Noguchi as Photographer: The Jantar Mantars of Northern India is the first exhibition in a new series at The Noguchi Museum focusing on the artist’s photography, an underrepresented aspect of Noguchi’s career until now. The exhibition will include approximately twenty photographs from Noguchi’s several visits to the eighteenth-century astronomical observatories in Delhi and Jaipur between 1949 and 1961, a number of which were published contemporaneously in Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal and Portfolio: The Annual of the Graphic Arts. Known as Jantar Mantar (translating loosely to “instruments and formulae”), the two open-air campuses were comprised of astronomical instruments built of stone and marble with additional metal elements on a grand architectural scale. A selection of objects related to Noguchi’s interest in linking mankind and its rituals to the cosmos will also be on view, among them maquettes for his Skyviewing Sculpture at Western Washington University, Sunken Garden for Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale and Sky Gate in Honolulu.

WHEN                       

January 8 – May 31, 2015

Wednesday through Friday, 10–5; Saturday and Sunday, 11–6; closed Monday and Tuesday.

RELATED PROGRAM

Noguchi Talks with Associate Curator Matthew Kirsch
Saturday, March 21, 2014, 1:00 PM
Join Matthew Kirsch, the Noguchi Museum’s Associate Curator and organizer of Noguchi as Photographer: The Jantar Mantars of Northern India, for a special tour of the exhibition.

WHERE

The Noguchi Museum
9-01 33rd Road at Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, New York

ADMISSION

$10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, free for children twelve and under and for all New York City public school students. On the first Friday of every month, admission is free.

ISAMU NOGUCHI

Isamu Noguchi was one of the most critically acclaimed sculptors of the twentieth century. Through a lifetime of artistic experimentation, he created sculpture, gardens, furniture, lighting and interior designs, ceramics, architecture, and set designs. His work, at once subtle and bold, traditional and modern, set a new standard for artistic achievement. Noguchi collaborated with a range of artists and thinkers and traveled extensively throughout his career. He discovered the impact of large-scale public works in Mexico, earthy ceramics and tranquil gardens in Japan, subtle ink-brush techniques in China, and the purity of marble in Italy.

ORGANIZATION

Organized by Noguchi Museum Associate Curator Matthew Kirsch, Noguchi as Photographer: The Jantar Mantars of Northern India is drawn from the Museum’s extensive collections.

THE NOGUCHI MUSEUM

Occupying a renovated industrial building dating from the 1920s, The Noguchi Museum, located in Long Island City, New York, comprises ten indoor galleries And an internationally celebrated outdoor sculpture garden. Since its founding in 1985, the Museum—itself widely viewed as among the artist’s greatest achievements—has exhibited a comprehensive selection of sculpture in stone, metal, wood, and clay, as well as models for public projects and gardens, dance sets, and Noguchi’s Akari Light Sculptures. Thought-provoking and frequently changing installations of the permanent collection together with the Museum’s diverse special exhibitions offer a rich, contextualized view of Noguchi’s work and illuminate his influential legacy of innovation. For more information: www.noguchi.org.

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