“Everything is sculpture,” said Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. And he created sculptures out of anything he could get his hands on—stone, metal, wood, clay, bone, paper. Unwilling and unable to be pigeonholed, he created sculptures that could be as abstract as Henri Moore’s and as realistic as Leonardo’s. “To limit yourself to a particular style may make you an expert of that particular viewpoint or school, but I do not wish to belong to any school,” he said. “I am always learning, always discovering.”
The story behind the Noguchi table is a fascinating one, and Noguchi tells it in his autobiography. “I went to Hawaii in 1939 to do an advertisement (with Georgia O’Keefe). As a result of this, I had met (T.H.) Robsjohn-Gibbings, the furniture designer, who had asked me to do a coffee table for him. I designed a small model in plastic and heard no further before I went west.”
By “went west” Noguchi meant his internment, as a Japanese-American, in an Arizona concentration camp during World War II. During his time there, Noguchi said he was surprised to see a variation of the small model table he had done for Robsjohn-Gibbings published as an advertisement for the English designer.
“When, on my return, I remonstrated, he said anybody could make a three-legged table,” said Noguchi. “In revenge, I made my own variant of my own table.”
The “variant” that Noguchi designed was used to illustrate an article, written by Herman Miller designer George Nelson, called “How to Make a Table.” The table in the illustration became his famous “coffee table.”
The perfect balance—literally—between art and furniture. Sculptor Isamu Noguchi created his distinctive table by joining a curved, wood base with a freeform glass top. The ethereal result does not diminish the practical design—a sturdy and durable table. This marriage of sculptural form and everyday function has made the Noguchi table an understated and beautiful element in homes and offices since its introduction in 1948.
“Everything is sculpture,” said Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. And he created sculptures out of anything he could get his hands on—stone, metal, wood, clay, bone, paper. Unwilling and unable to be pigeonholed, he created sculptures that could be as abstract as Henri Moore’s and as realistic as Leonardo’s. “To limit yourself to a particular style may make you an expert of that particular viewpoint or school, but I do not wish to belong to any school,” he said. “I am always learning, always discovering.”
ReplyDeleteThe story behind the Noguchi table is a fascinating one, and Noguchi tells it in his autobiography. “I went to Hawaii in 1939 to do an advertisement (with Georgia O’Keefe). As a result of this, I had met (T.H.) Robsjohn-Gibbings, the furniture designer, who had asked me to do a coffee table for him. I designed a small model in plastic and heard no further before I went west.”
By “went west” Noguchi meant his internment, as a Japanese-American, in an Arizona concentration camp during World War II. During his time there, Noguchi said he was surprised to see a variation of the small model table he had done for Robsjohn-Gibbings published as an advertisement for the English designer.
“When, on my return, I remonstrated, he said anybody could make a three-legged table,” said Noguchi. “In revenge, I made my own variant of my own table.”
The “variant” that Noguchi designed was used to illustrate an article, written by Herman Miller designer George Nelson, called “How to Make a Table.” The table in the illustration became his famous “coffee table.”
The perfect balance—literally—between art and furniture. Sculptor Isamu Noguchi created his distinctive table by joining a curved, wood base with a freeform glass top. The ethereal result does not diminish the practical design—a sturdy and durable table. This marriage of sculptural form and everyday function has made the Noguchi table an understated and beautiful element in homes and offices since its introduction in 1948.
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