Page 1 of 2 Brooklyn Botanic Garden and The Noguchi Museum Present Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden On View September 8–December 13, 2015 Exhibition Marks 100th Anniversary of BBG’s Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, 30th Anniversary of Noguchi Museum FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Updated September 8, 2015 (Brooklyn, NY)–Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is pleased to announce a special fall exhibition, Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a presentation of sculptures by the renowned Japanese-American artist. Organized in collaboration with The Noguchi Museum, New York, and curated by the Museum’s senior curator, Dakin Hart, the show includes 18 works by Isamu Noguchi (1904–88) from the Museum’s permanent collection, sited throughout BBG’s outdoor and indoor public gardens. Ranging in date from the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s, the sculptures are on view from September 8 through December 13, 2015. The centerpiece of Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a selection of some eight works sited in BBG’s Japanese Hill-and- Pond Garden. Opened in 1915 and considered the masterpiece of landscape designer Takeo Shiota (1881–1943), this was the first Japanese garden to be created in an American public garden and is one of the oldest and most visited Japanese-inspired gardens outside Japan. “In Isamu Noguchi, we find a world citizen whose brilliance and creativity transcends cultures and generations,” says Scot Medbury, president of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. “The fact that Noguchi took his inspiration from nature and created not only sculpture but also gardens makes this exhibition a particularly good fit for BBG, and we are deeply grateful to The Noguchi Museum for its partnership.” Noguchi Museum director Jenny Dixon states, “The Museum is thrilled to have worked on this project with the esteemed Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A connoisseur of the great Japanese gardens, Noguchi would, I think, have been immensely proud to see his work installed in one of the oldest and most important such gardens in one of the oldest and most important botanical gardens in the United States.” “Gardens, parks, and playgrounds represented the apex of Noguchi’s ambitions for sculpture: immersive, interactive environments produced by the combined efforts of nature and human beings, often populated by ambiguously useful, sort of architectural elements and designed in the universal language of sensory experience,” adds Mr. Hart. Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden at BBG. Photo: Antonio M. Rosario. Isamu Noguchi, Rain Mountain, 1982–83, hot-dipped galvanized steel, 96 26 1 /8 24 1 /2 in. Courtesy The Noguchi Museum.
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Brooklyn Botanic Garden and The Noguchi Museum Present
Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
On View September 8–December 13, 2015
Exhibition Marks 100th Anniversary of BBG’s Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, 30th Anniversary of Noguchi Museum
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Updated September 8, 2015 (Brooklyn, NY)–Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is pleased to announce a special fall exhibition, Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a presentation of sculptures by the renowned Japanese-American artist. Organized in collaboration with The Noguchi Museum, New York, and curated by the Museum’s senior curator, Dakin Hart, the show includes 18 works by Isamu Noguchi (1904–88) from the Museum’s permanent collection, sited throughout BBG’s outdoor and indoor public gardens. Ranging in date from the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s, the sculptures are on view from September 8 through December 13, 2015.
The centerpiece of Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a selection of some eight works sited in BBG’s Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Opened in 1915 and considered the masterpiece of landscape designer Takeo Shiota (1881–1943), this was the first Japanese garden to be created in an American public garden and is one of the oldest and most visited Japanese-inspired gardens outside Japan.
“In Isamu Noguchi, we find a world citizen whose brilliance and creativity transcends cultures and generations,” says Scot Medbury, president of Brooklyn Botanic Garden. “The fact that Noguchi took his inspiration from nature and created not only sculpture but also gardens makes this exhibition a particularly
good fit for BBG, and we are deeply grateful to The Noguchi Museum for its partnership.”
Noguchi Museum director Jenny Dixon states, “The Museum is thrilled to have worked on this project with the esteemed Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A connoisseur of the great Japanese gardens, Noguchi would, I think, have been immensely proud to see his work installed in one of the oldest and most important such gardens in one of the oldest and most important botanical gardens in the United States.”
“Gardens, parks, and playgrounds represented the apex of Noguchi’s ambitions for sculpture: immersive, interactive environments produced by the combined efforts of nature and human beings, often populated by ambiguously useful, sort of architectural elements and designed in the universal language of sensory experience,” adds Mr. Hart.
Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden at BBG. Photo: Antonio M. Rosario.
Isamu Noguchi, Rain Mountain, 1982–83,
hot-dipped galvanized steel, 96 261/8 241/2 in. Courtesy The Noguchi Museum.
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Among the works placed in the landscape of the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden is Rain Mountain (1982–83). The eight-foot-tall, hot-dipped galvanized steel sculpture is installed just outside the north entrance of the garden, serving as an invitation to explore the gently rolling landscape within. Jack-in-the-Box (1984), a large bronze-plate work reminiscent of the children’s toy, and a paper, bamboo, and metal Akari lamp, model 33X (1968), are sited inside the garden’s viewing pavilion. Strange Bird (1945), a bronze semi-abstract work installed on the turtle island, recalls a pair of bronze crane originally located there when the Japanese garden first opened 100 years ago. Sky Mirror (1970), a low-slung basalt piece with a highly polished surface, is located on the small promontory between the waiting pavilion and the pond, angled to catch the morning light. Here, it embodies one of Noguchi’s most important reference points: the yin-yang relationship between water and stone, seeming opposites—solid/liquid, moving/still—that are in fact intimately related in nature, where they shape each other.
The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and the works displayed there are the center of the exhibition, but the installation extends to other areas of BBG as well. Several of Noguchi’s interpretations of rock formations, for example, are installed along the grassy hillsides near BBG’s Rock Garden; other works are displayed in the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum, the Desert Pavilion, the Osborne Garden, the Plant Family Collection, Cherry Esplanade, the Native Flora Garden, and Ginkgo Allée.
Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden runs concurrently with The Noguchi Museum’s 30th anniversary exhibition Museum of Stones (October 7, 2015–January 10, 2016).
On the occasion of Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, BBG is also presenting Isamu Noguchi: The Transformation of Nature, a Conservatory Gallery exhibition of rare images from The Noguchi Museum’s archives that offer a glimpse of the artist’s vision of public spaces and his work as a garden, park, and playground maker. BBG is also presenting a series of special tours led by expert guides from BBG and The Noguchi Museum, an audio tour by Dakin Hart, a kids’ discovery guide, and classes and other public programs tied to the exhibition and the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Details can be found at bbg.org/noguchi.
High-resolution images of Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden are available here. To arrange an interview or for further information, please contact [email protected] or 718-623-7241.
About The Noguchi Museum The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum opened in 1985 as the first museum in the country to be founded by an artist during his lifetime for the display of his work. The collection and exhibitions focus on Noguchi’s extensive production, articulating the cultural context in which he worked, the many major figures with whom he engaged, and his ongoing influence on the art and design of today. In addition to temporary exhibitions, The Noguchi Museum offers a variety of education and public programs that seek to introduce Noguchi’s work and vision to diverse audiences. These programs encourage the investigation of Noguchi’s work from different vantage points and support participants as they experience the artist’s work from their own perspectives. For more information, please visit noguchi.org.
About BBG Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment. Situated on 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn, the Garden is home to over 14,000 kinds of plants and hosts more than 800,000 visitors annually.
Learn what’s happening at Brooklyn Botanic Garden at bbg.org/visit/calendar, read the Garden’s blog at bbg.org/news, and find out what’s in bloom at bbg.org/bloom. Visitor entrances are at 990 Washington Avenue, 150 Eastern Parkway, and 455 Flatbush Avenue. Follow BBG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and join the conversation using the hashtag #brooklynbotanic.
ISAMU NOGUCHI AT BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN Fact Sheet
WHAT Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden includes 18 works by Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–88)—one of the most acclaimed sculptors and designers of the 20th century—sited throughout Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s outdoor and indoor public gardens. The exhibition has been organized by Brooklyn Botanic Garden in collaboration with The Noguchi Museum, New York, and curated by Noguchi Museum senior curator Dakin Hart.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is an installation of some eight works in BBG’s iconic Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Noguchi’s works extend to other areas of BBG as well, with sculptures in stone, steel, and bronze situated around the Garden, where they engage in a dialogue with the natural landscape. Isamu Noguchi at Brooklyn Botanic Garden coincides with the 100th anniversary of BBG’s Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and The Noguchi Museum’s 30th anniversary.
WHEN September 8–December 13, 2015
WHERE Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor entrances: 990 Washington Avenue, 150 Eastern Parkway, 455 Flatbush Avenue.
NOGUCHI The Noguchi Museum opened in 1985 as the first museum in the country to be founded by a MUSEUM living artist for the display of his work. The Museum’s collection and exhibitions focus on
Noguchi’s extensive production, as well as the cultural context in which he worked, the many major figures with whom he engaged, and his ongoing influence on the art and design of today. In addition to temporary exhibitions, The Noguchi Museum offers a variety of education and public programs that seek to introduce Noguchi’s work and vision to diverse audiences. These programs encourage the investigation of Noguchi’s work from different vantage points and support participants as they experience the artist’s work from their own perspectives. For more information, please visit noguchi.org.
BROOKLYN Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is an urban botanic garden that connects BOTANIC people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and GARDEN sense of stewardship of the environment. Situated on 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn, the
Garden is home to over 14,000 kinds of plants and hosts more than 800,000 visitors annually. For more information, please visit bbg.org.
MEDIA Elizabeth Reina-Longoria, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, [email protected], 718-623-7241 Lucy O’Brien, Noguchi Museum, [email protected], 646-590-9267
