On Becoming an Artist: Isamu Noguchi and His Contemporaries, 1922-1960

On Becoming An Artistilluminates the friendships, mentorships and collaborations of Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), in celebration of the artist's experimentations and influences. It opens with an account of Noguchi's earlyguidance at the hands of sculptors Gutzon Borglum, Constatin Brancusi and Onorio Ruotolo, and features such diverse works as his dance sets for Martha Graham (while highlighting his relationships with other choreographers such as Erick Hawkins and Merce Cunningham), collaborations with Buckminster Fuller, Florence Knoll and George Nelson, and his friendships with artists such as David Hare and Arshile Gorky, and others. The book concludes with Noguchi's 1950s public projects, including his work with Marcel Breuer and Gordon Bunshaft, and his later unrealized project with Louis Kahn.