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Prints

Isamu Noguchi painting on fabric for Akari, c. 1973.
The Noguchi Museum Archives, 03618. ©INFGM / ARS
Isamu Noguchi painting on fabric for Akari, c. 1973.
The Noguchi Museum Archives, 03618. ©INFGM / ARS
Akari 1AG Print – Grey Bowtie Akari 1AG Print – Grey Bowtie
1AG Print – Grey Bowtie
$60
Akari 1AG Print – Grey Sun Akari 1AG Print – Grey Sun
1AG Print – Grey Sun
$60
Akari 1AR Print – Red Bowtie Akari 1AR Print – Red Bowtie
1AR Print – Red Bowtie
$60
Akari 1AR Print – Red Sun Akari 1AR Print – Red Sun
1AR Print – Red Sun
Out of Stock
Akari 1AV Print – Green Bowtie Akari 1AV Print – Green Bowtie
1AV Print – Green Bowtie
$60
Akari 1AV Print – Green Sun Akari 1AV Print – Green Sun
1AV Print – Green Sun
$60
Akari 1AT Print – Orange Bowtie Akari 1AT Print – Orange Bowtie
1AT Print – Orange Bowtie
$60
Akari 1AT Print – Orange Sun Akari 1AT Print – Orange Sun
1AT Print – Orange Sun
Out of Stock
Akari 1AY Print – Yellow Bowtie Akari 1AY Print – Yellow Bowtie
1AY Print – Yellow Bowtie
$60
Akari 1AY Print – Yellow Sun Akari 1AY Print – Yellow Sun
1AY Print – Yellow Sun
Out of Stock
Akari 7AD Print Akari 7AD Print
7AD Print
Out of Stock
Akari 9AD Print Akari 9AD Print
9AD Print
Out of Stock
Akari 2A UKAI Print Akari 2A UKAI Print
2A UKAI Print
$60
Akari 3AD Print Akari 3AD Print
3AD Print
Out of Stock
Akari 3A UKAI Print Akari 3A UKAI Print
3A UKAI Print
$60
    Akari Prints
    A series of fifteen prints crafted by Ozeki & Co., the manufacturers of Isamu Noguchi’s Akari light sculptures since 1951. Based on Noguchi’s abstract designs for Akari, they are screenprinted on mulberry bark washi paper in Japan.
    Installation view, Isamu Noguchi Exhibition, Chuo Koron Gallery, Tokyo, August 2–7, 1954. The Noguchi Museum Archives, 07137. ©INFGM / ARS
    Akari Prints
    Noguchi began creating abstract designs for Akari light sculptures in 1952, only a year after he began designing the series. He exhibited several in 1954 at the Chuo Koron Gallery in Tokyo. Though some designs shown in early exhibitions were never chosen for production, others have been on sale ever since.
    Installation view, Isamu Noguchi Exhibition, Chuo Koron Gallery, Tokyo, August 2–7, 1954. The Noguchi Museum Archives, 09316.4. ©INFGM / ARS
    Akari Prints
    Designs for the Akari 2A UKAI and 3A UKAI reference ukai fishing, a famous tradition of the city of Gifu, and a source of inspiration for Noguchi. The ceremonial style of fishing takes place at night along the Nagara River, and uses trained cormorant birds to dive for fish. He first encountered ukai while visiting the city in 1951.
    Akari 2A UKAI. Photo: Nicholas Knight. ©INFGM / ARS
    Akari Prints
    “It is like a chariot race of birds in which we take part, caught in the excitement, drifting along beside the busy fishing in our lantern-bedecked boat.” Inspired by “human warmth” of their glow, and encouraged by the mayor of Gifu, Noguchi created Akari that summer. These prints honor the tradition, with abstractions of birds and fish in dance with each other.
    Akari 3A UKAI. Photo: Nicholas Knight. ©INFGM / ARS
    Akari Prints
    Each print is marked with Noguchi’s design for the Akari logo, a sun and moon inspired by the Japanese kanji 明, a character with ancient ideographic roots whose meaning is generally associated with light. Noguchi’s signature, which he began including on all Akari in the mid-1980s to prove their authenticity, completes the print.
    Isamu Noguchi’s test signatures for Akari light sculptures, c. 1980s. The Noguchi Museum Archives, MS_BIO_002_002. ©INFGM / ARS