noguchi

[Norman Watts <Norman_Watts@zzzzzzz>]

Hi George,

I didn't know about the gallery/warehouse. It would be very interesting
to see. For me one of the more interesting aspects of the exhibit was a
series of pictures of Noguchi at work. He was a slight man and it seems
he liked to work barefoot. I'm guessing he found it convenient because
he was splashing a lot of cooling water around.

One of the things that struck me about his work is that much of it
seems painful and ominous. At least thats the way I took them. Some of
the abstract pieces look vaguely like human figures in a gaol, or
secretive strangers conferring. Certainly there is no mistaking the
Lynching or the Scream. Black Sun is all struggle and conflict.

Another thing that impresses is the range of materials he worked;
slate, granite, basalt, marble, cement, wood, brass, stainless steel,
iron, aluminum, paper, plastic, string, lights. I assume the large
basalt pieces were made late in his career (I didn't pay  much
attention to the signs). He was obviously in a position to carefully
manipulate very large, heavy objects without damaging the fragile
oxidation layer on the outside. At the same he must have had access to
a huge drill to bore some of the holes. Not something you usually have
in the garage. He also glued blocks of marble together, like Sun at
Noon, and the seams are impeccable. Probably not done with a small hand
held tool.

For some reason they put the largest basalt piece not in the Hirshhorn
but over in the foyer of the National Gallery of Art, East Building. I
recognized it as his when Geri and I went to see the Lautrec exhibit
and the Goldsworthy domes a while back. I saw no sign in the Hirshhorn
directing people to go over to the National Gallery. Maybe the one in
the Gallery is a permanent one.

n

Norman Watts, Ph. D.
National Institutes of Health
50 South Drive, Rm. 1509
Bethesda, MD 20892-8025
Phone: (301) 402-3418
Fax: (301) 480-7629