Collages
Mountain Passes of ......" (Mountain Passes of Heaven)
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The style of this collage represents a major departure in Cornell's work because it does not rely on juxtapositions of images or text to create meaning. Instead, he incised lines into heavily pigmented paper. By extending color all the way to the edges of the paper Cornell created an essentially abstract work.
In his diary, Cornell referred to a collage entitled Mountain Passes of Heaven just after Robert died in 1965. On the scrap of paper where the title first appeared, Cornell noted: "Chinese landscape," suggesting that Asian art inspired him. The work may also have a Chinese subject; the Shanhai Pass in the mountains of eastern China is known as the "first pass under heaven."
In his diary, Cornell referred to a collage entitled Mountain Passes of Heaven just after Robert died in 1965. On the scrap of paper where the title first appeared, Cornell noted: "Chinese landscape," suggesting that Asian art inspired him. The work may also have a Chinese subject; the Shanhai Pass in the mountains of eastern China is known as the "first pass under heaven."
