Isamu Noguchi's utopian landscapes: the sculpture of playgrounds and gardens
Abstract
This paper tells the story of Japanese-American sculptor Isamu
Noguchi and highlights his lesser-known landscape works. Noguchi
was an artist of profound integrity and insight. His landscapes include
playgrounds, monuments, and Japanese-inspired gardens. He chose
landscapes as a medium for their inherent social value and as an artistic
contribution to society. He was interested in the use and function of
sculpture and wanted sculpture to encompass a larger vision and
communicate on a grander scale. Moving beyond the limiting tradition
of sculpture for the sole purpose of aesthetic, his was a sculpture for
the common man. Noguchi was inspired by his childhood in Japan,
by the high modernist movement, and by his involvement in the New
York School of abstract artists that became prominent in the 1930s.
Examination of Noguchi's work allows artists and the larger community
to question the nature and definition of art and design. Noguchi pointed
us to a new way to understand art. His work breaks free of a stagnant
aesthetic, bringing a fresh viewpoint to the ancient and profound.
Subject
Design
Modern art
Playgrounds
Sculpture
Isamu Noguchi
Landscape architecture