This document provides information about found object art and assemblage art. It discusses artists such as Joseph Cornell and Louise Nevelson who incorporated found everyday objects into their artwork. The document then instructs the reader to create their own found object memory box by combining styles of these artists, using found objects that are meaningful to them, and arranging the objects in a box according to a planned composition and theme. Guidelines are provided on art terms, tips for the project, and requirements.

1. FOUND OBJECTS

2. WHAT ARE FOUND OBJECTS?
 objects of inconsequential material found just
about anywhere, with interesting origins,
history, or purposes, or exhibiting elements or
principles of design or other aesthetic qualities

3. ASSEMBLAGE ART

4. WHAT IS ASSEMBLAGE ART?
 artistic process in which
a three-dimensional
artistic composition is
made from putting
together found objects
 artists tend to use found
objects, fragments and
bits, often everyday
manufactured materials
or junk never intended
as art materials

5. Bruce Gray

6. Bruce Gray

7. Leo Sewell

8. Leo Sewell

9. Leo Sewell

10. Michelle Stitzlein

11. Michelle Stitzlein

12. Michelle Stitzlein

13. Michelle Stitzlein

14. YOUR PROJECT
Inspiration

15. JOSEPH CORNELL
 collected and carefully juxtaposed found
objects in small, glass-front boxes
 created visual poems in which surface, form,
texture, and light play
together
 things we can see to
make boxes about things
we cannot see: ideas,
memories, fantasies,
and dreams

16.  turned everyday objects into mysterious
treasures
 found materials became
symbols that inhabit his
boxes and hint at abstract
ideas… metal spring from
a discarded wind-up clock
may evoke the passage of
time; a ball might represent
a planet or the luck
associated with playing
a game

18. LOUISE NEVELSON
 collected and carefully juxtaposed found
objects in boxes of various sizes
 used cast-off wood parts and actual street
throwaways

19.  control and precise
placement of parts
achieved balance and
structure
 incorporated a variety of
forms and united the
piece with
monochromatic spray
paint
 shadow as important as
composition

22. WHAT YOU’LL DO:
 combine the styles of
Joseph Cornell and Louise
Nevelson to make your own
found object symbolic
memory box
 use found objects that
have meaning to you –
either literal or symbolic
 plan how these objects
will be placed into the
box and the meaning of
these objects and

23. WHAT YOU’LL DO:
 assemble them into and/or
onto a box…plan your
arrangement then hot glue,
tie, staple, wire, etc. the
objects to the box
 paint the memory box in a
monochromatic color
scheme
 write an artist’s statement
about the final piece and the
meaning and/or symbolism
behind it

24. BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Things to know

25. ART TERMS
 Assemblage - technique of creating a
sculpture by joining together individual
pieces or segments, sometimes “found”
objects that originally served another
purpose.
 Composition - organization of lines, shapes,
colors and other elements in a work of art.
 Found Object Art - designing something
displayed as a work of art that is actually a
natural object or ordinary manmade article
found by chance, but considered to have
aesthetic value.

26. ART TERMS
 Monochromatic - having one color…descriptive
of work in which one hue-perhaps with
variations of value and intensity predominates.
 Relief - anything that projects from a
background; in sculpture, that includes figures
or other forms that are attached to a
background and project into space.
 Unity - coherent relationship among the parts or
elements of a work of art.
 Variety - state or quality of being various; the
absence of monotony or sameness in an
artwork.

27. TIPS:
 think of a theme or overall meaning and
intent of your memory box
 if you don’t have enough found objects to
convey your theme, keep seeking out
more – ask friends, family, clean out
drawers, etc.
 consider repeating objects, shapes,
forms and textures
 layer your objects for more depth

28. REQUIREMENTS:
 use at least 10 of your own found
objects
 use your own found or made box
 sketch and plan a theme and
composition
 write an artist statement about the piece