Noguchi Playground Remix

This re-imagining of Isamu Noguchi’s playgrounds highlights central threads found throughout the artist’s work. The model engages the viewer in the act of learning through self-directed play. Noguchi’s designs did not dictate activities; instead, they allowed people to uncover Noguchi’s abstracted worlds through their own inquiry. This model likewise challenges the viewer to develop their own mode of creative engagement. Perhaps, with the swings, you observe how the length of a chain affects the arc of motion. Or maybe you discover that the triangular stacks are moveable, and you begin to remodel the topography as a kind of puzzle. The transparent caps atop these stacks might make you wonder, “Exactly what are those little objects hidden below?” (The answer is that these are the kinds of treasures that children are so apt to pick up off the sidewalk and stuff in their pockets.) And when you pick up a stack to find out for yourself, you might find that you are suddenly in possession of a colorful viewfinder for seeing the world.