The artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi’s (1904–1988) interests and production spanned an exceptionally broad terrain from furniture and lamps to courtyards and gardens. Although his gardens include several of the twentieth century’s most iconic landscape designs, Noguchi nonetheless occupies a place removed from the normal practice of landscape architecture. As an artist, he relied more on intuition than on objective analysis, and he shaped his landscapes as sculpture, with space as their primary vehicle.

In his comprehensive and richly illustrated study of Noguchi’s gardens, noted landscape historian Marc Treib describes and critiques projects that date from Noguchi’s early, unrealized projects for playgrounds and monuments to a large park in Sapporo, Japan, whose construction was completed only posthumously. The story begins with the discussion of Noguchi sculpture that relate in some way to actual landscapes, then moves to the dance set designs for Martha Graham, finally entering the realm of actual landscapes with his gardens for the Reader’s Digest offices in Tokyo. Registration will be available April 1. Click here for details.

DATE AND TIME
Thursday, May 2, 2024
2:00 p.m. Eastern

LOCATION
Live on Zoom

REGISTRATION
$5 for members of the Garden Conservancy
$15 for General Admission