Japanese-American designer, Isamu Noguchi, left medical school at Columbia University to attend sculpture classes at the Leonardo da Vinci Art School. Within three months, Noguchi had his first exhibition and was elected into the National Sculpture Society. Noguchi not only worked in sculpture, but he designed sets and costumes for the New York City Ballet and the Martha Graham company. His work can be seen throughout the United States and Japan. Toward the end of his life, Noguchi ensured his collection would be available for public viewing at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island, New York.
"Everything is sculpture," said Isamu Noguchi. "Any material, any idea without hindrance born into space, I consider scuplture."
Noguchi believed the scupltor's task was to shape space, to give it order and meaning, and that art should "disappear" or be as one with its surroundings.
Unwilling and unable to be pigeonholed, Noguchi created sculptures that could be as abstract as Henri Moore's or as realistic as Leonardo's. He used any medium he could get his hands on: stone, metal, wood, clay, bone, paper, or a mixture of any or all--carving, casting, cutting, pounding, chiseling, or dynamiting away as each form took shape.
"To limit yourself to a particular style may make you an expert of that particular viewpoint or school, but I do not wish to belong to any school," he said. "I am always learning, always discovering."
His relationship with Herman Miller came about when one of his designs was used to illustrate an article written by George Nelson called "How to Make a Table." It became his famous "coffee table," and it's as appealing today as it was then. The Noguchi Coffee Table continues to grace living rooms and offices with its sculpted appearance.