Isamu Noguchi has been an iconic figure in sculpture, architecture and
design since the 1950s. Born to an American teacher and a Japanese poet,
Isamu Noguchi’s keen awareness of the divide between Eastern and
Western artistic traditions served as a source of inspiration throughout
his career. Looking through his work, one senses the influence of both
American post-war modernism and a traditional Japanese aesthetic.
Nowhere is this blending of cultural values more evident than in his
famous Akari Light Sculptures, a collection of handmade floor, table and
ceiling luminaries.
The word ‘akari’ is Japanese for light in terms of brightness or
illumination, but the word also suggests light in the sense of
weightlessness. In the Akari Light Sculptures, Isamu Noguchi has managed
to simultaneously embody both of these meanings. “Looking more fragile
than they are, Akari seem to float, casting their light as in passing,”
he explains. “They perch light as a feather, some pinned to the wall,
others clipped to a cord, and all may be moved with a thought.” Their
presence is thus a unique one, at once transformative of a space and
transitory within it.
The Akari Light Sculptures have been manufactured by the same company in
Gifu, Japan since 1951. The original craft techniques have been
maintained throughout their production, and each model is still made by
hand from bamboo and the beautiful Shoji-paper. Steeped as they are in
tradition, the Akari Light Sculptures remain timeless pieces, as fresh
today as they were over half a century ago.
