Enchantments - by Marci Kwon (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book uncovers a largely overlooked strand of American modernism in Cornell's work that engaged with current issues through the metaphysical aspects of vernacular objects and experiences"--

Book Synopsis

The first major work to examine Joseph Cornell's relationship to American modernism

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) is best known for his exquisite and alluring box constructions, in which he transformed found objects--such as celestial charts, glass ice cubes, and feathers--into enchanted worlds that blur the boundaries between fantasy and the commonplace. Situating Cornell within the broader artistic, cultural, and political debates of midcentury America, this innovative and interdisciplinary account reveals enchantment's relevance to the history of American modernism.

In this beautifully illustrated book, Marci Kwon explores Cornell's attempts to convey enchantment--an ephemeral experience that exceeds rational explanation--in material form. Examining his box constructions, graphic design projects, and cinematic experiments, she shows how he turned to formal strategies drawn from movements like Transcendentalism and Romanticism to figure the immaterial. Kwon provides new perspectives on Cornell's artistic and graphic design career, bringing vividly to life a wide circle of acquaintances that included artists, poets, writers, and filmmakers such as Mina Loy, Lincoln Kirstein, Frank O'Hara, and Stan Brakhage. Cornell's participation in these varied milieus elucidates enchantment's centrality to midcentury conversations about art's potential for power and moral authority, and reveals how enchantment and modernity came to be understood as opposing forces. Leading contemporary artists such as Betye Saar and Carolee Schneemann turned to Cornell's enchantment as a resource for their own anti-racist, feminist projects.

Spanning four decades of the artist's career, Enchantments sheds critical light on Cornell's engagement with many key episodes in American modernism, from Abstract Expressionism, 1930s "folk art," and the emergence of New York School poetry and experimental cinema to the transatlantic migration of Symbolism, Surrealism, and ballet.

Review Quotes

"A superb achievement. . . . [and] the best treatment of the artist's career, milieu, and work to date."---Massimo Introvigne, Novo Religio

"In her book Enchantments . . .[Marci Kwon] gives what amounts to a hidden history of modernism in this country, placing Cornell in context and revealing his connections to his contemporaries and his influence on later generations of artists. She also explores the concept of enchantment and mounts a passionate defense of it."---John Dorfman, Art & Antiques

"Kwon's handsomely illustrated book takes a deep dive into the culture that influenced Cornell, and situates him within the art and politics--and politics of art--of his time. . . .[A] beautifully produced book."-- "Library Journal"

About the Author

Marci Kwon is assistant professor of art and art history at Stanford University. She lives in Palo Alto, California.