharing artist....merry merry to you and yours...

Jill Zaheer said...

It must have been fascinating for you to see the responses to this question- and in particular, the number of times these two unique artists, Raushenberg and Cornell were selected. Look forward to looking through all of the links. Thanks so much for all the time and effort you took to put this together, select the links, and create this super post!

Maureen said...

Some favorites of mine, too, in this mix. I remember the first time I saw a Rauschenberg, after which I looked up everything I could find about him. Cornell has a lot of depth when you start to investigate what's behind his choice of objects.

Really enjoyable post!

Beulah Bee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jo Murray said...

As always Seth you've taken me on a fscinating journey. I am also a great fan of Raushenberg, so loved all those links.

Julie Prichard said...

Awesome, Seth!

amy of studio four corners said...

great post Seth - but then, all of the posts in The Pulse series have been great...

Robert said...

Truly, Seth, when answering this question I remember having a hard time deciding between these two artists as possible mentor/teachers. I finally picked Rauschenberg after re-watching the PBS American Masters video on his life and work, and becoming inspired all over again. I really enjoyed seeing a number of his pieces at MOMA when I was in New York City in 2008. I was also fortunate enough to see the marvelous Joseph Cornell retrospective: "Navigating the Imagination," at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in Fall, 2007, co-organized by the Peabody Essex Museum, in Salem, Massachusetts, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. If you want to learn more about Cornell and his life and work, the catalog from this exhibit, also called "Navigating the Imagination," is a wonderful place to start! These two artists make great "companions" for "Master Class." Nicely done, Seth!

Parabolic Muse said...

These are wonderful reminders of foundational artists. Thank goodness for their gifts and inspiration. I love Kurt Schwitters, too.

Robert said...

. . .and many thanks to Eric of CERULEAN for the link to the virtual tour of Rauschenberg's exhibition "travelling '70-'76. I had seen some of these pieces, before, but to have an actual guided tour of this exhibit is really interesting and amazing!

RosieK said...

Joseph Cornell is one of my favorite artists too - such an entertaining post Seth - many thanks for your dedication to art during the last year - Merry Christmas and more creative juices in 2012

Anonymous said...

OMG...how could I have forgotten about Joseph Cornell!! Yes indeed...I would love to take a class with him...or just to play in his studio!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for introducing these amazingly inspiring artists, love them...I've seen Rauschenberg's work a long time ago in Europe, it's one of these experiences that will never be forgotten.
XOXOrly