The Noguchi Museum & Socrates Park

The Noguchi museum was great and definitely different from what I'm used to. There were lots of interesting things that I didn't expect. The first sculpture I'm going to talk about is this 3-D model of a lobster. (I didn't get the chance to find out who created the work) This piece of art is definitely representational due the fact we can recognize this object in real life. Just by looking at you can tell it was made from metal but then if you look even closer it's made out of metal tools; therefore, this sculpture is an assemblage and constructed. It's both additive and subtractive. For example the claws of the lobster are made of pliers. It's made from other metallic tools but I just don't know their technical terms. The fact that it was made up of partial tools and not the whole thing makes it subtractive. The sculpture is also free standing due to all the negative space around it. It defines the piece and makes it easier to view.

            The second sculpture I'm going to talk about is his tree that was on the first floor of the museum. This piece of artwork was also representational due to the obvious fact that it was a tree. It's base was a rectangular box. This was also freestanding due to all the negative space around it. You were able to walk around it and get the full affects of this tree. I was looking at the art work inches away, walking around it, when I suddenly realized what it was made out of. Metal tooth brushes and Q-Tips ! The trunk and branches of the tree were metal but then when it got to the tips of the branches you can see the tooth brushes. Then from there the tooth brush branches have Q-Tip branches to give the tree a really twiggy look to it. It's as if they dipped the tooth brushes and Q-Tips into a metal and then molded them together on the tree when done. I would say they used the modeling technique due to the manipulation of the tooth brushes and Q-tips. Like the first piece of work, this is also more additive and not subtractive.

            These pieces were very similar. They were both made of metal, they were freestanding, they were representational because we can make relations to what they are in our real world, and they are both additive. The only real differences are the lobster piece was subtractive due to the metallic tools being taken apart to be make this metal lobster. The second piece was more manipulated than the first piece due to the addition of modeling used with the tooth brushes and Q-Tips.

            I enjoyed this museum more than I thought. I didn't like the abstract sculptures because I honestly don't enjoy abstract at all, but overall it was a great experience. I also liked how the museum was a part of the outside. I feel as though it connected with nature. The little garden with sculptures within it and the piece with the fishes really gave that feeling. After that I went to the Socrates sculpture park and it was amazing even though they are renovating the park. I got to capture some of the statues that were by the entrance of the park like the boy wearing a bat man shirt with roller skates. Or the guy shirtless with a basketball leaning on the boom box. But my favorite of them all was the piano they used as an active bee hive. You can see the holes made for them to access the piano, their home. I also loved how it was by the water with a great view. I really enjoyed this trip.