At Home Project for 5th Grade

Joseph Cornell Sculpture Assignment 5^th Grades

Date Due: May 13th 2015

What is it?  A small shoe boxed size box. It is easiest to use a shoebox.  Small cardboard packing boxes would work well also.  If you have access to some lumber scraps, a wooden box would be great too.  Be safe and don’t play around with tools without parent permission and help. Don’t spend money on the materials please.  It should be something that may have been recycled on garbage day.

What goes inside? That is your problem as the artist. - Problem being a good thing.  Art is an invention that no one has seen before.   It is an individual decision.  We are not doing a historical diorama of Batavia architecture, or a science project about dinosaurs.  What goes inside is up to you, but try to be original.  Don't just settle for showing off your favorite sports team, video game, tv show or movie.

Think about the words we’ve used in class:

Juxtaposition-Two things that may have nothing to do with each other, create a new meaning when you compare and contrast them.  What would you think of if you placed a rock next to a glass mirror?

Symbol- Something that stands for something else.  What does a red octagon on the side of the road mean? 

Nostalgia- Wanting to revisit or think of the past.  Example:  In kindergarten we didn’t have to do so much homework.  I miss those days…  I remember when we went on vacation when I was seven, it is such a good memory.

Inference-Coming to a guess or conclusion based on things we know about.  Example.  -My friend has gotten a dark sun tan.  I bet he was outside all day.  –The picture is showing someone smiling with a bunch of balloons around her, I wonder what is making her so happy?  Maybe she had a birthday party! 

Joseph Cornell,  a surrealist sculptor, created boxes in the 30s, 40s, and 50s containing a variety of objects.  Some of the objects were old photographs or illustrations pasted on wood.  Others were thrift store antiques, placed in these boxes gave a new life to these thrown out objects.   What does a bottle cap mean when it is found on the ground?  If we have a collection of bottle caps displayed in a formal respectful manner in a box, the meaning of these pieces of garbage change.   Natural objects were also used in his work.  Remember don’t spend any money on this project, there are many interesting things we can find for free.  Ask permission to borrow other people’s things. 

In class we have talked about the use of Juxtaposition in artwork.  And how the combination of two, perhaps, very random objects can create a whole new meaning when viewed together.  Joseph Cornell’s boxes evoke a sense of nostalgia as well.  In class we have also talked about the meaning of this word, and how sometimes using objects that remind us of the past, can give a piece of sculpture an very important personal meaning.  You have many weeks to collect and rearrange your sculpture.  Feel free to bring it to school to ask for peer and teacher advice!