"In a study that combines archival research, a firm grounding in the historical context, biographical analysis, and sustained attention to specific works of art, Amy Lyford provides an account of Isamu Noguchi's work between 1930 and 1950 and situates him among other artists who found it necessary to negotiate the issues of race and national identity. In particular, Lyford explores Noguchi's sense of his art as a form of social activism and a means of struggling against stereotypes of race, ethnicity, and national identity. Ultimately, the aesthetics and rhetoric of American modernism in this period both energized Noguchi's artistic production and constrained his public reputation"--

Explores how the ancient world shaped innovative American sculptor Isamu Noguchi's inspirational vision for the future.

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.

Now available in paperback, this definitive book explores the multidisciplinary career of one of the most experimental and pioneering artists of the 20th century. Encompassing the entirety of Isamu Noguchi’s work in sculpture, ceramics, photography, architecture, design, as well as the artist’s playscapes, gardens and stage sets for modern dance and theatre performance, this survey explores Noguchi’s creative process and lesser-known aspects of his practice, his engagement with a wide range of mediums and cultures, and his innovative achievements over six decades. Brimming with imagery and contributions from an international range of authors, this book helps readers grasp the diversity and patterns of Noguchi’s work both in situ and in galleries. Archival photographs of the artist’s studios offer glimpses into his experimental attitude towards sculpture. Themes of harmony and dissonance, which were central to his practice, are explored in a series of essays that consider the artist’s dual heritage, the Japanese American experience, his worldwide travel and his many influences. It also pays tribute to Noguchi’s fruitful collaborations with creatives from a range of industries, such as R. Buckminster Fuller, Martha Graham and Louis Kahn. Throughout the monograph Noguchi’s own words provide a critical backdrop towards understanding an artist who embraced many schools of thought, and whose entire life and career set an example for partnership and cooperation across artistic, political and cultural boundaries.

"From the author of Arshile Gorky, a major biography of the great American sculptor that redefines his legacy"--

Sculptor Isamu Noguchi's ties to Seattle are significant and enduring. Black Sun, a granite disk, is situated before the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park, and has become one of the city's most beloved landmarks. Sky-Viewing Sculpture at Western Washington University in Bellingham is user-friendly and popular. Born in 1904 in Los Angeles, Noguchi spent his early years in both Japan and the United States. In 1927 a Guggenheim Fellowship took him to Paris where he became Constantin Brancusi's studio assistant and plunged into abstract and geometric work. Studies in China and Japan led to an appreciation of Zen gardens and a respect for nature. This book illustrates a number of his works.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Changing and Unchanging Things: Noguchi and Hasegawa in Postwar Japan, organized by The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum. Venues: Yokohama Museum of Art, January 12-March 24, 2019; The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, May 1-July 14, 2019; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, September 27-December 8, 2019. This exhibition is made possible through lead support from the Terra Foundation for American Art.

A man of inexhaustible energy and invention, the sculptor Isamu Noguchi was always in motion. Ranging across the century and filled with engaging persons and places, Noguchi's story is a compelling one. This book includes little-known documentary photographs from the artist's own archives and striking full-color images from every aspect of his multifaceted career.--[book cover].