Monday, April 14, 2008

Isamu Noguchi, Slide Mantras, 1988-90




There is so much to say about Isamu Noguchi's playground work that I've been putting off even beginning. But here are two of his 'slide mantras', embodying his belief that play could lead to a new appreciation of sculpture. Noguchi said that the completion of the sculpture would be when children polished it with their bottoms as they slid down.

The black slide is in Oo-Dori Park, Sapporo, Japan. Black was selected so that it would be visible even in the snow. Noguchi selected the site himself. [image via daddytypes]

The white one is at Bayfront Park in Miami, Florida, Very poorly sited. It's hard to put children off a slide, but this forbidding setting might do it. I can't find any history on this install, but I think we can safely assume that Noguchi didn't select this site. [image via bayfrontpark]

There will be much more about Noguchi in posts to come.

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