Object—Hotel Theatricals by the Grandson of Monsieur Phot. Sunday Afternoons 

Joseph Cornell is best known for artworks consisting of small objects and pictures arranged within antique glass-fronted display boxes. In this work, the box is made to resemble a four-story hotel, with three or four photos on each level and marbles rolling on the thickly carpeted floors. The levels are named, from top to bottom, "Jacob Wrestling with the Angel," "The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon," "The Finding of Moses in the Bulrushes," and "The Triumph of Galatea." Each is a title from a famous painting depicting biblical and mythological scenes, and the "grandson" shown in the photos is imitating the pose of a figure in the original paintings. Shortly before making this work, Cornell wrote a film script called Monsieur Phot. It is a story about a photographer who, in the time before the invention of cinema, is trying to capture a sense of dynamism in his work. That same aspiration appears to be shared by the "grandson" here.
(NAKAMURA Naoaki)