Isamu Noguchi, Lessons of Musokokushi, 1962–63. Ground sculpture with five bronze elements.

Lessons of Musokokushi

1962
Bronze
This sculpture was made on the cement floor of a large studio given to me to use for a month at the American Academy in Rome. The five elements recall rocks in some hidden garden in Japan. I was thinking of Musō Kokushi, the legendary master of Zen whose stone arrangements are the most esteemed.
Original Noguchi Collection
Quotations by Isamu Noguchi from The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987), unless otherwise noted.