The Skyviewing sculpture is but one of a tipped cubed series made by Isamu Noguchi, best described as a tilted cube with circular cutouts on three sides. It is made out of a black painted iron plate that sits upon 3 brick pillars, slightly raising the sculpture. The sculpture gives a feeling of a continuing sense of space and weightlessness. Man and nature come together by merging the viewer as part of the sculpture with the representation of the sun, created by the circular cutouts. Our video tries to capture some of the sense of weightlessness in the sculpture, as well as how the viewers involvement with the sculpture brings out all the beauty this art piece has to offer.

The series started with a solid stone cube at Yale’s Beinecke Library, representing nature and human history. It was then followed by the Red Cube in NYC, made up of steel plates with a hole in the center highlighting mans technology and representing somewhat of an abyss.

Noguchi was very likely influenced by what was happening at the end of the 60s in the US and Japan. His work from this time focused on qualities like weightlessness and space, which was likely influenced by the space race at the time. His work also fits in well with other interactive art pieces being added to westerns campus at the time, such as the log ramps installed in 1974 or steam works that finished construction in 1971.

Filmed by Y’vari Wooten and Tony Castillo
Edited by Daisy Meisler
Photos by Y’vari Wooten
Music by Franz Schubert (Symphony No. 9)