Rock Carvings: Passage of the Seasons

1981

Rock Carvings: Passage of the Seasons, 1981. Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904–1988). Basalt with mineral accretions; overall: 347.8 cm (136 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Mildred Andrews Fund 1981.46.b © The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Noguchi's use of interesting stones with a minimum of carved manipulation derives in part from Eastern traditions of reverence for the mystic qualities and natural aesthetics of rocks. It also draws from modern art movements in the artist's incorporation of pre-existing and serendipitous formal qualities of the material itself. This three-part stone sculpture was commissioned for the Cleveland Museum of Art's north lawn in 1981.