Half Dose #13: Noguchi Museum

An early and probably unintentional member of Long Island City's popular art scene, the Noguchi Museum opened in 1985 in a factory building converted by the artist. It reopened last year after a 2.5-year renovation by Sage and Coombe Architects that added an education center, cafe & bookstore, made the galleries and garden accessible, and improved the HVAC system in order to keep the museum open year-round.


Area 1

"Area 1" is the first space encountered after admission and is architecturally one of the most striking spaces at the museum. The corner light well above is one of the three tips of the triangle that the museum and garden occupy, perhaps accentuating this fact for the visitor inside the space. Not being fully enclosed, Area 1 exhibits a pleasing ambiguity -- between outside/inside, art/architecture -- that is definitely appropriate for Noguchi.


Area 9

Above Area 1 are the upper floor galleries called Area 9 & 10, now accessible via a new ramp by the renovation architects. Unlike the area below, the enclosed galleries aren't as rough, opting for wood and plaster over CMU and in-situ concrete.


The Garden

If there were only one reason to visit the Noguchi Museum, it would definitely be the garden. Walled off from the two adjacent streets, it is a quiet space of contemplation and repose. In many ways, it is Noguchi's interpretation of a traditional Japanese rock garden. The artist's sculptures take the place of boulders, a la Ryoanji, and the trees become elements within the sea of rocks alongside the art. The changing character of the space across the seasons is what draws people back for multiple visits.

Links:

:: The Noguchi Museum
:: Sage and Coombe Architects
:: Architectural Record article
:: American Masters