Spirit Level

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Artist Joseph Cornell (American, 1903–1972)

Title Spirit Level

Date 1969

Medium Wood, glass, marble, cork, sand, and and paper

Dimensions Overall: 8 7/8 x 14 15/16 x 3 1/4 in. (22.5 x 37.9 x 8.3 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 70.54

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About this Work

Cornell began making assemblages contained in boxes in 1936. Composed of found objects, they reflect his interests in old master painting, popular culture, astronomy, and the natural world. In Spirit-Level, a yellow cork ball placed before an astronomical map may symbolize the moon, while the yellow marbles in the cordial glasses suggest stars. Here, Cornell meditates on the moon’s dominance over ocean tides, represented by the starfish, driftwood, and sand.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Spirit Level | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=70.54