Sculpture or Three-dimensional Work by Foreign Artist
Inventory Number
88-SF-004
Isamu Noguchi actively incorporated into his work architectural and industrial materials that had never before been used in traditional sculpture. His Chinese Sleeve was made by cutting a stainless steel sheet into pieces, assembling them, and then polishing them with a rotary polisher. To design a solid from a thin sheet like this, Noguchi first made small maquettes using cardboard. The title reminds us of the sleeves in traditional Chinese clothing that are so long they conceal the hands. If you wore such clothes, they wouldn’t be suitable for normal work, rather you would need to adapt your movement to suit them. The sculpture shows the cuff hanging down from the arm, which is swung up diagonally as though in a dance. The torso stands upright and the legs are crossed at right angles for stability. The marks left from the polisher appear to shine, enhancing the richness of appearance and expressing both movement and stillness as one.
(NAKAMURA Naoaki)
Isamu Noguchi actively incorporated into his work architectural and industrial materials that had never before been used in traditional sculpture. His Chinese Sleeve was made by cutting a stainless steel sheet into pieces, assembling them, and then polishing them with a rotary polisher. To design a solid from a thin sheet like this, Noguchi first made small maquettes using cardboard. The title reminds us of the sleeves in traditional Chinese clothing that are so long they conceal the hands. If you wore such clothes, they wouldn’t be suitable for normal work, rather you would need to adapt your movement to suit them. The sculpture shows the cuff hanging down from the arm, which is swung up diagonally as though in a dance. The torso stands upright and the legs are crossed at right angles for stability. The marks left from the polisher appear to shine, enhancing the richness of appearance and expressing both movement and stillness as one.
(NAKAMURA Naoaki)