Noguchi part 1

PowerPoint Presentation

Marie: Whats our next unit?Kozak: Noguchi!!!!Marie: Isnt he next to Costco?Kozak: YES! Yes he is. Marie: I FOUND IT !

Field Trip on WednesdayMay 4th 2:30pm

Qualities of great sculpturesMyar: Its gotta mean something memorable.something taught over and over again in history. (The Canon of history) Kevin: Gotta have details, and not so obviouslike a hidden meaning or secret (clandestine ideas)Ny: Revolutionary for a certain time period.recognized by other artists as great Jojo: great sculptors choose materials wisely to relate to the viewer.MicheLLe: if its huge or small, it catches your eye.Ruhith: If its bigger its better. (like the Lincoln Memorial)Kinny: Its gotta have a PRESENCE.like Ke$ha at a party. Ny: Sculptures dont have to be MASSIVEbut if theyre controversial theyll get plenty of attention.Brian: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder only YOU can determine whether its great or not. Personal connection: Its gotta be relatable.Jean: Knowledge or history of the thing helps you appreciate it. Ruhith: Significant to present day problems or ideas. BRIAN: We assume that the sculptor put time and care into making the thing.

Qualities of great sculpturesRaph: Great detail (faces, bodies, or whatever the image is.Ayy: The sculpture has a SUBJECT (what if its abstract? How do we define the subject?)Tina: The title and/or description helps explain the subject of the sculpture, like in allegorical Raph: the viewer may see the sculpture from different perspectives.Vicky PT: The viewers feelings at the time of viewing can determine what we think the subject is. Alannis: The artist may want a diverse amount of opinions. This may be the BEST form of art. Because the work is now MORE than just one thing. Ayy: this is the case with a lot of pieces of art. Its not unique Arvin: Its gotta be very detailed and have a relatable message that I can connect to. Amina: Arvin said it all. Its gotta connect to me. Guzzy: Even if you think its ugly, you can still connect with it. It could be tragic, sad, etc. The fact that its evoking an emotional (even critical) response you ARE connecting with it. Its giving you the FEELS.

the noguchi museum opened in 1985 24,000 square feet of gallery space, two floorsfirst floor: permanent exhibitsoutdoor sculpture garden caf, museum shopsecond floor: temporary exhibitsbasement: education

about the museum

The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum is devoted to the preservation, documentation, presentation, and interpretation of the work of Isamu Noguchi.Mission

Noguchis work fits into a very particular time period of Art History. His work is evidence of a true transition in aesthetic appreciation from object-based to experience-based. Mission

Isamu Noguchi (19041988) was one of the twentieth centurys most important and critically acclaimed sculptors. Through a lifetime of artistic experimentation, he created sculptures, gardens, furniture and lighting designs, ceramics, architecture, and set designs. His work, at once subtle and bold, traditional and modern, set a new standard for the reintegration of the arts.

What does it mean to be two things at the same time? Ruhith: Things that have two functions, or something that has two meanings at the same time.Example? Physical things like Phones!Tots: Artist who uses bees BEADS as a form of currency. Brian: Multiple Personality DisorderGissell: someone from two culturesbeing two things at once, (multi-racial, Multi-national, cultural, ethnic) jojo: If youre raised by someone from a different country you may be different from others.Rasha: This is great, because you can have a culture you practice at home, but this may be difficult to fit into certain categories.Tots: OTHERS may try to fit you into other categories that you dont really want to be put in. Kenny: Physically in one place but mentally somewhere else. Ny: Its more efficient to be able to do two things as the same time. Jean: THOSE TWO THINGS HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER.If theyre a part of you they need to co-exist.

What does it mean to be two things at the same time? Ray: Multitasking.to be able to do two things at the same time. Arvin: Multiple Personality Disorder? Amina: Occupationsyou can be a daughter and student, a mother and a doctor, etc. Jakara: AmbidextrousGuzzy: To have several layers to oneself. Tina: Masquerade masquerade, paper faces on parade Shakespeare quote? People adapt to changes in environment.Asian-AmericanCitizens of Earth.I can be a HUMAN and a GIRL.

Moerenuma Park, Sapporo Japan



On what used to be a garbage disposal site, construction of Moerenuma Park began in 1982, and the park had its grand opening in 2005. Sculptor Isamu Noguchi created the basic design based on the concept of the whole being a single sculpture. The fountain and hills form many geometric shapes in the expansive grounds, facilities for play equipment and so forth are arranged in an orderly manner, and the landscape can be enjoyed as a fusion of nature and art.

Tetra Mound @Moerenuma Park



Music Shell @Moerenuma Park




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Myar: Theres art IN naturenature is IN art.theyre one in the same!Ruhith: Noguchi is using the environment as a part of his work. It feels peaceful.Tots: When someone hears of art they think it has to be out of the norm.Jean: This is kinda like TWO THINGS at onceKenny: Hes using Nature as a CANVAS for his artmolding it to what he wants.Gissell: Theres great contrast between the city and natureit take you out of the place you think youre in. Ny: Maybe he wanted people to know these hidden mysteries in nature! A sense of discovery.

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JEAN: Its like a SPAcalmingJojo: Hes using all the aspects of the room. Beams on the ceiling, the objects propping up the artwork. Gissell: IT reminds me of HOME. Like a living room, a basement..a bedroom. Kenny: Theres serenity, and quietness!Taeron: HUGE difference from the nature intertwining with the art.its like a very modern museum. Joie: NAH TAERON: it doesnt look like a normal museum, its a single artist and how its set up is different. Brian: it looks EXOTICout of the ordinary, not easily found.

Isamu in Onorio Ruotolos art classBorn in Los Angeles, California, to an American mother and a Japanese father, Noguchi lived in Japan until the age of 13, when he moved to Indiana. While studying pre-medicine at Columbia University, he took evening sculpture classes on New Yorks Lower East Side, mentoring with the sculptor Onorio Ruotolo. He soon left the University to become an academic sculptor.

Noguchi, an internationalist, traveled extensively throughout his life. (In his later years he maintained studios both in Japan and New York.) He discovered the impact of large-scale public works in Mexico, earthy ceramics and tranquil gardens in Japan, subtle ink-brush techniques in China, and the purity of marble in Italy. He incorporated all of these impressions into his work, which utilized a wide range of materials, including stainless steel, marble, cast iron, balsa wood, bronze, sheet aluminum, basalt, granite, and water.

Constantin Brncui, Portrait of Mademoiselle Pogany [1], 1912, White marble; limestone block, Philadelphia Museum of Art, In 1926, Noguchi saw an exhibition in New York of the work of Constantin Brancusi that profoundly changed his artistic direction. With a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, Noguchi went to Paris, and from 1927 to 1929 worked in Brancusis studio. Inspired by the older artists reductive forms, Noguchi turned to modernism and a kind of abstraction, infusing his highly finished pieces with a lyrical and emotional expressiveness, and with an aura of mystery.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the backlash against Japanese-Americans in the United States had a dramatic personal effect on Noguchi, motivating him to become a political activist. In 1942, Noguchi became interested in raising awareness of the patriotism of Japanese-Americans, specifically the Nisei (?, "second generation"), which is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called Issei).

What would YOU do?At this time, Noguchi was working out of studio at 33 MacDougal Alley, in Greenwich Village, having spent much of the 1930s based in New York City.This moment forced Noguchi, who had travelled internationally quite a bit at this point (in Asia, Mexico, and Europe), to take stock of his identity and convictions. While visiting friends in California, he joined forces with Larry Tajiri, a newspaper editor, and formed an antifascist group, the Nisei Writers and Artists Mobilization for Democracy. Noguchi and Tajiri produced a manifesto and attracted a set of West Coast writers, including Eddie Shimano and Kazu Ikeda. He also asked to be placed in an internment camp in Arizona, where he lived for seven months.

http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Isamu_Noguchi/31

Ben Sakoguchis Postcards from Camp1999-2001, 80 paintings, acrylic on canvas, 11 inches x 16 inches

http://www.bensakoguchi.com/series_postcards_from_camp.php

http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/cal/ART/4-24-2000_art_review.htm32







Noguchi arrived at Poston in mid-1942, with all sorts of beautiful plans for parks and agricultural cooperatives, prepared to make a life in the community. Alas, it was not to be. Noguchi soon found that he could not work effectively in the heat and primitive conditions at Poston, and the War Relocation Authority, which had taken over Poston, had no intention of implementing plans for a permanent settlement.

Worse, Noguchi, was viewed with hostility by many of those whom he had romantically imagined were "his people."

Not only was Noguchi an outsiderat 37 he was old for a Nisei, and because he was biracial, an artist, a political activist, and connected to the camp administration, he was regarded with great suspicion by others. Poston War Relocation Center


Within weeks of his arrival, Noguchi asked his friends to get him out of camp. He left camp late in 1942, having stayed only seven months, and swiftly returned to the East Coast, where he remained for the rest of the war. He resumed making sculptures and designed sets and costumes, wrote articles, made speeches, and joined a new antifascist group, the Japanese American Committee for Democracy. However, his leadership role in community affairs had dissolved, and he never again felt so close to the Nisei.


Following the War, Noguchi spent a great deal of time in Japan exploring the wrenching issues raised during the previous years. His ideas and feelings are reflected in his works of that period, particularly the delicate slab sculptures included in the 1946 exhibition Fourteen Americans, at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Isamu Noguchi Metamorphosis 1946 Pencil on cut out, pasted, graph paperIsamu Noguchi Work Sheet for Sculpture1946 Pencil on cut out, pasted, graph paper

https://www.moma.org/momaorg/shared/pdfs/docs/press_archives/1063/releases/MOMA_1946-1947_0046_1946-09-09_46909-44.pdf37

Describe to a friend how you relate to rocks and stones?Jojo: Rocks have no purpose. Ruhith: You live under a rock to not know whats goin on. Literally, physically rocks are almost everlasting. Len: A symbol of endurancethe ocean can not make the rock moveBrian: Rocks are dense, people can be dense. MicheLLe: someone can be your Rock Myar: Abrahamic religions humans are made of the earth and we return to this when we pass away.Kenny: we shape rocks, mold them, make roads, statues,

In some ways, a stone is already a piece of sculpture, even more so when smoothed and shaped by such a consummate craftsman as the ocean. One could argue that nothing more need be done but admire nature's handiwork. Yet Mr. Noguchi is not one to leave a stone unturned. ''Clawing'' or scraping its surface at points, he produces textural shifts from matte to nubbly, and color changes from slaty black to warm buff to pale pebble gray, as in ''Shiva Rock,'' a small basalt megalith

Shiva RockBasalt1981

http://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/20/arts/art-isamu-noguchi-and-his-world-of-stone.html39

Cutting, coring, boring and channeling, he penetrates the stone's interior by means of mysterious holes -as in the granite ''Worm Stone'' - or lays it open like a cut fruit. In the basalt ''Wounded Rock,'' he lets a big stone sit in majestic cracks, exuding a tension most unstone-like in its implications of mortality. And sometimes, to show the artist's mastery over nature, he imposes on the free, biomorphic form of a stone a contrasting construction of metal planes. Worm StoneGranite1982

http://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/20/arts/art-isamu-noguchi-and-his-world-of-stone.html40

Describe to THE CLASS how you relate to rocks and stones?Ray: Rupert park is next to my house.we used to have wars in the dirt. Sticks were guns, rocks were bullets. To make the rock bullet, you had to bring the rock to the rock SMITH and I was the rock smith for the right side of the park. Leaves were money, and we would charge two leaves per rock. Some rocks break easier than othersWe would use rocks to break rockslike boulders to break smaller rocks, wed smash them against the concrete, and some rocks would blast back at you. My cousin, Kyle got hit with some of this blast and he couldnt be a rock smith anymore. But I still got to be a rock smith.Jakara: People are made of layers, just like rocks. Each year you gain different characteristics, and as rocks weather and wither away they change.

The POTENTIAL of all rocks and stonesBlack Slide Mantra1988Odori Park, Sapporo, Japan

PlayscapesBlack Slide Mantra1988Odori Park, Sapporo, Japan

PlayscapesBlack Slide Mantra1988Odori Park, Sapporo, Japan

Black Slide Mantra1988Odori Park, Sapporo, JapanPlayscapes

Slide Mantra1986Bayfront Park,Miami, FloridaPlayscapes

Slide Mantra is a massive 29-ton sculpture carved from Carrara marble by the late Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi. This lyrical and playful work is more than ten-feet tall and functions as a slide with steps winding up the back which descend into a spiral. Noguchi designed Bayfront Park in 1986

Model for Slide Mantra1966-1985Botticino MarbleNoguchi Museum NYCPlayscapes

Model for Slide Mantra1966-1985Carrara MarbleNoguchi Museum NYCPlayscapes

Design for Play Mountain1933Playscapes


Noguchi designed his first landscape for children in 1933. Play Mountain includes steps, a curving ramp, a pool, and a rock, all elements that would recur as he designed and redesigned playgrounds and courtyards over the next 50 years.


As art critic Thomas Hess wrote of one of Noguchis unbuilt projects, this playground, instead of telling the child what to do (swing here, climb there), becomes a place for endless exploration.

Kodomo No Kuni1965Outside Tokyo, JapanPlayscapes

Piedmont Park Playscapes1976Atlanta GAPlayscapes

http://www.hermanmiller.com/why/the-great-playscapes.html53


Were in a day and age where people walk around with their heads in their devices,

Public artworks like this cause people to look up, and heighten their awareness and ability to connect with their neighbors.-Margo Milligan, an Atlanta resident

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/herman-miller-isamu-noguchi-playscape-atlanta54



Playscapes

Noguchi tried in every single decade to get a playground built in New York, says Dakin Hart, senior curator at the Noguchi Museum. In each case, the concept became more sophisticated, there was more public support and more private support. He put a whole program in place to give him the best possible chance and each time he was ultimately foiled by the complexities of the political situation.


When an artist stops being a child, he stops being an artist.-Isamu Noguchi

https://madisonplaygroundreview.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/isamu-noguchis-playscape-in-atlanta-georgia/57

Cai Guo Qiang, Kara Walker, FAILE, Banksy, OBEY, Olek, Mr. Brainwash, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Camille Henrot, and MORE!

What would a playground designed by another artist look like?Choose an artistDescribe what their playground would look like!Jean: Kara Walkers playground would be a GIANT CIRCLE one painted white and one painted blackand the white side would be filled with high end play equipment.Tae: If Henry Bacon were to create a playground it would be filled with smooth stonework, columns.but also lots of DETAILEDslidesangelsARCHES! Like a DOME SLIDE. Kenny: Ron English playground would have tons of designs and graffiti and stuff. Brianna: Feng Mengbos park would be like a living video gameswings with clear sky backgrounds Everyone: Space invader park would be cool!!KAI: Brainwash! It would be a copy of someone else playground. .

Cai Guo Qiang, Kara Walker, FAILE, Banksy, OBEY, Olek, Mr. Brainwash, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Camille Henrot, and MORE!

What would a playground designed by another artist look like?Choose an artistDescribe what their playground would look like!Raph: Mr. Brainwash would be the best artist to make a playground because of his sense of color. Nawal: Kara walker would have a lot of shadowy colors in itmaybe her style ? Artists are trying to break down barriers that get in the way of their message. This could be mentally scarring for kids that get it Jakara: Maybe an adult playground? Maybe the park could have a really serious element relating to art history but still have a childish element.Justin: Banksy could pull this off and get really creative with it. Zenzi & Ray: Agreed on Banksy! Also Faile, since they use a lot of colors and it would be great for kids.Ray:

Cultural AppropriationJoie: Recently I was thinking about this.and theres a difference between cultural DIFFUSION and APPROPRIATION. (Calling things into question)Myar: Of course its a bad thing! If you take something from another culture and use it like its yours.Rasha: The Kardashians are problematic.certain fashion magazines praise them for styling their hair in a certain wayHowever when African-Americans wear their hair that way, its not as cute.Fuller House appropriating Desi cultureBrianna: If you try to protect your culture it comes off like youre attacking a personbut if its important to you then it doesnt matter if its trending or not. At the same time, we all like to explore different cultures. We may say oh thats cute. but it needs to go beyond that.Taeron: Appropriation may not be a bad thing if you credit it or justify it with a good reason. Rasha: Theres a difference between appropriating and appreciating it. Brianna: It cant be mockingit needs to include people of that culture.

Cultural AppropriationAyy: Its when you EXPLOIT another culture.Zenzi: When someone takes something and uses it as their own.Artie: Take something from a culture that isnt really yours and you use it without honoring it.Jakara: Identifying with something from another culture when its ..A social condition which entails the adoption of use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture (and is often regarded as a negative phenomenon.)

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture.Raph: Its a question of honoring the culture.

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture.Writing and Sharing

Observational Prompt: Describe an instance where you saw someone else culture being appropriated and your reaction to it.

Self-Reflective Prompt: Describe a time when you culturally appropriated something. Discuss your intentions and how you made this decision.

Critical Prompt: Describe an instance when you saw your culture being appropriated by someone outside of it.

"Stone is the primary medium, and nature is where it is, and nature is where we have to go to experience life," -Isamu Noguchi

Education

Noguchi part 1