Essay #3

The two pieces of Isamu Noguchi’s artwork that I chose to write about for this essay are:

1. The Well
2. Sky Mirror

“The Well” stuck in my mind long after we left the museum and I wanted to learn more about it.  It is based on “Tsukabai”,  which is a stone bowl in Japan used to wash your hands in a purifying way before entering a temple. His version is strikingly beautiful to me.  The contrast of smooth polished stone and rough one might be representing his own contrasts in himself of being Japanese American.  The colors and shapes seem to change as you walk around the sculpture which makes it seems alive. In Japan stone is often used to represent different gods and spirits of nature,  and though this was not in that shape or form,  it still gave the same sensation as those statues do  

“Sky Mirror” is another one of the artworks that captured my spirit and imagination.  I was disappointed not to find so much information about it as I would have liked to,  but it definitely inspired me with it’s texture and form. The top is highly polished to reflect the light from the sky,  while the surrounding outside is rough.  It’s amazing how two different surfaces can make such an impression when they are presented in this way.  

These two pieces are similar in the sense that they are both stone sculptures.  They both are meant to dwell within a natural setting.  “The well” is for catching water,  and “sky mirror” is for catching light. Both sculptures give me a sense of peace and an appreciation of nature.  The polished stone is beautiful and so is the rough.  Like in nature there is smooth surface and rough,  but they complement each other and Noguchi is very good at expressing that in his artwork. They are also both made of the same material,  Basalt. The asymmetry of both pieces still somehow seems balanced,  even without being in a perfect shape.

The major difference between “the well” and “sky mirror” is the hole in “the well” where the water comes out.  Otherwise “the well” might also be a “sky mirror”.  That hole makes a big difference in the sculpture’s function and also it’s visual appeal. “Sky mirror” is a bit smaller and seems flatter because it is wider than it is tall, which makes me feel the impulse to look down at it,  to view it from the top,  while “the well” gives me the urge to walk up next to it and around it, appreciating the different sides.

Isamu Noguchi is very interesting to me now. I didn’t know much about him before we went to the museum. Since our trip I have read a lot about him and am fascinated by his life. I feel that he maybe appreciated and tried to express  the beauty in Japanese art even more than most Japanese artists because of his own struggles with attempting to discover his identity. His artwork,  I think reflects his dual identity by the way he uses contrasts in surfaces and also how he balances man made objects with nature. His art expresses complex feelings and emotions in simple yet meaningful forms.  Noguchi's work blends into the environment in a harmonious way, and as I read about him,  I learn that that was his main intention as an artist.  

Our trip to the museum was a very moving experience for me. I felt very calm, especially in the garden.  The gravel and pine trees reminded me very much of Japan, and I got a bit nostalgic.  The artworks gave me a sense of an organic peaceful life.  I was amazed how a great artist can make stone feel like it's alive. I appreciate more how a sculpture can not only represent something objective,  but also change how I would feel about the environment that is surrounding the work itself.  I will continue to learn more about Isamu Noguchi and will definitely return to see his beautiful art again.