Isamu Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramics: A Close Embrace of the Earth
Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) is renowned for his stone and bronze sculpture, his gardenlike installations in public spaces, and his furniture designs. Far less familiar, but no less important, is Noguchi's work in clay, which he executed in three intensive sessions in 1931, 1950, and 1952, all during visits to Japan. The pieces included in this elegant volume and the accompanying exhibition comprise the first major museum presentation of Isamu Noguchi's ceramics and the...
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This volume presents the ceramic oeuvre of Isamu Noguchi and includes other major ceramic artists from postwar Japan, analyzing the conflict between modernity and tradition and the search for cultural identity.Library JournalIt is a rare pleasure to find a thoughtful, readable book that opens a new perspective on a major artist by revealing a hitherto little-known facet of his career. This beautifully illustrated catalog to an exhibition at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery covers Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi's (1904-88) struggle to resolve his bicultural background by working in clay during his periods of residence in Japan in the 1930s and 1950s. Noguchi felt that clay was a telluric connection to the Japanese side of his identity and an immediate entr e into the artistic spirit of a country where ceramics have been valued for millennia. Working with groundbreaking potters such as Kitaoji Rosanjin and Kaneshige Toyo, Noguchi delved into both Japanese tradition and contemporary Western surrealism to create an exciting body of ceramic sculpture. Two major essays, by cocurators Cort and Winther-Tamaki, trace Noguchi's early life and work in Japan, while shorter essays by Niimi Ryu and Bruce Altshuler examine the artworks' relation to the art scene in Japan and America, respectively. The exhibition and catalog cover not only Noguchi but also several Japanese potters he influenced. Essential for ceramic and sculpture collections, this would also be useful in academic and larger public libraries.-David McClelland, Philadelphia Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroductionThe Ceramic Art of Isamu Noguchi: A Close Embrace of the Earth1The Modern Primitive: Discourses of the Visual Arts in Japan in the 1950s87Japanese Encounters with Clay103"Once an Oriental Always an Oriental": The American Display and Reception of Noguchi's Ceramics193Catalogue for Noguchi's 1950 Exhibition at Mitsukoshi Department Store, Tokyo204Catalogue for Noguchi's 1952 Exhibition at Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura208Selected Bibliography210Chronology212Contributors215Index216
\ Library JournalIt is a rare pleasure to find a thoughtful, readable book that opens a new perspective on a major artist by revealing a hitherto little-known facet of his career. This beautifully illustrated catalog to an exhibition at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery covers Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi's (1904-88) struggle to resolve his bicultural background by working in clay during his periods of residence in Japan in the 1930s and 1950s. Noguchi felt that clay was a telluric connection to the Japanese side of his identity and an immediate entr e into the artistic spirit of a country where ceramics have been valued for millennia. Working with groundbreaking potters such as Kitaoji Rosanjin and Kaneshige Toyo, Noguchi delved into both Japanese tradition and contemporary Western surrealism to create an exciting body of ceramic sculpture. Two major essays, by cocurators Cort and Winther-Tamaki, trace Noguchi's early life and work in Japan, while shorter essays by Niimi Ryu and Bruce Altshuler examine the artworks' relation to the art scene in Japan and America, respectively. The exhibition and catalog cover not only Noguchi but also several Japanese potters he influenced. Essential for ceramic and sculpture collections, this would also be useful in academic and larger public libraries.-David McClelland, Philadelphia Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.\ \
