A trip to the Noguchi Museum is a place worth visiting again and for those who have not experienced it for the first time as well. This museum, in particular, differs from the Museum of Modern art and the Metropolitan Museum for three reasons. One, the work of art placement is solely based off of how the artist wanted them to be placed. I think it is wonderful to walk into an exhibit with the knowledge that the artist themselves had taken the time to position their artwork the way they wanted it. Two, the layout of the work of Isamu Noguchi. As you walk in through the main doors and then walk to your left through the next set of doors, the first thing you notice is the change of scenery; specifically the architecture. An indoor/outdoor exhibit is a different experience compared to the elegant and formal presentation of a gallery such as the museums mentioned above. When you walk into the Noguchi Museum, the indoor/outdoor feel as if you are actually outside and experiencing the artwork in its natural place. The artwork itself represents the theme of the indoor/outdoor exhibit by the way he cuts into the rocks and the manipulates the surface to show the inside/outside of the rock. The theme of the museum connects with the artwork very well which is something you don’t always see in some museums. Work made from natural resources and then used architecturally shows how there is more than one way to use materials within our society, no matter what the actual use of it may be. Lastly, Isamu Noguchi purposely left out the plaques that would normally give you the title, what the artwork was made out of and a small description of what the work was about. His vision of his museum was for the viewers to walk in and focus on the artwork instead of looking for a description of the work. Like the MOMA, but different by there is no description of the work, only what the viewer thinks the work is about.
Amongst all the amazing and inspiring artwork, one piece stood out in particular and that was the Floor Frame (Remembering India). It was made in 1970 out of yellow Sienna marble and petit granite marble. I appreciated the way the piece represented movement and play of scale. It was interesting to see a work of art so low to the ground, but I couldn’t imagine it on a table or even on a pedestal. It was wonderful to see the playful illusion of the artwork. It was like a part of the work went into the floor and came up and came alive with plant life. It reminded me of how as humans, we tend to lay our roots into new places with the idea that we are going to be in that place for years and grow old there. The work together was peaceful to look at and interesting to think of what the meaning was behind it without looking at a description.
I would recommend this museum to anyone after the experience I had for the first time and plan to go again.
Sculpture 