Japanese Magoji kites on display at Noguchi Museum
Kites from Magoji, the legendary Japanese kite atelier, are on display at the Noguchi Museum shop until 6 August 2023
![Magoji kites at Noguchi Museum](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4BMViH42kZuWpNMhJafVBW-415-80.jpg)
Don't discount a museum gift shop as only a place to buy merch. In fact, until 6 August 2023, the Noguchi Museum Shop, in New York, is mounting a special installation from Magoji, the legendary kite atelier from the windy Tobata region of Kitakyushu City, on Kyushu island in Japan.
Magoji Kites at Noguchi Museum
Magoji kites are revered in Japan: founded in the Meiji era by Magoji Takeuchi, these bamboo-and-washi paper aerial objects fashioned as folklore figures and animal creatures (the cicada in particular), are cultural totems. Today, the tradition is carried on by Magoji’s grandson Yoshihiro Takeuchi and great granddaughter Azusa Tatsuishi. The kites themselves are constructed as a complex system of knots tied around bent bamboo, the process Takeuchi-san oversees, while Azusa’s colourfully-painted designs are then affixed to the skeletons to make the kite complete.
This installation - which is really a thoughtful and curated selling exhibition - as Evan Scott, Manager of Retail and Merchandising, explains, is an opportunity to display some 70 of Magoji iconic designs, 'to give them greater context to see just how much work and vision is put into these.'
Yoshihiro Takeuchi constructing a kite
How this all came about is a tale of inquiry and serendipity. As Scott explains, the assistant retail manager Riccardo Sossella, who in his spare time was researching the Mingei Movement, stumbled across Magoji. Almost simultaneously, fellow-museum staffer, Miwa Neishi, a ceramicist, was traveling on the island of Kyushu, visited the the workshop and parlayed her encounter with the kite-makers to the museum team. Scott saw the opportunity to collaborate, with the caveat that 'we needed to try to see if they have the capacity to work with us because it's only the two of them, and they've got a pretty good business in Japan.'
Indeed Magoji could supply the goods. And, as Scott observes, 'for craftspeople from Japan who grew up knowing about Noguchi having their work here is very meaningful.' Now in the shop, the kites are hung from the ceiling, with their washi-paper folklore figures illuminated by their material kin, Noguchi’s Akari lamps, leaving 'a fascinating play between two,' adds Scott.
Isamu Noguchi and kites
Isamu Noguchi, The Kite, 1959. Anodized aluminum (first of two editions). Collection of The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York
The connection between Isamu Noguchi and kites is long and rich—in fact super fans of Noguchi might instantly remember the sculpture Kite, from 1958. But Noguchi’s connection to the high-flying toy wasn’t just a one-off inquiry of form. In fact, the Twentieth-century artistic titan 'was primarily interested in Japanese traditional craft' as Scott says, had a long-standing 'meeting of minds' friendship with Tsutomu Hiroi, perhaps Japan’s most famous kite-maker.
Michio Noguchi, Tsutomu Hiroi, Isamu Noguchi, Kenzo Tange and others. Itsukushima (Miyajima), Japan, c. 1950s
Hiroi was one of Noguchi’s sculpture assistants, even helping Noguchi on the Hiroshima Peace Bridge project, but broke out on his own in the 1950s to delve deep into the realm of kites; Noguchi stayed close, even writing the foreword to Hiroi’s definitive monograph in 1972. While the curatorial connection hasn’t ever been formally made, there’s often visual parity in Noguchi’s works that echo kite skeletons - just look at the 1955 stage sets hat he designed for the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Isamu Noguchi at his Long Island City studio, c. 1960s
Just as a stage set is here today, and gone tomorrow, so will the Magoji. Why such a short engagement? 'Hopefully they’ll all sell and then there won't be any left,' says Scott with a laugh. For a lasting memento (if you can’t snag a kite yourself), the museum is also hosting a drop in children’s 'wind element' class that’s also a kite-making program on Saturday 5 August. 'We're just trying to like live up to Noguchi’s standards in his own life and practice,' concludes Scott.
Kite House Magoji are on view at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum until 6 August 2023
9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard)
Long Island City, New York 11106
Julie Baumgardner is an arts and culture writer, editor and journalist who's spent nearly 15 years covering all aspects of art, design, culture and travel. Julie's work has appeared in publications including Bloomberg, Cultured, Financial Times, New York magazine, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, as well as Wallpaper*. She has also been interviewed for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miami Herald, Observer, Vox, USA Today, as well as worked on publications with Rizzoli press and spoken at art fairs and conferences in the US, Middle East and Asia. Find her @juliewithab or juliebaumgardnerwriter.com
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Studio Shamshiri and Abask unite on the softest interior décor collection
LA-based Studio Shamshiri joins forces with Abask on a new collaboration of interior objects including pillows, throws, and eyemasks
By Tianna Williams Published
-
The best American furniture design finds a dream home
Celebrating the best American furniture design, our dream house was created by set designer Stefan Beckman for August 2024 Wallpaper* – come on in
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
‘Midcentury modern is as American as punk rock’: 22RE on its latest full-scale project
The new LA offices of music branding agency Ceremony of Roses, designed by local studio 22RE, are a real conversation starter
By Carole Dixon Published
-
Globetrotting designer Mark Grattan shares his latest plans and next moves
Amid his meteoric rise, Mark Grattan speaks with Wallpaper* about his trailblazing career, 'getting the right type of help', and calculating his next move
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Ido Yoshimoto turns salvaged wood into sculptural pieces at his northern Californian workshop
Visiting Ido Yoshimoto at his California studio, we talk to the artist about his work with wood, from his beginning as an arborist to his sculptures and furniture made with local reclaimed material
By Shonquis Moreno Published
-
12 American icons of design, from cowboy boots to the MacBook Air
Our star-spangled round-up hails American icons of design and their latest iterations, from Pharrell Williams' cowboy boots to the Tiffany Lock, and a tiny yellow cab
By Jack Moss Published
-
Wallpaper* USA 400: meet the people shaping Creative America in 2024
The Wallpaper* USA 400 honours the people defining America's creative landscape in 2024, from legends to rising stars, activists to celebrity shapeshifters
By Wallpaper* Published
-
August 2024 Wallpaper*: Creative America is on sale today and free to download
Enjoy a free digital copy of August 2024 Wallpaper* – our celebration of the USA as a creative superpower – when you sign up to our daily digest of news
By Bill Prince Published