Noguchi Museum
Coordinates: 40°45′58″N 73°56′23″W / 40.766160°N 73.939662°W
| The Noguchi Museum | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 Location of The Noguchi Museum in New York City
|
|
| Established | 1985 |
| Location | 32-37 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens, New York |
| Director | Jenny Dixon |
| Public transit access | Broadway stop on the N or Q |
| Website | The Noguchi Museum |
The Noguchi Museum, chartered as The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, was designed and created by the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi in 1985 to preserve and display his sculptures, architectural models, stage designs, drawings, and furniture designs. It is a two story museum with an outdoor sculpture garden. It is located in the Long Island City section of Queens, one block from the Socrates Sculpture Park. In 2004, a major renovation allowed the museum to remain open year round.
Contents |
[edit] Description
The museum is a two story 24,000 square feet (2,200 m2) building with an attached outdoor sculpture garden. There are 12 galleries within the museum.[1] There is a gift shop.
[edit] History
To house the museum, in 1974 Noguchi purchased a photogravure plant and gas station located across the street from his studio, where he had worked and lived since 1961.[2] The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum opened to the public in 1985 on a seasonal basis. In 1999 the Foundation Board approved a $13.5 million Capital Master Plan to address structural concerns, ADA and NYC Building Code compliance and create a new public education facility. During renovation, the Museum relocated to a temporary space in Sunnyside, Queens, and held several thematic exhibitions of Noguchi’s work. In February 2004, the museum was formally chartered as a museum, and granted 501(c)(3) public charity status. The Noguchi Museum reopened to the public at its newly renovated space in June 2004.
[edit] Education
The New York State Council on the Arts has recognized the Museum's educational program, Art for Families, as a stellar example of a community outreach program, and Art for Tots as a “superb approach” in making young children comfortable in a museum setting.
[edit] Tree of Heaven
Until March 26, 2008, a 60-foot (18 m)-tall 75 year old Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) was a prominent centerpiece of the sculpture garden at the museum. The tree was spared by Noguchi when in 1975 he bought the building which would become the museum and cleaned up its back lot. "[I]n a sense, the sculpture garden was designed around the tree", said a former aide to Noguchi, Bonnie Rychlak, who later became the museum curator. By early 2008 the tree was found to be dying and might have crashed into the building, which was about to undergo an $8.2 million renovation. The museum hired the Detroit Tree of Heaven Woodshop, an artists' collective, to use the wood to make benches, sculptures and other amenities in and around the building. [3]
[edit] Exhibition
The Museum celebrated the 25th anniversary of its opening with the exhibition On Becomimg an Artist. Isamu Noguchi and His Contemporaries, 1922 - 1960.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Glueck, Grace (May 10, 1985). "Noguchi and his Dream Museum". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/10/arts/noguchi-and-his-dream-museum.html?&pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ Vogel, Carolyn (June 8, 2004). "The Renovated Noguchi Museum Is Friendlier but Still Discreet". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/08/arts/the-renovated-noguchi-museum-is-friendlier-but-still-discreet.html?scp=1&sq=noguchi%20museum&st=cse&pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- ^ Collins, Glen, "A Tree That Survived a Sculptor's Chisel Is Chopped Down", article, The New York Times, p B3, with additional pictures on p B1, March 27, 2008
