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Okame

Date

1954

Creator

Isamu Noguchi
Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

Born to a Japanese father and an American mother, sculptor Isamu Noguchi felt he was caught between two worlds. Okame illustrates his interest in Japanese culture and natural materials. The cast-iron sculpture, with its rusticated surface texture and golden brown color, takes on the appearance of tree bark or natural stone--perhaps a stone from a Japanese Zen garden. ... This piece, then, whose title Okame also means "looking on by an outsider," is Noguchi's response to the use of the atomic bomb in World War II and his attempt to reconcile the roles that his Japanese and American cultures played in that war.

from Snite Museum of Art, Selected Works: Snite Museum of Art (Notre Dame, 2005)

Images

This is called Okame within the category of Sculpture.Open in external viewer application
This is called Okame within the category of Sculpture.
This is called Okame within the category of Sculpture.
This is called Okame within the category of Sculpture.

Metadata

Creator
Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904 - 1988)
Date
1954
Classification
Sculpture
Related Location
Asia, Japan
Medium
Cast iron
Dimensions
9 1/8 x 7 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. (23.18 x 19.05 x 11.43 cm)
Credit Line
May E. Walter FundMay E. Walter Fund
Copyright Status
Copyright
Copyright Statement
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Subject
<post-1945 fine arts styles and movements>
abstraction
American
casts
iron
Japanese
organic
Surrealist

Metadata

Accession Number
1963.005.002
Campus Location
Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
Access

Not on view, please request access

Metadata

Contact Us

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.


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