Unidentified Object 1979

Here is a sculpture made by Noguchi Isamu, the title is 'Unidentified Object,' but what is a title anyway? More like a signpost, a loose invitation. I'm thinking about the cuts into the stone, those dark yawning gaps. This isn't a solid block: it's been hollowed out from within, which gives it a feeling of lightness and openness. Noguchi was so interested in how interior space could inform the exterior shape. He was inspired by Brancusi's simple forms, but Noguchi's forms always have this extra feeling of functional design. Look how the sculpture is placed on a layered cylindrical base, it makes me wonder what he wanted to elevate. What did he want us to see? Sculpture is a conversation, a call and response across time. It's about the artist's hands, the weight of the material, and the space it occupies – it’s a way of seeing and experiencing. And like this sculpture it might remain, beautifully, unidentifiable.