Indonesia

Isamu Noguchi first traveled to Indonesia in 1950 on his Bollingen Foundation grant to study the way in which sculpture had played a productive role in the everyday life of pre-modern societies.  He drew and  photographed ancient temples, vernacular architecture and those living in the villages that he visited. The temple of Borobudur in Java -- which he called "a symphony of sculpture"  -- became a model for how sculpture could transcend its modern status as aesthetic object.  Noguchi also was particularly taken with, in his words,  "the magical island of Bali, the island where life and art are one".  Among his favorite objects was  a Balinese xylophone made of bamboo, which he suspended from the ceiling of his Japanese house.