Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum

By: Justin McGuire | Posted on: May 31st, 2010 | No Comments | Read 1,049 Times

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Isamu Noguchi is not an obscure name when you think about American artists of the 20^th century. He was born in Los Angeles to Japanese poet, Yone Noguchi and Irish-American writer, Leonie Gilmore. Perhaps it was this duality of cultural backgrounds along with the early influences of his childhood spent in Japan that shaped Noguchi’s life and work.

His work was not limited to a specific media and he often created intriguing sculpture pieces from stone, wood, clay, metal or mixed materials. He also refused to stick to a specific genre, and in his career he dabbled in modernist as well as post modernism forms. Noguchi was well known for his deviation from traditional sculpture and art and many of his sculptures have been considered to be “out of the box.”

The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum was opened in 1985, and the thirteen galleries within it present a comprehensive collection of his work. Apart from his sculptures and forms in metal, wood, stone and clay, you can also see models for public projects and gardens, Akari Light Sculptures, and dance sets. This two-storied museum is spread over 24,000 square feet and has an attached outdoor sculpture garden.

The museum reopened in June 2004 after a long renovation that lasted two and a half years. This renovation, apart from adding an education center, a shop, a new café, also installed a heating and cooling system that allowed the museum to stay open all year round. In addition to this, the building was also made more handicap accessible.

An interesting fact about this museum that not many people may be privy to is that until two years ago, there used to be 60-foot-tall, 75 year old Tree of Heaven that stood in the center of the sculpture garden. However, sadly enough the tree showed signs of dying in 2008 and threatened to cause serious damage to the museum if it collapsed on it. Therefore, the museum got in touch with the Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop that used the wood from the tree to make benches, sculptures and other amenities in and around the building.

The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum provides and intimate and peaceful experience to its visitors, one that is as interesting as it is educative. One should take out the time to visit a genius’ work of art from such close quarters.

Address: 9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard), Long Island City, NY

Administrative office: 32-37 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11106

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