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About the Item
Akari model 1N light sculpture by Isamu Noguchi. The shade is made from handmade washi paper and bamboo ribs with Noguchi Akari manufacturers stamp. Akari light sculptures by Isamu Noguchi are considered icons of 1950s modern design. Designed by Noguchi in the 1950s, this example is from the 1980s and was still handmade by Ozeki, the original manufacturer in Gifu, Japan. The word Akari translates to Light in Japanese. This minimalistic statement piece has been popular ever since the release of its series. With this lamp, we have the original manufacturers packaging and authentic red Noguchi stamp on lamp. This small, but impactful lamp gives an instant warm ambience, and character into any space.
Dimensions: W25 x D25 x H39 cm
Period: 1970s
Condition: Very Good and originalCreator: Akari (Manufacturer),Isamu Noguchi (Designer)Design: Akari Light SculptureDimensions: Height: 15.36 in (39 cm)Width: 9.85 in (25 cm)Depth: 9.85 in (25 cm)Power Source: Plug-inLampshade: IncludedMaterials and Techniques: Bamboo,Paper,SteelPeriod: 1970-1979Date of Manufacture: 1979Condition: GoodWear consistent with age and use.Seller Location: ABCOUDE, NLReference Number: 1stDibs: LU6852237878142
Akari Light Sculpture
Designed by Isamu Noguchi
It was a trip to Japan in the spring of 1951 that inspired artist and designer Isamu Noguchi (190488) to create the Akari light sculpture. Noguchi was passing through the city of Gifu, in central Japan, and observed a traditional nighttime festival in which fishermen use cormorants to help them catch fish. Each boat was equipped with a chochin lantern to light its way. Noguchi one of the 20th centurys most inventive artists was enraptured with the beauty of these traditional decorative lamps, which were made locally from mulberry bark and bamboo.
The artist met with Gifus mayor, who explained that he was seeking a way to reinvigorate his citys lantern industry. Aiming to bring the chochins traditional design into the 20th century, Noguchi made multiple prototypes with an incandescent bulb in place of a candle. He named the updated lantern Akari, which means both illumination and lightness in Japanese. Noguchi debuted his Akari light sculpture at an exhibition of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in Kamakura in 1952. It caught on immediately, not only as a piece of art but also as a functional design.
Since 1951, Noguchis Akari lanterns have been handcrafted in Gifu. Fabricators stretch bamboo ribbing across molded wood forms, then glue washi paper made from the bark of the mulberry tree to the inside and outside of the resulting frame. Once the glue dries, the shape is set, and the internal wood form can be disassembled and removed. The lanterns are collapsible, a traditional feature that Noguchi insisted on keeping. They can thus be shipped flat around the world in shallow boxes or slender envelopes, and then easily unpacked and installed. This feature contributes to the sculptures practicality. As Noguchi was fond of saying, All you require to start a home are a room, a tatami and Akari.”
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Isamu Noguchi
A sculptor, painter, ceramicist and furniture and lighting designer, Isamu Noguchi was one of the most prolific and protean creative forces of the 20th century and a key figure in the development of organic modernism. Noguchis sculptures and designs his chairs and tables as well as his timeless Akari lamp and other lighting fixtures share a common spirit: one of lyrical abstraction, tempo and flow and harmonious balance.
Noguchi was born in Los Angeles to an American mother and Japanese father, and spent most of his childhood in Japan. He returned to the United States at age 13, went to high school in Indiana and enrolled at Columbia University to study medicine. At the same time, he took night courses in sculpture.
Within three months, Noguchi left college to pursue art full time. Noguchi was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927 and traveled to Paris to work under Constantin Brancusi. It marked a turning point. Inspired by Brancusi, Noguchi embraced abstraction and began to sculpt in the expressive, rhythmic style that would be the hallmark of his work.
Once back in New York, Noguchi was introduced to design by what would become a lifelong collaboration creating sets for choreographer Martha Graham. His first industrial designs were in Bakelite: the sleek Measured Time kitchen timer created circa 1932, and his famed Zenith Radio Nurse intercom, from 1937.
Ten years later, Herman Miller introduced Noguchis now-iconic glass-topped coffee table with an articulated wooden base. His washi paper and bamboo Akari light sculptures, handmade in Japan, debuted in 1951. In the late 1950s, Noguchi designed for Knoll, creating such pieces as his dynamic Cyclone table and rocking stool.
For collectors, Noguchis furniture and lighting designs remain his most accessible work they have the same power and presence that Noguchi brought to his art.
Find vintage Isamu Noguchi floor lamps, table lamps, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
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