Tradition Takes Shape Noguchi Exhibit Explores Artistís Past, Japanese Art by Carolyn Chapman Isamu Noguchi is primarily known for his furniture and lamp designs, his installations in public spaces and his sculptures. His exploration of the ceramics medium and the ceramic art that he made over three short trips to Japan are a lesser known aspect of his career, but one that was of tremendous importance to the Japanese-born artist who had an intense desire to rediscover his Japanese roots. ìIsamu Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramics,î now showing at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, is the first major exhibition of Noguchiís oeuvre of ceramics, bringing together several dozen of Noguchiís ceramic works and the works of nine other leading Japanese artists whom Noguchi interacted with in Japan. Noguchi, who was estranged from his Japanese poet father and raised by his American mother, spent his early childhood in Japan but felt disassociated with the country. He used the study of ceramics, ceramic techniques and the use of different types of clays and glazes as a way to understand the Japanese culture and artistic traditions he had lost touch with as a student in America. His trips to Japan in 1931, 1950 and 1952, during which time he created a wide range of ceramic creations, greatly affected Noguchiís understanding of the history and techniques of Japanese ceramics. His visits also had a lasting and important influence on modern Japanese ceramic artists, such as Kitaoji Rosanjin, Yagi Kazuo, Kaneshige Toyo and Arakawa Toyozo, all of whom have works in the Sackler exhibition. Most important, Noguchiís work was an inspiration to an optimistic group of young ceramic artists who called themselves the ìSodeishaî (an odd name that literally means ìcrawling through mud societyî). The last room of the exhibition is devoted to works by this group of artists, which looked to Noguchiís art to better understand what was going on in the American art world at the time. Although groupings of artists were a common occurrence in post-war Japan, the Sodeisha was one of the more prominent groups, enduring for 50 years (1948-1998) and energetically turning the art of modern Japanese ceramics in a new direction. Based in Kyoto, the Sodeisha was influenced not only by Asian traditions, but also by the surrealist ideas of Pablo Picasso, Joan MirÛ and Paul Klee. They wanted their work to be free of the typical Japanese conventions, and, similar to Noguchi, they rejected the use of the wheel as the potterís central tool. Noguchiís ceramics are not what he is known for today, but they influenced the rest of his body of work because the medium helped his art become more spiritually meaningful, and because these ceramics had such a powerful personal significance to him, the exhibition shows Noguchi on a more intimate level. Viewing his works alongside the creations of those who were influenced by him also underscores the lasting importance that Noguchi had in this little-known aspect of his artistic career. ìIsamu Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramicsî runs through Sept. 7 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave., SW. For more information, please call (202) 357-2700 or visit www.asia.si.edu. Carolyn Chapman is an arts writer for The Washington Diplomat.