Tsukubai (Waterholder) 1962

Noguchi Isamu made this tsukubai, or waterholder, out of stone. There’s a lot going on in its rough, grey surface. The process of making this piece seems subtractive. Noguchi started with a larger block and carved away at the stone to create a basin, and two little arm-like shelves to the side. It reminds me of Minimalist sculpture. It’s so simple, but has an underlying asymmetry in how it’s built up. The circular depression contrasts with the rugged stone; it’s like two different languages in one piece. The stone has a granite-like texture, and the overall feeling is one of permanence and weight. But I also imagine water filling that perfectly round hole. Noguchi seems to be referencing both the monumental and the ephemeral, an ongoing dialogue. It’s all about seeing how an artist might choose to shape something hard to contain something fluid. Much like art itself.