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Miss Expanding Universe

A work made of aluminum.
© 2018 The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of aluminum.

Date:

1932

Artist:

Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904-1988)

About this artwork

Made of lightweight aluminum, Miss Expanding Universe resulted from the intellectual and romantic partnership between modernist sculptor Isamu Noguchi and Chicago dancer and choreographer Ruth Page. In 1932, Page performed an avant- garde dance, Expanding Universe, wearing a futuristic jersey sack designed by Noguchi; only her head and feet emerged from its stretchy, cocooning shape, a constraint evoked by the sculpture’s abstract form.

Noguchi here combined machine- age streamlining with the austere characteristics of ancient Japanese funerary objects (haniwa). Born in the United States, he lived in Japan until he was thirteen years old, and later extensively studied the country’s sculptural traditions and ceramics.

Status

On View, Gallery 265

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Isamu Noguchi

Title

Miss Expanding Universe

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1932

Medium

Aluminum

Dimensions

113.9 × 88.6 × 15.2 cm (40 7/8 × 34 7/8 × 9 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of Ruth Page

Reference Number

1994.833

Copyright

© 2018 The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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