Design: Isamu Noguchi and Isamu Kenmochi (Book)

About the Item

By Bonnie Rychlak, Hitoshu Mori, Nina Murayama and Tetsuo Matsumoto Let the East learn from Western civilization. Let the West learn from the Eastern culture. In the world of freedom, we naturally create a relationship to each other. Isamu Noguchi, in an address to the staff at the Industrial Arts Research Institute in Tokyo. Isamu Kenmochi (1912-1971) was one of the pioneers of industrial design in Japan. Post-war Japanese artists struggled to create their own original industrial products. Kenmochi sought to establish Japanese modern design while reinventing traditional techniques and materials. Like many Japanese artists of his generation, Kenmochi was inspired by Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), a pivotal figure in twentieth century sculpture and design. Through Noguchi's influence and subsequent introductions to creative masters such as Alexander Girard, Walter Gropius, George Nelson, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Kenmochi travelled abroad and collected furniture, household products, and thousands of colour slides documenting American and European design, which he brought back to Japan to share with contemporaries in the field. Noguchi and Kenmochi first met at the architect Kenzo Tange's office at Tokyo University on June 24, 1950. In August of that year, Noguchi spent two weeks teaching with Kenmochi at the Industrial Arts Research Institute in Tokyo. Basing his approach on Japanese design traditions, Noguchi persuaded the artists at the institute to look beyond the mere exotic. The ideology they developed came to be known as Japanese Modern, or Japonica Design. Bonnie Rychlak is curator and director of collections at the Noguchi Museum in New York. An artist herself, Rychlak worked as Isamu Noguchi's assistant until his death in 1988, and is a leading authority on Noguchi's life and art. 184 pages. Hardback. 1320 grams

Dimensions:

Height: 7 in (17.78 cm)Width: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)Depth: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Paper

Period:

20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

2007

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. The dust jacket is rubbed in places with some minor tears a mylar cover has been put on to protect from further wear, internally the book is very clean.

Seller Location:

North Yorkshire, GB

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU899636763532

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