Thought Ide Share This "how To Increase The Value Of Your Mibs"

[bigjohn691500]

I seen this on roadshow,,, if it was signed it would be worth 150k, yes that's dollars, lol, oh to be famous,,,,, bj

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201303A40.html

[Steph]

[Ric]

Heck Big John, you could do that!

[bigjohn691500]

Lolol,, I just finish my health care carving, almost have the pirate ship done, been busy sitting on my rear end trying to figure stuff out,, and doing nothing, very boring,,,I about spit my tea out when I seen that appraisal,,, wow,,,, I lost track of john morority he just upped and vanished, been making good use of the wood he sent me,,,bj

[jlmoriarty]

Despite rumors to the contrary, yes I am still alive. As you all know life can be a struggle at times and well, things just got a bit difficult and I've been muddling along like a tortoise in a sea of mud.

Big John I'm thrilled that you are still putting that wood to good advantage. I knew you would become famous one day. Glad to hear that I played a small role in your success. Now send money! LOL

Joseph Cornell was born to a family of Dutch ancestry that prospered as ship captains and owners back in the day of the tall ships. His father went broke early in Cornell's life and left home/died leaving him to be raised by a stern mother with no money. Cornell was an odd sort never quite fitting in with the rest of the artist community in NYC. But he knew and hung out with all the big names at the Cedar Tavern in NY through the abstract expressionist period of mid-century. He grew up in a dumpy nondescript row house in Queens , NY, living with his mother until she passed. I think he died in 1972. Like the poor example shown, he created 'shadow boxes' that speak to his prior wealthy existence and to his rich fantasy life. His work is only collected by a few people. If memory serves there is one person in Washington, DC that has the definitive collection.

His life's story makes for great reading as he develops into this sort of class B artist. He still is not that well known but his work, when seen in person, is breath-taking in its precision and enigmatic simplicity. He did spawn a huge bunch of derivative imitators that seem to pop up every once in a while as though their work has some originality of thought. It is well worth seeking out his better work and reading about his life.

Anyhow, probably more than you ever wanted to know about Joseph Cornell.

Truly hope you are all well. Now back to the mud.

John

[bigjohn691500]

John,wow, man I was searching Google for you just to see if you were pushing up daisy's, so glad your breathing still, lol,, I called that dog I did for you done last year, wanted to send it, it may not be 100% right but I signed it so it'll be worth 1million dollars some day, ya gotta love humor,,, pm me address I need to finish that quest,,bj

[ann]

Joseph Cornell was born to a family of Dutch ancestry that prospered as ship captains and owners back in the day of the tall ships. His father went broke early in Cornell's life and left home/died leaving him to be raised by a stern mother with no money. Cornell was an odd sort never quite fitting in with the rest of the artist community in NYC. But he knew and hung out with all the big names at the Cedar Tavern in NY through the abstract expressionist period of mid-century. He grew up in a dumpy nondescript row house in Queens , NY, living with his mother until she passed. I think he died in 1972. Like the poor example shown, he created 'shadow boxes' that speak to his prior wealthy existence and to his rich fantasy life. His work is only collected by a few people. If memory serves there is one person in Washington, DC that has the definitive collection.

His life's story makes for great reading as he develops into this sort of class B artist. He still is not that well known but his work, when seen in person, is breath-taking in its precision and enigmatic simplicity. He did spawn a huge bunch of derivative imitators that seem to pop up every once in a while as though their work has some originality of thought. It is well worth seeking out his better work and reading about his life.

Best bio of Cornell I've ever read.

[jlmoriarty]

Thank you, Ann. I'm flattered. There's a lot to admire in the man's work, while the man himself was about as odd, and in many respects, ordinary, as they come.

I'm guessing you're familiar with his work.

John

[ann]

Yes, in a kind of haphazard way. I'm an art historian, but don't usually have a lot of truck with modern and contemporary European and American art -- but I worked in a big art museum for a while and it's hard not to bump into it sometimes. Plus, a great friend of mine opened my eyes to the possibilites of found art (Cornell was discovered along the way), which yawed open a brain portion I had not been aware of 'till then . . . so I have a certain appreciation of what Cornell was doing.

The example shown is really bad!

[jlmoriarty]

Very cool. So what period is your specialty?

And yes, I'd be hard pressed to say that was one of his pieces. If it is, it is by far the worst I've ever seen.

One Cornell anecdote: when friends came over to his (and his mother's) house in Queens he would entertain by getting jelly donuts from a local bakery - he was fanatical about donuts. Then he would warm water, give everyone a cup, and after he had used the one tea bag he would pass it around to the rest of the visitors while they sat at his kitchen table. Strange dude.

John (halfway to Missoula)

[kbobam]

I don't know much about this particular topic.

But as a boy (who's now old as dirt) who started out

in Queens and wound up at the upper extremities of

the 'Lower East Side', I'd like to point out the significance

of one of Mr. Moriarty's comments. If this guy was 'odd'

enough not to fit in with the 'artist community in NYC', then

he must have been 'right off the charts'!

Which, of course, doesn't mean that he wasn't a

'freaking genius' in the projects he pursued. ( :