Heart + Twigs

The imagery in this box confronts the viewer with the theme of love and sexuality like Cornell's boxes with ballerinas, dolls, and portraits do. I depict the human heart growing out of a branch to elude to the natural and instinctual elements of love and convey how it grows over time. The layers of twigs behind represent the complex facets of any relationship. Cornell's piece, Bébé Marie, explores similar concepts of sex and nature with a worn doll partially obscured by a web of twigs. The forest is also recreated in his Setting for a Fairy Tale which is representative of Cornell's love of whimsy and Hans Christian Anderson.

Bottom: Joseph Cornell, Setting for a Fairy Tale, 1942

Right: Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Bébé Marie), 1940s