{"title":"Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America","description":"\u003cp\u003eShop books, objects, and more inspired by the special exhibition \u003cem\u003eNoguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America\u003c\/em\u003e at the Barnes\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"a-life-made-by-hand-the-story-of-ruth-asawa","title":"A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa","description":"\u003cp\u003eRuth Asawa (1926-2013) was an influential and award-winning Japanese American sculptor and devoted activist who advocated tirelessly for arts education. \u003cem\u003eA Life Made by Hand\u003c\/em\u003e tells the story of this pioneering artist whose work is collected in major museums around the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInspired by the world around her, Asawa saw beauty in the ordinary: the webs of spiders, wings of insects, and drops of water found in the garden on the farm where she spent her childhood. She studied at the historic Black Mountain College, an unusual school filled with brilliant thinkers like herself. “An artist,” she said, “is an ordinary person who can take ordinary things and make them special.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAndrea D’Aquino’s lush collages and engaging text celebrate Asawa’s remarkable career, and collectively tell a story that will appeal to young readers and art lovers, and inspire them to, just as Ruth Asawa did, look closely at the world and create art with whatever is at hand. \u003cspan style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(15, 17, 17); font-family: 'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eDelightful and substantial, this engaging title for young art lovers includes a page of teaching tools for parents and educators.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover, 40 pages.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Princeton Architectural Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39340349358266,"sku":"BKLFMDBHND","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/Life_Made_By_Hand_Asawa_cover.jpg?v=1792528582"},{"product_id":"exhibition-catalogue-noguchi-to-asawa-designing-postwar-america","title":"Exhibition Catalogue: Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA constellation of the powerful Japanese American artists and designers who shaped American design in the postwar era\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeauty and craftsmanship are hallmarks of midcentury Japanese American art and design. From Isamu Noguchi’s iconic furniture to Ruth Asawa’s inventive wire sculptures, Japanese American artists transformed the aesthetic landscape of postwar America. Yet beneath this artistry lies a shared history marked by forced relocation and incarceration during World War II. Confronting this difficult past, Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America offers a recontextualization of the work of influential twentieth-century artists and designers through the lens of 1940s Japanese American incarceration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe six artists highlighted in this publication span two generations: those who established their practice before incarceration—sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi, architect and furniture designer George Nakashima, and sculptor Leo Amino—and those who received early artistic training in the camps—graphic designer S. Neil Fujita, fiber artist and weaver Kay Sekimachi, and sculptor Ruth Asawa. Interviews with the artists’ children and grandchildren and a conversation with the sole surviving artist, Sekimachi, offer intimate insights into the artists’ lives and practices. Collectively, the works, essays, and reflections address the broader histories of Asian labor in the United States, the racialization of Japanese Americans, and critical themes of visibility versus invisibility.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesfoundation.org\/exhibitions\/noguchi-to-asawa-designing-postwar-america\" title=\"The Barnes Online | Special Exhibition: From Noguchi to Asawa: Designing Postwar America\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eFrom Noguchi to Asawa: Desiging Postwar America\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e is on view at the Barnes Foundation September 20, 2026–January 10, 2027\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Barnes Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48423674151170,"sku":"BFYNTADPWA","price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/NoguchitoAsawaexhibitioncataloguegrey.jpg?v=1788272662"},{"product_id":"everything-she-touched-the-life-of-ruth-asawa","title":"Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe definitive biography and inspiring story of American sculptor Ruth Asawa\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(15, 17, 17); font-family: 'Amazon Ember', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;\"\u003e\u003cbr style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\"\u003e\u003cbr style=\"box-sizing: border-box;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eThis is the story of a woman who wielded imagination and hope in the face of intolerance and who transformed everything she touched into art. In this compelling biography, author Marilyn Chase brings Asawa's story to vivid life. She draws on Asawa's extensive archives and weaves together many voices—family, friends, teachers, and critics—to offer a complex and fascinating portrait of the artist.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBorn in California in 1926, Ruth Asawa grew from a farmer's daughter to a celebrated sculptor. She survived adolescence in the World War II Japanese American incarceration camps and attended the groundbreaking art school at Black Mountain College. She then went on to develop her signature hanging-wire sculptures, create iconic urban installations, revolutionize arts education in her adopted hometown of San Francisco, fight through lupus, and defy convention to nurture a multiracial family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis richly visual volume is illustrated with over 70 reproductions of Asawa's art and archival photos of her life, including portraits shot by celebrated photographer Imogen Cunningham.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt documents Asawa's transformative touch, most notably the way she turned wire—the material of the internment camp fences—into sculptures.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdditions to the paperback: a foreword by Jonathan Laib, director of the David Zwirner Gallery, and an author's note that charts the continued rise of Asawa's star in the art world and beyond. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRuth Asawa forged an unconventional path in everything she did. Her beloved fountains are now San Francisco icons, and her signature hanging-wire sculptures grace the MoMA, de Young, Getty, Whitney, and many more museums and galleries across America. By exploring both Asawa's work and her life, Chase weaves a captivating tale of courage, vision, and resilience. Her remarkable story offers inspiration to artists and art lovers of every generation. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaperback. 328 pages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chronicle Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819034546434,"sku":"CHRBKRARST","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/EverythingSheTouchedpaperbackcover.jpg?v=1792522960"},{"product_id":"leo-amino-the-visible-and-the-invisible","title":"Leo Amino: The Visible and the Invisible","description":"\u003cp style=\"white-space: pre-wrap;\" data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe first monograph to be published featuring the work of the Japanese American artist Leo Amino, \u003cem\u003eThe Visible and the Invisible\u003c\/em\u003e introduces a vital revision into both the canon of 20th century avant-garde sculpture and the history of Asian American art.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eAmino is the first artist in the United States to take up plastics as a principal material of sculptural composition, the innovator of cast plastics in American sculpture, and the most represented artist of color in the history of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s annual exhibitions for sculpture after Isamu Noguchi. He is the only Asian American artist to teach on faculty in the history of the Summer Art Sessions at Black Mountain College, where he taught alongside artists including Josef and Anni Albers, Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, and Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, and informed the education of students Ruth Asawa, Kenneth Noland, and Harry Seidler, among others. Recommended to the faculty at Cooper Union by Josef Albers, Amino taught there for twenty five years, introducing students such as Jack Whitten to sculptural concerns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eAcross a breadth of media and compositional approaches often remarked during the artist’s lifetime for its inventiveness and versatility, Amino’s oeuvre brings into focus the dynamics of perception, articulating space, light, and color through an optics of encounter, interpenetration, and absorption. Almost exclusively self-taught, Amino drew on three months’ training in direct carving technique at the American Artists School in Greenwich Village in order to adapt the study of form latent in wood grain into a promiscuous and autodidactic material investigation. Beginning in the early 1940s, the artist’s experiments in new media emerged from his dissatisfaction with painting on the sculptured surface. In 1945, Amino became the first American sculptor to employ cast plastics in an exploration of the question of interior and exterior relation through the problem of integral color, introducing the newly declassified military and industrial material of polyester resin into a history of media experiment following the Plexiglas works of Bauhaus and constructivist artists László Moholy-Nagy and Naum Gabo. Amino envisioned a mode of sculpture for which the principal means of composition would be light and color as early as 1949, anticipating the concerns of the next generation’s Minimalist and Light and Space movements whose artists would take up his medium of choice two decades later. In 1965, Amino made the decision to abandon his other avenues of inquiry in order to dedicate himself exclusively to the new material, beginning a series of geometric, \u003cem\u003eRefractional\u003c\/em\u003e compositions in resin that he would pursue until his passing in 1989.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-rte-preserve-empty=\"true\"\u003eHardcover. 307 pages, 220 images.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Barnes Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819080421634,"sku":"RDBKLAMINO","price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/LeoAminoTheVisibleandtheInvisiblecover.jpg?v=1792523668"},{"product_id":"unbreakable-a-japanese-american-family-in-an-american-incarceration-camp","title":"Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA powerful, emotional, and ultimately uplifting picture book about the real-life experience of a Japanese American boy incarcerated with his family during World War II.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowritten by Minoru (Min) Tonai, an advocate for Japanese American rights, \u003cem\u003eUnbreakable\u003c\/em\u003e is based on Tonai’s harrowing real-life experiences and has been welcomed with five starred reviews.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis moving picture book includes extensive back matter: information on the American incarceration camps and the campaign to release Tonai’s father, a timeline, a bibliography, author and illustrator notes, and questions for further discussion perfect for caregivers and educators to further engage young readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the bombing of Pearl Harbor, strength comes in the form of the small, smooth stone Min’s father gives him before being led away by FBI agents. In his absence, Min and his family do their best to keep their produce business afloat and earn enough support to get Min’s father released. But the FBI won't release his father, and soon, Min and his family are forced into an incarceration camp in Colorado.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImprisoned on the dusty plains and facing both the pain of displacement and the injustice of being incarcerated by his own country, Min must learn to adapt and to find beauty―and strength―where most wouldn’t.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCowritten by Jolene Gutiérrez, author of \u003cem\u003eToo Much! \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eMamiachi \u0026amp; Me\u003c\/em\u003e, and illustrated by acclaimed illustrator Chris Sasaki, this is an inspiring and powerful picture book. Share it with young readers who are asking questions about justice, belonging, and what it means to be American.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover. 48 pages. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abrams","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819115450626,"sku":"ABRBKUNBRK","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/Unbreakablecover.jpg?v=1792524181"},{"product_id":"a-boy-named-isamu-a-story-of-isamu-noguchi","title":"A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAwarded an Asian\/Pacific American Award for Literature Picture Book Honor, this stunning picture book brings to life the imagination of Japanese American artist, Isamu Noguchi.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eIf you are Isamu, stones are the most special of all.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eHow can they be so heavy?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eWould they float if they had no weight?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinner of the Theordor Seuss Geisel Award in 2020 for \u003cem\u003eStop! Bot!\u003c\/em\u003e, James Yang imagines a day in the boyhood of Japanese American artist, Isamu Noguchi. Wandering through an outdoor market, through the forest, and then by the ocean, Isamu sees things through the eyes of a young artist . . .but also in a way that many children will relate. Stones look like birds. And birds look like stones.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough colorful artwork and exquisite text, Yang translates the essence of Noguchi so that we can all begin to see as an artist sees.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover. 40 pages.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Barnes Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819142058242,"sku":"PRHBKBNISM","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/BoyNamedIsamucover.jpg?v=1792524599"},{"product_id":"isamu-noguchi-i-am-not-a-designer","title":"Isamu Noguchi: “I am not a designer”","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA major retrospective offers a new perspective on the work of Noguchi, whose remarkable design and artistic legacy encompasses sculpture, lighting, furniture, ceramics, public plazas, and garden design.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs part of its 100th anniversary celebrations in 2026, the High Museum of Art is launching an exhibition and accompanying catalogue, which together explore the extraordinary sixty-year career of influential artist and designer Isamu Noguchi. Though Noguchi claimed he was not a designer, the High Museum approaches his work through the design lens, bringing to light many potently prescient and under-explored aspects of his practice. Noguchi exemplified the interdisciplinary, social-minded approach to the role of artist-designer, and his never-ending search for modes of expression reflected an unusually expansive view that extended across everything from sculpture, furniture, and lighting to landscapes, stage sets, and kitchen timers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis comprehensive volume features more than twenty in-depth essays and shorter vignettes by an impressive international roster of scholars and curators, addressing all aspects of Noguchi’s design practice. In addition, a rich and diverse selection of more than 250 archival and contemporary images depict the works in the exhibition as well as illuminate and expand on Noguchi’s exceptional career.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEssential reading for Noguchi fans, this book also appeals to lovers of modern art, mid-twentieth-century architecture and design, and the creative ethos that imbues everything Noguchi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover. 368 pages.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rizzoli","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819165651202,"sku":"PRHBKINGND","price":95.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/IsamuNoguchiIAmNotADesigner.jpg?v=1792525196"},{"product_id":"akari-light-sculpture-1a","title":"Akari Light Sculpture 1A","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of Isamu Noguchi's first designs for Akari light sculptures, the Akari 1A is evocatively referenced as \"beehive lamp form\" in its copyright registration. It features mulberry bark washi paper and tight, evenly-spaced bamboo ribbing, with a rounded form reminiscent of both traditional Gifu chochin pendant lanterns and other works by Noguchi.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDetails:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWashi paper, bamboo ribbing, steel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMeasures 17\" tall by 10\" wide\/deep\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFlat-packed and requires simple assembly\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMade in Japan\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLight bulb not included\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Isamu Noguchi Museum","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819202089218,"sku":null,"price":195.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/NoguchiAkari1Acoveroff.jpg?v=1792526135"},{"product_id":"maison-chanamon-asian-pantry-coloring-book","title":"Maison Chanamon Asian Pantry coloring book","description":"\u003cp\u003eColor your way through 40 hand-drawn illustrations of Asian snacks, drinks, and condiments loved around the world! With simple designs, each page is relaxing and fun for adults and kids alike. Featuring nostalgic childhood treats and goods from your pantry, this book celebrates Asian flavors in a fun and playful way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDetails:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIllustrated by Chanamon Ratanalert (Maison Chanamon)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e40 single-sided coloring pages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCover measures 5\" x 7\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrinted in the USA\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Maison Chanamon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819285876994,"sku":"MCCBASNSNK","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/MaisonChanamonAsianPantrycoloringbookcover.jpg?v=1792527182"},{"product_id":"only-what-you-can-carry-tote-bag","title":"Only What You Can Carry tote bag","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe front of this tote bears the iconic headline from the Civilian Exclusion Order Instructions posters that appeared after President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942. The posters publicly notified people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast of the United States of their impending forced removal from their homes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople were restricted to pack only what they could carry. Most suffered tremendous economic losses in addition to the humiliation of an unjust incarceration. The text on the reverse side of this bag specifies what could be taken. This tote bag is a reminder of a time when the limitations of freedom were symbolized by what you could carry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eView the full text of this document on the Japanese American National Museum's website \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.janm.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2021-02\/janmstore-eo9066-civilian-exclusion-order-poster.jpg\" title=\"JANM Online | WWII Exclusion order\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDetails:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSilkscreen printed 100% canvas tote bag\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMeasures 19\" x 13.5\" with 5\" gusset and 12\" drop straps\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeveloped by JANM (Japanese American National Museum) \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"JANM","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50819562504450,"sku":"JANMTBOWYC","price":36.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/files\/JANMOnlyWhatYouCanCarrytotefront.jpg?v=1792530884"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2133\/7733\/collections\/LeoAminoTheVisibleandtheInvisibleopen1.jpg?v=1792528850","url":"https:\/\/shop.barnesfoundation.org\/collections\/noguchi-to-asawa-designing-postwar-america-collection.oembed","provider":"Barnes Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}