East meets West

"I feel a home everywhere, I feel like home nowhere." said Isamu Noguchi. Most of us have an idea of where we came from and where we belong. However, to Isamu Noguchi that's a difficult situation. Noguchi was born in United States. His father was Japanese and mother was American. Therefore, he was stuck between Japanese and American culture. He went to school in America, but unlike all of us, it was hard for him to make friends. It wasn't because he doesn't like to talk or being unfriendly, the main reason was he's different from others and that only difference was his Japanese culture. Then, Noguchi decided to change his name to Sam instead of Isamu, so he could fit in. I understood Noguchi, because I was once feeling different from everyone else. It was when I first moved to America, I went to school in Indiana. All the kids would look at me differently and it was difficult for me to make friends. At least I was lucky enough to have an English name. On the other hand, when Noguchi visited Japan, he was seen as an outsider. During that period of time, you will be consider as an outsider if you're not 100 percent Japanese. However, being multicultural isn't always a bad thing. It allows you to open your eyes to the world and you'll become more curious with what else is out there that you never met. The more you see, the less you know. This is where Noguchi found his place in art and his form of style. Like most people mentioned, Noguchi's art is a combination of East meet West. His arts are mixture of western and traditional Japanese style.

I am glad to be able to visit Noguchi's museum located in Queens, New York. Throughout the tour of his museum, I was able to see how he interpreted his understanding in both Eastern and Western couture into his arts. Before I start speaking about my experience with Noguchi's art works, I must start with the architecture of his museum. When you first see the museum, you would probably think that it's just another public school. However, once you enter the museum, you'll get the feeling of zen and peacefulness. The interior of the museum is very spacious with high ceilings. Ever though the rooms were spacious, the position of his art works between one and another was very close. It created an unity between his art works. It was almost like Noguchi's art works were communicating with each other. In my point of view, the museum became an art work itself. Noguchi also incorporated his traditional Japanese culture into his American museum. Everything in his museum looked very modern and western. However, there was also an outdoor part to the museum. The outdoor section looked like a traditional Japanese garden. It was very relaxing to walk by. This is where the first sculpture that caught my eye located. It was a well made out of stone. What made this well different was that it has unlimited overflowed water. The water would come from the center of the well, then flow along the side of the sculpture endlessly. The design of this sculpture was also very special. Traditional Japanese well are usually in a perfect round or cube shape. Noguchi's sculpture was in an undefined shape with a perfect circle in the center where the water would flow out. On the surface of this sculpture, you will be able to find flat and smooth texture, as well as rocky and natural texture. However, the overflowing water touches every part on this sculpture. This is a great example of how he combine western and eastern culture into his art works. Another art piece that caught my attention was his Akari light, also known as paper lantern. It was a foldable lantern made out of paper and metal. My first thought was nothing special, I could probably but it from Ikea. Then, after knowing that Noguchi is the one who invented this shocked me. I would never thought an artist would be able to create an art and this art could become an invention that impact the world till this day. Noguchi first seen the Akari lantern at the Gifu festival in Japan. He thought the lantern were amazing and he wanted more people to be able to see it. However, during that period of time, Akari lanterns were heavy and big. Then Noguchi had the idea to create the same Akari lantern, but the lantern is foldable so it would be easy to place it in a box size of a pizza box. All of Noguchi's Akari lights are hand made. They might seem flat and tiny when you take it out the box, but when you unfold the light, they are tall and luminous. After learning that something I had been using throughout my life was made from an artist instead of an engineer excites me. It made me start wondering what else could be possibly invented by someone unexpected.

The visit to the Noguchi museum was great. I enjoyed every art work in there and these are the two out of many that caught my attention. In addition, I enjoyed more than just the visit. I was also fascinated by Noguchi's life story. Being able to understand his hardship when he was a child, helped me understand his art work even better.