Winster Nguyen

Play Mountain and the Importance of Others

Isamu Noguchi was a genius, a master at his art, and perhaps a revolutionist in play. How did he become such a creative, artistic, multifaceted genius? Perhaps it was because he spent most of his life without parents, living and struggling on his own. From the age of 14, he lived independently from both his parents in Japan, going to boarding school in Indiana and applying for apprenticeship under the Mount Rushmore Creator, Gutzon Borglum. He had little to no guidance, gained next to no experience from Borglum, and was told that he would be a failure as a sculptor from the Man himself. Yet he kept on trying. He crafted countless art pieces, made furniture and appliances for thousands of people to use. He designed theme parks, playgrounds, exhibits, and other large-scale art projects all for the sake of our enjoyment. His life, his purpose, was all dedicated to showing his artistic ability, and to allow us to enjoy the creativity of his mind. Isamu Noguchi was a genius artist, craftsman, and sculptor. And yet, we stay only on the doorstep of Noguchi’s mind. All of the playgrounds in America could’ve been designed by him, Play Mountain may actually have existed as a whole city block in the middle of Manhattan. Why is it that the full extent of this modern day Nikola Tesla’s dreams weren’t realized? Because he worked by himself. Had he formed a group of influential artists to help design and build his many dreams, the world would’ve enjoyed the various wonders of his mind. But he was only one man, and his impact on today’s art is influential, yet limited. Isamu Noguchi worked alone on most of his projects, spending months, and perhaps even years to design, draw up plans, and build his projects. Over his 50 year career, he built only 1 playground. He built several displays, art pieces, and even furniture. But this was only a fraction of what he could’ve done, had he had more hands to help him with his work. Isamu Noguchi couldn’t realize the full extent of his dreams, because in order to make grandiose dreams come true, you must work with a grandiose amount of people to do work that would be impossible for a single man.