Leon Lens: Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi, 1951. Photo: Nicholas Knight ©The Noguchi Museum/ARS
Isamu Noguchi, a celebrated American artist, sculptor, and landscape architect, left an indelible mark on the art world over his six-decade career. Born in Los Angeles in 1904 to parents of mixed heritage—an American mother and a Japanese father—Noguchi's multicultural background significantly shaped his artistic expression. His works often seamlessly merged Eastern and Western aesthetics, resulting in a distinctive and enduring style.
Noguchi's artistic pursuits extended beyond conventional sculpture, venturing into furniture design, lighting, and even set design for dance productions. His creations frequently delved into themes of nature, simplicity, and the dynamic relationship between form and space. He is renowned for his groundbreaking use of materials such as stone, wood, and paper, and his ability to produce works that exist in harmony with their environment.
Akari Light Sculptures
Noguchi's Akari light sculptures are among his most celebrated works. These lamps, crafted from traditional washi paper, were inspired by a 1951 trip to Gifu, Japan, a city renowned for its bamboo and mulberry paper lanterns called, chochin.
Akari, a Japanese word meaning both illumination and physical lightness, were created with a process similar to that used for chochin. Each lamp is handcrafted using similar traditional methods to Japanese Gifu lanterns, incorporating mulberry bark, bamboo ribbing, and wooden forms to shape each unique lamp, but Noguchi introduced a number of significant innovations, including metal frames to support both the light fixture and shade.
Available in a wide range of sizes and shapes, including table lamps, floor lamps, and ceiling fixtures, Akari Lamps are still incorporated into many interior design projects today. Their translucent paper creates a warm and inviting ambiance by softly diffusing light. These iconic lamps are both functional and artful: blending sculpture and illumination. As Noguchi once said, “All that you require to start a home are a room, a tatami, and Akari.”
“New Shapes for Lighting: Sculptor’s Lamps Are Dim, Decorative.” LIFE 32, no. 10 (March 10, 1952): 114–115, 117. The Noguchi Museum Archives
Thoughtful Lighting Design
Noguchi’s design philosophy was based around the idea that art should be a vital part of everyday life and should be in harmony with its surroundings—a vision that rings true to us here at Leon. Though we began as a speaker company, our range of products has evolved to solve many of the design problems found in modern day technology. Like Isamu Noguchi, we are always seeking new ways to merge function with form. One of our latest solutions, the Mera Sound Sconce, adds lighting to our signature blend of sound and style.
The idea to meld lighting and sound in a Leon product came from a collaboration with Mera Studio Architects’ Tara Marshall and Megan Bannon, following a high-design project where Mera utilized Leon’s art-oriented Ente SoundTile.
Mera Sound Sconce in Clay.
“We wanted to rethink the speaker and come up with a design that would shift the concept of the speaker from an afterthought to a forethought, and the duality of a speaker that can illuminate a room just seemed to make sense. Why not integrate sound where you might already install a light?” said Mera Principal Architect Tara Marshall
With full-range audio, dimmable LED lighting, and an artisan-style shell inspired by the textures and tones of natural materials, the Mera Sound Sconce is the perfect accent for any space.
Available in Linen, Black Sand, and Clay, each sconce features a cast-aluminum shell, handmade high-performance audio components, custom-knit bouclé grille fabric and a textured powder-coat artisan-inspired finish.
Learn more about the Mera Sound Sconce here.
