Isamu Noguchi: life and artistic contributions

Isamu Noguchi is an incredibly notable 20th century artist, and quite possibly one of the most influential Japanese sculptors of our time. Born in Los Angeles, California, Noguchi was surrounded by artistic influence from a young age. His father, Yonejiro Noguchi, was a Japanese poet, while his mother, Leonie Gilmour, was an America writer. Born on November 17, 1904, at the age of two Noguchi relocated from California to Japan where his father continued to reside. After relocating within Japan several times, his family settled in a seaside town in time for the birth of his younger sister, Ailes. Noguchi was semi-apprenticed to a carpenter in 1913 in order to help rebuild his family's home, where he acquired many of the skills he would later use in his sculptures. A few years later, he began attending Saint Joseph's College in Tokohama where his family joined him. Noguchi would return to the United States without the accompaniment of his family to attend the Interlaken School in Rolling Prarie, Indiana. This school would be closed during the war, during which time his friendship with the founder of the school, Dr. Edward Rumely, would begin. Dr. Rumely would place Noguchi in the home of Dr. Samuel Mack, a Swedenborgian minister, who lived in La Porte, Indiana where Noguchi would then attend high school. By 1922, Noguchi would graduate with a high school diploma from La Porte High School. Dr. Rumely then found Noguchi an apprenticeship with Gutzon Borglum, a sculptor from Connecticut, with whom Noguchi furthered his interest in sculpting. Dr. Rumely also raised money to pay for Noguchi's tuition to Columbia University in New York, where he was to study medicine. When his parents moved back to America in 1927, they encouraged him to take a sculpture class at the Leonardo da Vinci Art school, and within three months the head of this school gave him his first exhibition. Shortly after his first exhibition, he dropped out of his medical studies at Columbia University to devote himself to his art full time. That same year he was elected a member of the National Sculpture Society and set up his first studio. Noguchi would go on to design bridges, sculpture gardens, functional playground sculptures, fountains, theatrical sets, lamps, and furniture. His final project was designing a 400 acre park in Sapporo, Japan called Moerenuma Park shortly before his death in 1988, though it would be years before the park would be completed.