Customer Reviews

Utopia Parkway: The Life And Work Of Joseph Cornell

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Deborah Solomon's biography of artist Joseph Cornell in Utopia Parkway: The Life And Work Of Joseph Cornell, joins other outstanding titles in the MFA's 'artWorks' series but stands well independently, providing a reprint of a 1977 original examining the life and influences of an enigmatic American artist. Analysis blends with personal insight to probe the influences of man prized for his disquieting shadow boxes and his influence on Surrealism, Pop and Abstract expressionism alike. Yes, there have been other coverages - but few offer the depth and authority of an art critic's research talents.

As an antidote to my seams-bursting curiosity about Cornell, this book deserves a rating off the measly 5 star scale and into the realm of splendiferous constellations. To you Deborah Solomon I am sincerely grateful. But upon rereading Utopia Parkway seems rather thin, and at times, unfortunately, nearly patronizing. I don't doubt her respect for Cornell, but occasionally she treats him as too much of a curiosity, as if he was an eccentric she's putting into a box. Perhaps she simply had trouble understanding him. And of course she committed the unpardonable sin, and anti-Cornellian faux pas, within her pages of referring to pigeons as ugly grey scavengers. They are, as every reader of this book should know, winged urban enchanters.

like all the other reviewers i have an immense interest in cornell. however i found deborah solomon's constant psychological asides both banal and ultimately dulling. every page has some fatuous and often risible so-called apercu. i wanted a biography, not some fanciful and very dated exercise in psychoanalysis. shame cos there is a lot of enjoyable fact offered. cornell's own selected diary and letters published under the title The Theatre of the Mind, is the only authority on his thinking as far as i am concerned. this biographical arrogance of reducing an artist's life to a sequence of supposedly transparent motivations is so passe surely.

Having previously read Joseph Cornell: Master of Dreams by Diane Waldman, I was looking for something that was a more intimate portrait. Master of Dreams is a beautifully printed book w/ full page color plates of the artist's work. But the author basically concentrated on the work, not the artist. Reading this book left me wanting to know more.

So, I looked to Deborah Solomon's Utopia Parkway for a more explicit rendering of the personal and private life of the very unusual Joseph Cornell. This book succeeds overwhelmingly. The one glaring negative to this book is the very poorly printed representations of Mr. Cornell's art work. I would consider this book more of a biography, and that is exactly what I was looking for.

Siouxie Sayles
Bronx, New York

Being a recent initiate into the brilliance of Joseph Cornell's work, It was with baited breath that I waited by my mailbox for this book to arrive. Finally, it was delivered- such a pretty cover! Such a marvelous title!- and then- oh dear. Here you have a very nice-looking academic woman prattling off a list of things having to do with some guy named Joseph Cornell; basically, making boring and dull that which is infinitely fascinating.This book feels like an assignment from an editor. Or worse- a square book from a well-meaning writer who hasn't learned that writing good biography takes obsessive love.

If you are an imaginative person with a couple of afternoons on hand, please read this book for the sheer informational content and supply your own poetry.

In Utopia Parkway, Ms. Solomon has achieved the seemingly impossible: explaining the art of an artist whose work is always associated with the mysterious and inexplicable and making fascinating a seemingly dull life story. Cornell never left the metropolitan NY area and lived the last 43 years of his life in a small house in Queens. Yet in the basement of that house on Utopia Parkway, he created some of the most exciting and enticing art of the 20th century. It is the inward life that Cornell lived and the glorious artistic expression of that life that Solomon so beatufilly illuminates in this fascinating biography. It is a masterful achievement and anyone interested in the art of biography -- or the art of this century -- will find this a must read.

This is a fine, sympathetic biography of the reclusive & elusive artist Joseph Cornell, whose work in assemblage & collage made the very essence of dreams & nostalgic memories into something tangible, the fleeting & ephemeral caught in the actual. And yet the work doesn't seem frozen or embalmed in the least; if anything, it suggests far more than is physically present, almost as a glimpse into untold worlds. Such is the magic of Joseph Cornell!

But what of the man himself?

I see that previous reviewers disagree about this biography, with some finding it too analytical, echoing Wordsworth's line, "We murder to dissect." But I don't think Deborah Solomon falls into the trap of reductionist pathography, stripping away the mystery to reveal tawdry neuroses as the basis of Cornell's art. Certainly she points out how his psychological makeup expressed itself through that art -- but she never claims that the art is merely symptom or therapy. At least, I never got that impression. When all the tentative analysis is done, the mystery still remains, and she's the first to acknowledge this fact.

As I said, this is a sympathetic biography. No one can deny that Cornell was emotionally wounded & repressed in many ways; but Solomon never makes this the final sum of his life. She strives for understanding & illumination, always granting that some things simply can't be known. She's given me a great deal of insight into this artist whose work fascinates me & so many others, and leaves me with a sense of compassion for the man, as well as deeper admiration for the artist.

This should definitely be read in conjunction with a good color volume of his work, such as Diane Waldman's "Joseph Cornell: Master of Dreams." For a thorough, informative, complex portrait of this unique American artist, I don't think you'll do better than this biography. Highly recommended!

I buy almost anything related to artist Joseph Cornell, but this book was a disappointment. It simply is not well-written, in a style appropriate for people less intelligent and sophisticated than those likely to be interested in the topic. I think you can learn as much about Cornell's life and psyche from one of the many books that also give you dozens of color pictures of his work. In fact, I don't think you can understand Cornell unless you can also see what his artwork looks like.

I knew very little about Cornell before beginning this book, although I have always admired his art...this book was informative and very enjoyable. The author attempted to fill in the gaps where there were few definitive answers about his life, but always remained true to the spirit of Cornell. Definitely recommended.

An unforgettable book about an unforgettable man. John Malkovich (who even looks like Cornell)must play Cornell in the movie version! This book is quirky, bittersweet and totally engrossing. The artists, cult figures, dancers, lovely ladies, that twirl around inside Cornell's life and art make this a must read for those interested in the complex world of artists and those people who inspire them. Hollywood, make this into a movie!! Totally unique.