Isamu Noguchi
maquette for pylon, Detroit Civic Center Plaza
USA, 1971
aluminum
6.5 w x 6.5 d x 31 h inches
This work is unique.
Estimate: $50,000–70,000
Result: $48,000
The following lot was created as the maquette for a pylon installed at the Philip A. Hart Plaza adjacent to the Detroit Civic Center. Beginning with an invitation to design one fountain, this commission grew into a more encompassing project lasting seven years. With Isamu Noguchi ultimately creating three elements: the pylon, a central fountain and the surrounding public space. The lead architect, Bob Hastings from the firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, gave Noguchi full rein to design the entire plaza knowing that Noguchi alone could create the desired harmony within the expansive riverfront area. The full-scale, stainless steel pylon reaches 120 feet, ascending dramatically from its planar environment with a piercing weightlessness. As a recurring theme in his visual vocabulary, the pylon form alludes to several references—DNA, gravity (or defiance of), geometric order and the pedagogical spirit of R. Buckminister Fuller and Constantin Brancusi. Like so much of Noguchi’s masterful, sculptural public works, the Detroit pylon is full of meaning and purpose while being resolutely abstract. To ensure that the realized sculpture could achieve the subtle but beautiful twist that Noguchi designed, Davidson Aluminum and Metal Corporation of Deer Park, New York created this maquette. Upon completion of the final installation, Noguchi gifted this work to the company’s owner, Al Davidson.
Literature: Isamu Noguchi: Sculptural Design, Eisenbrand, Posch and von Vegesack, pg. 286 The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, Noguchi, ppg. 178-179 discusses commission Isamu Noguchi: A Study of Space, Torres, ppg. 174-183 Isamu Noguchi, Hunter, pgp. 164-165 Noguchi’s Imaginary Landscapes, Friedman, pg. 19
Exhibited: Gift of the artist to Albert Davidson |Thence by descent | Private collection, Los Angeles
Noguchi’s Detroit Pylon
The following lot was created as the maquette for the Pylon installed at the Philip A. Hart Plaza adjacent to the Detroit Civic Center. Beginning with an invitation to design one fountain, this commission grew into a more encompassing project lasting seven years, with Isamu Noguchi ultimately creating three elements: the Pylon, a central fountain and the surrounding public space. The lead architect, Bob Hastings from the firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, gave Noguchi free rein to design the entire plaza knowing that he alone could create the desired harmony within the expansive riverfront area.
The full-scale, stainless steel Pylon reaches 120 feet, ascending dramatically from its planar environment with a piercing weightlessness. As a recurring theme in his visual vocabulary, the Pylon form alludes to several references —DNA, gravity (or defiance of), geometric order and the pedagogical spirit of R. Buckminister Fuller and Constantin Brancusi. Like so much of Noguchi’s masterful, sculptural public works, the Detroit Pylon is full of meaning and purpose while being resolutely abstract.
To ensure that the realized sculpture could achieve the subtle but beautiful twist that Noguchi designed, Davidson Aluminum and Metal Corporation of Deer Park, New York created this maquette. Upon completion of the final installation, Noguchi gifted this work to the company’s owner, Albert Davidson.
All original condition. Three shallow indentations to top edge: one along edge and one to two upper corners. Light soiling to lower portion of pylon.
