Contents
Isamu Noguchi
Bringing sculpture into everyday life through public spaces, furniture and Akari paper lights.
Coffee table · Appalachian Spring set
- Born
- 17 November 1904
- Birthplace
- Los Angeles, United States
- Died
- 30 December 1988
More people
Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi was a Japanese-American sculptor whose work extended into gardens, stage sets and design. He treated the spaces people occupy as part of sculpture rather than as a separate discipline.
Early life
Between countries
Born in Los Angeles to writer Léonie Gilmour and poet Yone Noguchi, he spent much of his childhood in Japan.
Choosing sculpture
Studied pre-medicine at Columbia before turning to art in New York.
Career
- 1927
Paris apprenticeship
Worked with Constantin Brâncuși on a Guggenheim Fellowship.
- 1930s
Public art and performance
Developed public-space proposals and began a long collaboration with dancer Martha Graham.
- 1950s
Sculpture and design
Created paper lights, gardens and furniture alongside stone sculpture.
- 1985
His own museum
Opened the Noguchi Museum in New York, arranging works and gardens himself.
Selected work
Coffee table
A glass top balanced on two interlocking wooden supports.
Appalachian Spring set
Stage elements for Martha Graham’s dance.
Akari
Light sculptures made with paper and bamboo.
UNESCO garden
A sculptural garden for the organisation’s Paris headquarters.
Beyond the studio
Wartime incarceration
Voluntarily entered the Poston camp in 1942 hoping to improve conditions for Japanese Americans; obtaining permission to leave proved difficult.
Working across borders
Maintained important working relationships in both Japan and the United States.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Museum or specialist research ↗Photo: Los Angeles Times. CC BY 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
.jpg){kind=link}