Noguchi and Greece, Greece and Noguchi: Objects of Common Interest

In this two-volume work, design studio Objects of Common Interest (OoCI), collected essays, photographs, and letters to demonstrate the influence of Greece and Greek culture on American Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–88). Noguchi’s artistry and influence cast a wide net. He was a renowned sculptor, inventive furniture and lighting designer (collaborating with Herman Miller), and a set designer. Using archival material, some never seen before, from the Noguchi Museum, OoCI’s founders Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis first presented their research on the Museum’s Digital Features platform and then converted the material to a photographic project which resulted in a solo exhibition. In addition to a chronology of Noguchi’s life and interactions with Greece, the book includes essays on his set designs based on mythological themes for choreographers Martha Graham and George Balanchine, his relationship with Buckminster Fuller, his involvement in an arts symposium in Delphi, how Greek art was present in his works, and Noguchi’s influence upon the contemporary art scene in Greece.