2006-2007.

Mixed media, 9 x 6 x 4 inches. 

In the case of "Renaissance...," the object consists of flea market finds (transferware plates), a discarded brass clock face, and a Dollar Store children's party favor and plate stand. 

The "Game" comes off the stand, changing the piece from merely decorative to a workable maze game, whereby the player tries to get all the ball bearings into the eye of the "be-helded"--in this case, a Renais-sance portrait of a young woman. 

Many of the pieces in the "Objects" category  have move-able or articulated components. 

In this piece, beyond the fact that the plate becomes an actual game, the stand for the "Game" still folds and can be dis-played apart from the maze toy as an object on its own. 

"Renaissance Game," is my most reverent homage to the artist, Joseph Cornell.

The plate stand, in fact, contains an inside joke, referen-cing a detail from Cornell's own 1952 Medici Prince construction (shown above and seen in detail in the fourth image at right).

Further, on the verso of the plate, in addition to a map of the stars (a repeated Cornell theme), there is a New York Times quote (legible in the 4th image at right), from an article about Tim Gunn host of Bravo's "Project Runway" and former Director of the Fashion Department at my alma mater, The Parsons School of Design.

In the article Gunn discussed the impact of Joseph Cornell on his life and work:

I thought there must be a way of synthe-sizing all the different parts of my life in my own way.  I really think it was Cornell who caused me to have the confidence to say I'm going to be an artist.