The Life of Isamu Noguchi: Journey Without Borders

Factually dense but lyrically written, Duus's vivid biography of Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi is as sleek and sophisticated as her subject's marble sculptures. Beginning with a lengthy description of the courtship (or lack thereof) between Noguchi's Japanese poet father Yone and the Caucasian wife he later abandoned, Duus carefully explicates the bicultural insecurity that plagued the darkly handsome artist and seeped into his work until his death in 1988. Fleeing an unhappy childhood as an ai no ko, or mulatto, in Japan, a teenaged Isamu found a happier home with American patron""Doc"" Rumely in 1918 before making his way to Paris as a pupil to both Rodin and Brancusi. A quick study, the rakish artist (his early conquests included the still-married painter Frida Kahlo and the writer Anais Nin) quickly adapted to the modernist style of the age and fell into friendships with artists as diverse as Alexander Calder, Arshile Gorky and the dancer Martha Graham. Best when delineating the thought process behind Noguchi's sensual and refined works, which included public gardens and stage sets in addition to sculptures, Duus draws upon copious personal letters and first-hand accounts to weave her tale of the artist's inner turmoil (obsessed with finding himself, Noguchi even voluntarily entered an internment camp during World War II to align himself with his""peers"" and kick off a handicraft project among the evacuees). Deftly translated by her husband, Duus animates this packed biography with her detailed research and poignant anecdotes. 36 halftones.