Watch

This watch is another item that was my father's, but I mainly included it to convey the important role of time in the world and knowledge about it. Cornell often dealt with time in his pieces, though he almost never dated them or attached a definitive title. However, he kept meticulous journals and recorded the date and time he did just about everything besides finishing his work. Cornell was also focused on the future; this is probably what drove him to study the cosmos and become so involved in religion. In Untitled (Red Sandbox), Cornell uses shifting sand to convey the passing of time while the driftwood represents stability.

Below: Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Red Sandbox), 1940