Isamu Noguchi

Humpty Dumpty

1946

Tall freestanding sculpture made of organically-shaped, interlocking slabs of grey stone

In the mid-1940s, Isamu Noguchi began producing some of his most original works, comprised of interlocking, rounded forms in materials such as wood and gray slate. Humpty Dumpty, an emblematic work from this period, was carefully constructed so that its nine parts would fit together and stay in place without glue or screws. As Noguchi explained, “everything I do has an element of engineering in it—particularly since I dislike gluing parts together or taking advantage of something that is not inherent in the material. I am leery of welding or pasting. It implies taking an unfair advantage of nature.” The title Humpty Dumpty playfully acknowledges the work’s precarious construction, while the roundness of the forms evokes the famously plump character of the children’s rhyme. At the same time, this seemingly whimsical work may carry more ominous undertones. Produced shortly after the atomic devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the sculpture’s title and composition suggest the unstable state of the world after World War II.

Not on view

Date
1946

Classification
Sculpture

Medium
Ribbon slate

Dimensions
Overall: 59 × 20 3/4 × 17 1/2in. (149.9 × 52.7 × 44.5 cm)

Accession number
47.7a-e

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase

Rights and reproductions
© The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

API
artworks/1520

Audio

descripción verbal: Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

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descripción verbal: Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

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Narrador: La obra Humpty Dumpty, de 1946, de Isamu Noguchi, es una escultura abstracta de piedra de aproximadamente 1.5 metros de alto por 60 centímetros de ancho y 43 centímetros de profundidad. Está compuesta por cinco piezas entrelazadas, instaladas aquí sobre una plataforma triangular. Hay una pieza grande y plana de forma rectangular con dos patas y cuatro piezas más pequeñas con forma de huesos o bumeranes. Cada pieza está encajada en las demás para crear una estructura conjunta. En el centro de la escultura hay dos agujeros lisos, uno grande y otro pequeño. En la parte superior y central de la pieza de piedra principal, cuelgan piezas más pequeñas de pizarra, aplanadas en forma de C, que sobresalen del agujero más grande, colgando verticalmente como eslabones de una cadena. El agujero pequeño es lo suficientemente ancho como para que pase la luz, asemejándose a un único ojo. Los bordes redondeados de las piezas de piedra dan a esta escultura un aspecto cálido y casi animado que dirige la mirada a lo largo de la composición. Noguchi talló esta obra en pizarra en cinta, un tipo de piedra especialmente frágil. Toda la escultura es de un gris mate aterciopelado con sutiles variaciones de textura y color. Aunque la escultura tiene un anverso y un reverso, está pensada para ser contemplada en su totalidad.
Para crear esta obra, Noguchi primero dibujó formas en papel milimetrado, las recortó y luego las dispuso en pequeños modelos. Después utilizó el papel recortado para calcular las medidas necesarias para ampliar y transferir los elementos al medio final. Humpty Dumpty se mantiene unida sin tornillos ni pegamento, y se sostiene en pie gracias a la tensión entre las piezas entrelazadas, lo que hace que la obra sea susceptible de romperse si se mueve o se golpea. Como explicó Noguchi, “todo lo que hago contiene un elemento de ingeniería, especialmente porque me desagrada unir partes con pegamento o sacar ventaja de algo que no es inherente al material. Desconfío de la soldadura y el pegamento. Implica aprovecharse injustamente de la naturaleza”.
El título de la obra y su precaria construcción evocan al personaje de la canción infantil del mismo nombre. Sin embargo, esta obra aparentemente fantasiosa puede tener un trasfondo más siniestro. Producida poco después de la devastación causada por las bombas atómicas lanzadas por Estados Unidos sobre Hiroshima y Nagasaki durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, la escultura sugiere la inestabilidad del mundo en la posguerra.
Verbal Description: Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

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Verbal Description: Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

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Narrator: The work Humpty Dumpty from 1946 by Isamu Noguchi is an abstract stone sculpture approximately 5 feet tall by 2 feet wide with a shallow depth of 17 inches. It is composed of five interlocking pieces, installed here standing on a triangular platform. There is one large, flat oblong form with two legs, and four smaller pieces, shaped like bones or boomerangs. Each piece has been slotted together to create a conjoined structure. There are two smooth holes in the center of the sculpture, one large and one small. Hanging around the top and middle of the main piece of stone are the smaller, flattened c-shaped pieces of slate that protrude from the larger hole, hanging vertically like links on a chain. The small hole is just wide enough for light to pierce, appearing like a single eye. The rounded edges of the stone parts give this sculpture a warm and almost animated quality that moves the eye throughout the composition. Noguchi carved this work out of ribbon slate, an especially fragile type of stone. The entire sculpture is a velvety matte grey with subtle variations in texture and color. While the sculpture has a front and back, it is meant to be experienced in the round.
To create this work, Noguchi first sketched shapes on graph paper, cut them out, and then arranged them into small models. He then used the excised paper to calculate the measurements required for enlarging and transferring elements to the final medium. Humpty Dumpty is held together without any screws or glue, and relies on tension between the interlocking pieces to stay upright, making the work susceptible to breaking if moved or jostled. As Noguchi explained, “everything I do has an element of engineering in it—particularly since I dislike gluing parts together or taking advantage of something that is not inherent in the material. I am leery of welding or pasting. It implies taking an unfair advantage of nature.”
The title of the work, and its precarious construction, evoke the character from the nursery rhyme of the same name. However, this seemingly whimsical work may carry more ominous undertones. Produced shortly after the devastation of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. during World War II, the sculpture suggests the unstable state of the world in the postwar period.
Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

In Where We Are (Kids, Spanish)

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Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

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Mark Joshua Epstein: Esta es una escultura del artista Isamu Noguchi llamada Humpty Dumpty.
Estudiante 1: Con el nombre Humpty Dumpty parece que se tratara de sus pedazos rotos, ya que antes era algo gordo y relleno.
Mark Joshua Epstein: Isamu Noguchi era mitad japonés; su padre era japonés, y él vivió en Japón hasta aproximadamente los 13 años. Realizó esta escultura justo después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, que terminó con el bombardeo de algunas ciudades de Japón. Me pregunto si alguno de ustedes cree que el título, Humpty Dumpty, tiene algo que ver con estos bombardeos de Japón.
Estudiante 1: Bueno, creo que el artista, después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y ante la ruina de Japón y la gente que murió en los bombardeos, quizás pensara que sus vidas habían quedado hechas añicos metafóricamente. Creo que es como la guerra, porque incluso después de que una guerra termina deja su marca.
Estudiante 2: Yo, por mi parte, creo que es como un pedazo de papel que uno arruga y luego estira; queda arrugado, ya no puede ser lo que era antes.
Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

In Where We Are (Kids)

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Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

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Mark Joshua Epstein: This is a sculpture by the artist Isamu Noguchi that’s called Humpty Dumpty.
Student 1: With the name Humpty Dumpty, it kind of looks like it is pieces, it used to be something flat and whole.
Mark Joshua Epstein: Isamu Noguchi was half Japanese. He had one parent who was Japanese and he lived in Japan until he was about thirteen years old. This sculpture was made just after World War II, which ended because parts of Japan were bombed. I'm wondering if anything thinks that, Humpty Dumpty, the title, has anything to do with this bombing of Japan?
Student 1: Well, I see maybe the artist, he was looking after World War II at the rubble of Japan and the people who had died in the bombing, and he saw that maybe their lives had kind of shattered metaphorically. I think that it is kind of like war, because even after a war might end, it leaves its mark.
Student 2: Well, I feel like it’s sort of a piece of paper when you crumple it up and then you uncrumple it, it’s wrinkled; you can't make it the same.
Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

In Where We Are

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Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946

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Narrator: Isamu Noguchi composed this 1946 sculpture out of flat interlocking pieces of stone, held together without pins or adhesives. The work is made out of ribbon slate, a stone that breaks easily. A sense of fragility is also evoked by the work’s title, Humpty Dumpty, the children’s nursery rhyme that ends with this well-known verse: “and all the king’s horses, and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty back together again.” Walk around the sculpture. Notice how Noguchi fits the pieces of stone together—hanging some, balancing and propping up others. They remain in a dynamic state of tension.
Noguchi himself has stated that the fragility of the work mirrors the impermanence of life. He compared his interlocking sculptures to Japanese poetry or cherry blossoms, stating that perfection can “only be transient—a fragile beauty is more potent.”