Illusion of the Fifth Stone
On View   Original Collection

Illusion of the Fifth Stone

1970
Aji granite
In general, the impression is of four stones. Going around, one sees five. The stones seem to lock together. The degree of artifice is not readily visible. Are these natural boulders? No. The whole seems natural. A whole. In doing The Spirit of the Lima Bean for California Scenario, the garden I did in Costa Mesa, California, in 1980–82, I also used a pile of rocks. But just a pile did not constitute a sculpture for me. The concealment had to be closer to have it become a whole. But the stones retained their natural skin, which I valued beyond deception.
Original Noguchi Collection
Quotations by Isamu Noguchi from The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987), unless otherwise noted.