This cache of 33 unpublished letters from American assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) to one of his first assistants features poetic and philosophical musings on various topics and practical information on where the artist found his material. In addition, much of the correspondence incorporates the exquisite collage work for which Cornell is best known.
The letters were mailed over a period lasting from 1963 to 1968 to Susanna De Maria Wilson, then married to minimalist sculptor Walter De Maria, when she served as Cornell's assistant. As stated in the first letter, the two met in the spring of 1962, when De Maria Wilson was working at the Museum of Modern Art. The letters document diverse aspects of their working relationship, which began the following year, including Cornell's directions concerning where De Maria Wilson might find source material for his collage and assemblage work, guidance as to what kind of imagery particularly appealed to him, and even samples of images. Sometimes the correspondence was purely social in purpose, as in an Easter card sent April 13, 1963, or a postcard dated April 15, 1964, thanking her for perfumes. But Cornell also shared insight into various aspects of his thought and collage processes. For instance, in a letter dated March 28, 1963, he discusses the mystery of sylphs and sensuality, and in a letter from the following month, he writes a lengthy note discussing three dreams. Throughout, the writing is typical of the artist's allusive and laconic style, though there are also surprising moments of humor.
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