The Noguchi Museum: A Portrait

This book provides a unique perspective on the artwork of Isamu Noguchi and the Noguchi Museum, as seen through the eyes of renowned photographers Stephen Shore and Tina Barney. Noguchi, a modernist sculptor and designer, founded and designed the museum for the specific purpose of exhibiting his works. The 1920s-era industrial space in Long Island City, Queens, thus became the first and only museum in the US to be designed by a living artist for the artist's own work.

Over the past year, Shore has photographed individual works on view at the museum, documenting them in new and surprising ways; and Barney has photographed visitors at the museum and its events, capturing something of the spatial experience of the museum. Together with an essay reflecting on Noguchi and his influence, these new photographs comprise a beautiful object that pays tribute to the museum and artwork while highlighting the skill and eye of these two photographers. A section at the end of the book features more traditional plate images of iconic Noguchi works, to give context to Shore's and Barney's photographs.