Isamu Noguchi Akari Lamps

Akari Lamp 10A

Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was one of the twentieth century’s most exciting artists – sculptor, product designer, illustrator, printmaker… he crossed fields just as his work brought form, function and inspiration together with a timelessness.

His fine art is housed in museums around the world and the Noguchi Museum in Long Island, NY offers a complete look at the man while preserving his legacy.

Akari is a term meaning light as illumination, but also implying the idea of weightlessness.  In 1951 he visited the Japanese town of Gifu, known for its lanterns made from mulberry bark.  Using traditional means of construction, he united the simplicity of Japanese aesthetics with the principles of contemporary art and design, creating Akari lamps.  Today, lamps are still made by traditional methods in Gifu, Japan.  Each Akari is handcrafted from the beginning with the making of washi paper from the inner bark of the mulberry tree, bamboo ribbing is stretched across wooden molded forms which resembles sculputre.  The washi paper is cut into wide or narrow strips depending upon the size and shape of the lamp, and then glued onto both sides of the framework.  Once the glue has dried and the shape is set, the internal wooden form is disassembled and removed.  The outcome is a resilient paper form, which  can be collapsed and packed flat for shipping.  The Akari package includes Noguchi’s patented metal wire stretcher and support system. (Courtesy of the Noguchi Foundation)

At Weller, we are able to offer the lamps to customers via purchase from the Noguchi Foundation. The quality of light is unique – as is their form… often duplicated today by methods of mass production, the true Akari lamps bearing the stamp of Isamu Noguchi are a different entity all together.