Isamu Noguchi
1976
Steel, concrete, wood, bronze, masonry
A playground built as part of the “Art in the Park” program, the sculpture was commissioned by the High Museum of Art as the museum’s bicentennial gift to Atlanta. Playscapes is the only playground designed by world-reknowned artist and sculptor, Isamu Noguchi, and completed during his lifetime.
Noguchi states in a 1949 essay titled “Towards a Reintegration of the Arts,” “In the creation and existence of a piece of sculpture, individual possession has less significance than public enjoyment. Without this purpose, the very meaning of sculpture is in question. By sculpture we mean those plastic and spatial relationships which define a moment of personal existence and illume the environment of our aspirations … therefore that the function of sculpture … is more than merely the decoration of architecture, or the treasure of museums. Both of these outlets, worthy though they may be, are an extension in kind of private ownership…. In the technological order alive today, another channel must
be opened for sculpture, if that art is to fulfill its larger purpose.”
Born in Los Angeles, California, to an American mother and Japanese father, Noguchi spent the majority of his childhood in Japan. His family moved back to the States when he was a teenager, and he later lived in New York City while studying pre-med at Columbia University. During his time at Columbia, Noguchi took evening sculpture classes, which eventually led him to leave Columbia University to pursue an education in sculpture. Noguchi collaborated with artists working in a range of mediums, and he himself experimented with sculpture, gardens, furniture design, ceramics, architecture and set design. While he did not belong to any one artistic movement, his artworks represented a balance between traditional and modern, and set a new standard for the reintegration of arts.
Piedmont Park
1071 Piedmont Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30309