Noguchi

A changing relationship has forced some reflection time upon me, so I decided to take the time to go down to the Noguchi Sculpture Museum in Queens. It's only three metro stops from my place, and it was a nice day, so I decided to walk it.





The neighborhood around the museum seemed to be fairly derelict, with empty buildings and shady characters in the area. Upon entering the building, I was completely blown away by the work that was presented. Isamu Noguchi has such powerful work, it is so simple yet so truthful and illustrated. Highly refined, he deals with rough versus smooth, and natural versus manipulated. I was really a fan of his later work which were mostly giant pieces of stone that are the pure expressions of materiality and process. Chisel marks are visible and highly controlled and are used in the design of the piece to show the contrast between the natural and unnatural. With such simplicity he breaks the material down to its most elemental, really forcing you to confront the piece for what it is.





I was surprised at how much I could relate to his work, but I now realize it's so appropriate to my life at this moment. With so much going on, maybe it's best for me to step back and break everything down to the most basic elements and determine what is the most appropriate way for me to move forward. It's been a rough few days, but I feel that Noguchi has really helped me to see things in a new light. Now, if I could only afford his lamps...