Cornell, 1965

Larry Jordan lived with Cornell at his house on Utopia Parkway in Flushing, Queens while assisting him with his boxes and films. He shows Cornell here in the only existing footage of the artist. In 1965 I worked as Joseph Cornell’s assistant on boxes and films. I filmed his work extensively, and as much as I could of him. (It is the only film footage that exists of Cornell.) Until 1978 I couldn’t edit the film. When I finally learned it would be a kind of personal journalistic tribute to the man who taught me so much, it fell together. What you see are the close-up interiors of many Cornell boxes, some collages, and a few shots of Joseph. You hear the things he said to me (as I recall them) and the thoughts I think about it all. If you are a Cornell fan, there isn’t any other film on him.