NOGUCHI MUSEUM

Who would know that after years of dwelling in Astoria I could’ve missed a hidden gem: Noguchi Museum and its beautiful Zen Garden. Isamu Noguchi, a Japanese-American artist turned it into a very private, almost exclusive spot, where one can enter his secret sanctuary through a very small entrance. Our soft-spoken romantic guide Simone told us he was raised by mother, a writer, and father, a poet. However, his father never accepted him as his biological son so therefore Isamu ended up creating his own physical space in attempt to escape his sadness and questions he could not find answers to. He actually first bought a gas station, then started creating a garden, before everything transformed into an amazing museum where one can find his or her peace. Born in the beginning of 20th Century, Isamu’s career spanned over amazing six decades.

Noguchi loved sculptures and he used all kinds of materials: stone, metal, steel, marble to name a few. Furthermore, his creative art includes representative assemblage of items in attempt to capture the essence of time in many periods of early and mid 20th Century; for example, a typical closet of an average american family in 1960s or a replica of spaceship from the movie Star Wars which symbolized the 1980s. Before we continue walking through his museum let’s mention his “outside” work like a beautiful stainless steel statue (relief) named “News” on a luxury building at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. 

At the museum Noguchi predominantly used stone, steel, and black marble. In one of his first sculptures he used a pairing technique of stainless steel with stone (actually, a granite) where he wanted to describe the connection between a granite, earthy material of nature representing warmth, strength and security which many believe represents his mom he loved while steel represents the cold product of those ugly factories which were always far from people, just like his father who was absent in his life. This creation encompasses these thoughts, the hollow triangle-shaped-steel cutting through while supporting a rounded granite with water channels carved in. It can be explained how his emotions and energy were able to flow unrestrictedly, but with very different colors of his emotions: the granite represented warm feelings that would shift into cold ones once he thought about his father, who represented the steel. Nevertheless, he always felt free.

Museum’s each room has different art, but art in each room follows certain pattern accordingly. For instance, the top room with roof and moonlight/skylight windows (what a great surprise) had stone sculptures and fusions of stone and metal. It was a space to relax, to think, to reflect on oneself etc. Another room had a beautiful casted tree welded of tins, cue pics, toothbrushes, some spiky things, and “maybe a toilet paper holder as well” as our professor added. The pattern was followed by a tall lantern and a well-like wash basin, where he used predominantly metal, and colors of gold and black. The tree itself had a strong pattern of items used by all people for personal hygiene. More generally, they are all used for cleaning. What’s the meaning of tree that can grow and live for hundreds of years and cleaning? Maybe Noguchi tried to tell us even if it takes a lifetime to never give up on ourselves? If so, great message.

Noguchi’s art shows that the object is not just physical, but how that object changes space around it; us within. 

My class was really lucky to come at odd time when Noguchi museum allowed another artist, Tom Sachs, to present his art named so cutely: A Tea Ceremony. Sachs’ art blended in perfectly with Isamu’s visions. Sachs recreated all steps when one makes a tea through his art and we were told there were live performances as well. The idea is to get a relaxation through simplicity just like one would when gardening for instance, or any hobby that involves raw and better connection with Earth.

Finally, the garden(!). Even though the green trees and blended colors didn’t reveal it at first it became obvious that the light-grey path divided the garden in two sections: the one with brown ground and red rocks, and the other with white stones and pebbles. What a great way to use negative space. Both areas displayed the sculptures following similar patterns. First I walked toward an upright free-standing sculpture called Core. It was made of basalt (a fine-grained, dark-colored volcano rock) in 1978. It resembled a rectangle but still looked abstract. It was hollow, with two circular openings facing each other on two sides. It looked serious, even on that beautiful sunny day.

When I sat on one sculpture (before they removed me of course) I finally noticed the free-standing well. Actually, it was a fountain-like with water running quietly, pouring from the opening in the middle,  and then disemboguing while covering all the surfaces of this hexagonal-like well. This representational art was magnificent. It was also made from basalt, in 1982. It was so smooth. But this was a tallish well, as opposed to ones that sometimes are leveled with soil. Once I leaned over I could’ve seen that inside was a tunnel-like space connecting to levels, or what was seen in most of Noguchi’s art, the channels. This is obviously his way of giving a freedom to water so it can float liberated from any constraints. Both sculptures were neutral dark as if the artist didn’t want to influence our feelings just yet, but to focus on forms and shapes, and to navigate us toward the bigger realization. 

Once at home when I observed my photos I became more aware of light and shade and I realized the crescent shapes in those two circles of the Core sculpture and one crescent-shape within the well formed by the Sun falling upon them. I also became aware of the VOID in these hollow sculptures. Then I had my silver lining when the crescent shapes connected with my Kabbalah readings (long ago though) and translated into this Zen garden where I realized the garden is meant to be observed at night during the moonlight under a clear sky that falls upon the sculptures and creates those crescents. A small pattern of the museum is even an astronaut placed by the stairs that symbolizes the moon and night (astronauts can walk on the moon only at night; impossible during the day). Zen garden “idea” comes from Japan but is used for meditation and in Buddhism as well. Noguchi’s vision is not just simple relaxation but to achieve a nirvana, and not just thinking but to let ourselves exercising our thoughts on a much higher level. What about the water of the well that gently caressed it? It looked like a basin where we can wash our hands and face (another cleaning tip) before we can start our prayer, meditation, our soul cleansing. And when best if not making a connection with the light of our creator that can be felt at night in complete silence. What a beautiful answer when one seeks to fill the void. Thank you Isamu.