Fukuyama Museum of Art and Fukuyama Calligraphy Museum
Research Bulletin No. 12
Monograph 2025 by Katsunobu Ohmaet
Copyright 2025 Masaaki Noda
Masaaki Noda:The Arc of My Life in Art:50 Years From New York to the World
Table of Contents
Introduction
Masaaki Noda (1949-), a contemporary artist from Niichi-Cho, Shin-ichi-cho, Fukuyama City, has been working for nearly half a century since moving to New York in 1977, and since traveling back and forth between Japan and the United States. He has installed over 15 public sculptures both in Japan and overseas , from the stained glass work “Perpetual Flight” (Fig. 1) at the Raigo Wall at the south entrance of Keihan Uji Station (Kyoto) in 1997 to “Evolution and Innovation-II” (Fig. 2) at Noda Metal Working Industry Co., Ltd. (Higashi-Osaka) in 2024. This paper will discuss how Noda came to create sculptures and the development of his formative expressions, mainly using stainless steel.
A Print Maker and Painter Encounters Sculpture
1. A Print Maker and Painter Encounter Sculpture
Masaaki Noda made his debut solo exhibition at the Shinanobashi Gallery (Osaka) in 1972, before graduating from Osaka University of Arts. He met Osaka-born painter Yoshio Kono (1921-1999) at the exhibition, which prompted him to start making silkscreen prints. In 1977, he traveled to New York. Two years later, his work “Dimension 6-J” (Fig. 3) won a award at the National Print Exhibition in Boston. He received offers from 10 galleries. His life as an artist was beginning to take off. The early 1980s was a time when Neo-Expressionism was on the rise. Noda began to move away from minimalist art, back to the classics in an attempt to identify the origins of art.
The dynamic organic wavy shapes seen in the painting were influenced by the watercolors and oil paintings of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), which have a sense of reality as a deep space created by the colors and air in the light. In the process of examining art history, Noda also explored the ideas and sketches of Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) and Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
Noda used Turner’s atmospheric expressions as a reference to create a water-color-like blurred effect (Fig. 4) “Perpetual Motion” 1980 that was unprecedented in the silkscreen printmaking technique. The flowing colors and the immersive, other-dimensional spatial world were the result of complex, subtle shading and transparent color expression, resulting from over 100 prints.
During this period, he created works such as “Perpetual Motion” (Fig. 4) which symbolically depicted a three-dimensional cone-shaped figure in a wavy form based on Da Vinci’s sketch of a parachute. He constructed a print world with an image that foreshadowed Noda’s later sculptures.
At the time, Noda was actively submitting his works to printmaking competitions in Europe, but he also felt concerned about his devotion to printmaking. This was because he felt that his health was being affected by the heavy use of volatile organic solvents to dilute and clean oil-based ink in silkscreen production, and he felt that as the demand for prints in the New York art market decreased, galleries specializing in printmaking were disappearing one after another.
Furthermore, Noda’s work as a printmaker made him realize the media hierarchy in the American art world, and it was different from what he had imagined. From this time on, Noda began to focus more on painting than printmaking. At the same time, he also became interested in sculpture, which he had admired since his student days.
In 1982, Noda took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the “International Symphony of Aerial Art (Aerial Sculpture)” exhibition held in New York. Upon learning of Noda’s participation, Nam June Paik (1932-2006) supported him by writing a letter of introduction to collaborate with aerial sculptor Otto Piene (1928-2014). This festival was organized by the Rainbow Art Foundation as an attraction for the 200th anniversary of friendly relations between the United States and the Netherlands.
A total of 11 artists, including Willem de Kooning (1904-1997) from the Netherlands, as well as artists from five countries including Italy, Malaysia, and India, were invited to participate in the exhibition. De Kooning is one of the leading painters of 20th century abstract expressionism, along with Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) and Mark Rothko (1903-1970). The main focus of the festival was de Kooning’s aerial sculptures, a project in which his paintings were enlarged and suspended in the air.
Noda’s work was made of four weather balloons, parachute cloth, and fiberglass (Fig. 5). The work, which soared into the sky above Central Park, attracted attention for its vivid red, blue, and white stripes reminiscent of the American flag. The New York Times (Fig. 6) reported on the work with a photograph of the floating sculpture under the following headline:
de Kooning in the Park – Willem de Kooning comes to Central Park’s Sheep Meadow at noon on Saturday.
Eleven artists will be participating in an aerial show of inflatable soft sculptures. De Kooning’s own piece is a 20- foot by 25-foot sky sail. The Rainbow Art Foundation is sponsoring the event. Other artists include Dolly Yunisan from Malaysia, Marty Lowell, Vera Simmons, Edgar Cowans, Rick Kinarid, Lissa Papazian, Peter Dean, Tariq from India, Masaaki Noda from Japan, and Lucio Isolani from Italy. Sheep Meadow is on the west side of the park, just north of the 65th Street crosswalk (1).
Through this festival, Noda was inspired by the works of famous artists and realized the importance of collaboration with the technicians involved in making the sculptures stand out.
From this time on, Noda began to continuously create small sculptures using cardboard and other materials. At the time, Noda, who was in his mid-30s, was building his career as a printmaker, while also creating many large-scale drawings (charcoal drawings) over four meters in size, such as Phase (Fig. 7).
These works strongly expressed his desire to express the complex atmosphere and infinite space of the supernatural world.
At the same time, he also created sculptures using cardboard as a stepping stone to materialize his own images.
In addition, although unpublished at the time, he continued to experiment, such as starting to create collages (Fig. 8) in 1987, skillfully composed of figurative paintings, in an attempt to explore the possibilities of expression from various angles.
Noda did not settle for printmaking and drawing, but continued to work as a painter, actively incorporating acrylic paints, opaque watercolors (gouache), and other materials. As he created spatial paintings, he became absorbed in sculpture, trying to express in three dimensions what could not be expressed in two dimensions.
This series of creative approaches eventually led to sculpture and sculptures. Noda learned the know-how of sculpture at Nishida Kame Co., Ltd. (Fig. 9) (Kyoto), which is well-known for its metalwork and sculpture production.
Noda was introduced by an acquaintance to Yagi Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Fig. 10) in Kyoto and learned more metal work techniques. Yagi started as a manufacturer of medical and chemical equipment and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025. He learned brass welding and coloring techniques directly from the studio of a sculptor active in Brooklyn, New York (Fig. 11).
Fascinated by sculptures that change depending on the viewing angle, Noda began to take an interest in metals such as bronze, brass, Corten steel, and stainless steel, as well as materials used in sculpture such as granp;ite and glass. In works created around this time, such as “Far Away-SN” (Fig. 12) and “Fluid-II” (Fig. 13), plate-shaped metal pieces are intricately intertwined.
In terms of material characteristics, silvery stainless steel, which gives an inorganic and cold impression, is used in this work, which shows an attempt to transform the image of the laws of nature and the universe into a sculptural form. In 1995, he expanded his horizons to the point where he created the base model for his later large-scale relief work “Awakening-4” (Fig. 14) , which was nearly two meters in size. This Awakening series (2) is reminiscent of Frank Stella’s (1936-2024) Indian and Exotic Birds series (3), but Noda has added his own unique painterly elements, such as scratching the stainless steel surface with a grinder like a painting.
These works were first shown at a solo exhibition at the Efstathiou 70th Street Art Gallery in New York in 1999. The exhibition included new mirror-finished stainless steel and brass sculptures, as well as watercolor and acrylic paintings.
Noda was called a “conductor of space.”(4) for his work’s expression of mutual interaction between flat and three-dimensional objects, and the ambitious content of the exhibition showed a new frontier.
Around this time, Noda became acquainted with Kenneth Snelson (1927-2016), and felt the social importance of outdoor public art, especially sculptures installed as permanent structures. Snelson’s studio was three blocks away from Noda’s home. Snelson was an abstract sculptor who created tensegrity structures, structures that maintain balance through tensile and compressive forces, and produced sculptures and objects.
His sculptures are based on digitally drawn conceptual drawings, and are made of stainless steel poles fixed in the air with wires, maintaining an exquisite balance. These elegant sculptures are installed all over the world. Noda and Snelson belonged to the same gallery in Japan, and they frequented Snelson’s studio on Sullivan Street, and their relationship continued until the end of his life. It was from Snelson that Noda discovered the appeal of stainless steel sculptures. In later years, when Noda was asked to create a sculpture, Snelson gave him accurate advice on the selection of stainless steel materials to use and the production process.
2. Sculpture Production
Noda’s first sculpture began with a sudden request. It was a stained glass work, “Flight” (Fig. 15), which he installed on the Raigo Wall at the south entrance of Keihan Electric Railway’s Uji Station in 1997. This was included in the ” Masaaki Noda Works Collection” published by Abe Publishing in 1991 by Masahide Iwano (1950-), the architect who designed Uji Station.
The client had been paying attention to Noda’s work “Masaaki Noda The Works in New York 1980-1991” and had requested that “we incorporate the image of Noda’s work into the design” on the station’s wall. The client probably imagined that the fluid expression seen in Noda’s prints would stand out as a stained glass sculpture. Prior to the production, Noda studied the Tiffany stained glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noda came up with the image of “Ascending the Sky” and “Coming and Going and Vicissitude” on two upper and lower panels, which are abstract sublimations of the cloud-based Bodhisattva statue in the Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple, a national treasure representing Japan, from Uji City, famous for its temples and shrines.
The lower panel represents the chaotic world below, while the upper panel is a symbolic representation of the image of a Bodhisattva literally ascending to the sky. Noda brought a full-scale drawing, over six meters wide, to his home in New York. He then considered the effect of the actual light shining on it, and drew out a detailed drawing, even dividing the width of the lines surrounding the colors into smaller parts. In this sculpture, the gradations of color and the layered space are expressed in a single image.
To express the space, 63 colors were used, and 5,000 pieces of plate glass were installed. Noda’s enthusiasm for his first sculptureal project was fully demonstrated. This stained glass sculpture caught the eye of many people, including the mayor of Shinichi at the time, Fujiwara Taira, who attended the unveiling ceremony, and became the catalyst for subsequent sculpture production requests.
3. Meeting Kunio Noda - Noda Metal Working Industry Co., Ltd.
Shortly after the recent installation of the sculpture at Uji Station, Noda was asked by the Shichi Lions Club in his hometown to create a sculpture to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the sculpture at Uji Station. Since 1998, Noda has been seriously searching for a suitable form for the landmark of Shichi, aiming to create a 6-meter tall sculpture sculpture.
First, he made a palm-sized paper prototype (about 15 cm tall) as a daily routine. Once the image had solidified, he narrowed it down to about three pieces, spray-painted them with silver paint, and checked the overall image, repeating this process. This process was a search for the ideal form image that he had in mind.
Based on the paper prototype, Noda produced a stainless steel maquette (50 cm tall) at Yagi Seisakusho in Kyoto City. However, since the actual large sculpture was too large to be produced at the same factory, he visited four factories, mainly in the Kansai region. However, due to its complex shape, even computer 3D analysis determined that it would be difficult to process, and production hit a snag (6).
In response to this situation, Noda searched for a company that could meet this bold challenge, and in 1999 he found Noda Metal Working Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Noda Metal) in Higashiosaka City, a city famous for its manufacturing.
It was in 1999 that he met the company’s then-president, Kunio Noda (Fig. 16) (not a Masaaki Noda family member.) According to Noda, the first thing President Noda said to him was, “I changed the mindset of my employees. I want each employee to think and act for themselves, and to have autonomy (7).”
The company had earned a high reputation both in Japan and overseas for its track record in bending processing, and manufactures metal products for construction and other items that cannot be manufactured anywhere else, even from single orders.
After discussing with Noda, Noda Metal measured the subtle curves of the maquette and quantified them. Noda Metal then created processing instructions in multiple separate drawings.
Noda’s design was compiled using CAD. It was at this time that the technique of converting the complex shapes that Noda created into plan views was established. For the bending process, a computer-aided machine called a press brake (Fig. 17) was used.
In addition to the automatic pressure control of the press brake, the company utilized the experience, skills, and unique know-how of its craftsmen to bend the material with even greater precision. Noda Metals was able to bend up to 6 meters, which is why they were able to create large sculptures. The sculptures are made of 4 mm thick stainless steel (SUS316) plates that are skillfully curved and assembled. In order to create a shape that matches the weight of the sculpture, Noda used paper templates to actually fit the joints on the sides and back, and the templates were attached after careful consideration.
The production process was also created jointly by President Kunio Noda and other staff members, communicating with each other.
Kunio Noda passed away in December 2024, but his successor continues to take over the production of the sculptures. Since its founding, the company’s philosophy has been “never say it can’t be done, but think about how it can be done (8),” and through the production of the sculptures, the company has embodied the change in the essence and awareness of manufacturing. Noda Metals has been featured in the media and constantly attracts visitors from schools and companies across the country.
4. Diversity of Sculptures
In 2000, one year after meeting Kunio Noda, Noda installed a monumental stainless steel sculpture, “Perpetual Flight II: Beyond Time and Space” (Fig. 18), at the intersection of Route 486 at the north end of Fukudo Bridge in Shinichi-cho, Ashina-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture (now Shinichi-cho, Fukuyama City). As Noda had imagined, it is a three-dimensional sculpture, three meters high (six meters high when combined with the hexagonal granite base.) The exterior is designed to take advantage of the curved stainless steel, and when viewed from up close, the steel protruding from the center stretches out toward the sky as sharply as a sword.
Depending on the viewing angle, it can look like a bird about to take flight or a rising flame, and it changes in countless ways. The phrase “Beyond Time and Space” refers to the time and space that will be passed down from the children of today to the children of the future.
Since 2000, Noda has actively installed public sculptures in Fukuyama city, China (Shenzhen) (Fig. 20), Greece (Delphi (Fig. 21), Marathon), and other places, alongside his artwork.
“Genesis” (Fig. 19) was created in 2002 and installed as a sculpture at the Fukuyama Art Museum in November 2009, thanks to a donation from Niiyama Hiroshi. It is three metres high and consists of twelve intersecting stainless steel circles on a cylindrical base of black granite. Through the circular holes, visitors can see the Fukuyama Castle tower as a backdrop. The surface has been polished to a mirror-like finish, and when viewed from the front reflects a face.
The work gives the illusion of being enveloped in the work. Furthermore, the mirrored glass of the museum reflects the sculpture, creating an illusion of three separate worlds.
In 2001, a curator from the Shenzhen Art Museum, who had come to see Noda’s work in his New York studio as part of a special exhibition promoting Chinese contemporary art, was so interested in the content that he changed the plans from a group exhibition of American artists to a solo exhibition of Noda. This was the trigger for installing the sculpture in China. In November 2003, in conjunction with the “25th Anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China: Masaaki Noda 1973-2003,” a sculpture called “Perpetual Flight VI – Rising to the Firmament” (Fig. 20), 3.4 meters high, was installed in the central garden of the museum.
The sculpture’s infinite circular form, which became a permanent installation, created a new relationship between nature, architecture, and space, and was well received.
Takis Efstathsiou, a American-Greek art dealer who had been friends with Noda for 30 years, noticed the strong response in Shenzhen and arranged for Noda to be the first Asian artist to create a work at the European Cultural Center in Delphi, Greece.
When Efstathou held a solo exhibition of Noda’s work in Antibes, France in 1995, he invited Noda to Greece and showed him around Lefkada and Delphi. When Noda saw the ancient Greek sculptures, he was overwhelmed by their mythological quality and idealistic realism. However, as he continued his project in Greece, he found artistic universality in the sculptures. Noda came to believe that his sculptures needed a spirituality that transcended the ages of several thousand years.
In February 2005, Noda held the first solo exhibition by an Asian artist at the Delphi European Cultural Center, a national cultural institution adjacent to the Temple of Apollo in Greece, and installed Apollo’s Mirror (Fig. 21) in the sculpture park of the center. The park overlooks the Gulf of Corinth 600 meters below. There had been no sculptures by artists from France, Italy, America, or other countries in the sculpture park, so Noda’s work was installed as the only sculpture by a foreign artist.
This sculpture was featured on the cover of a Greek gallery guide, and there was a lot of excitement as he held solo exhibitions at two locations. This was a big step in Greece.
In response to the success in Greece, the Fukuyama Museum of Art held “Masaaki Noda Exhibition: Message from New York” in January 2006. For this exhibition, Noda produced bronze works, including “Possibility” (Fig. 22). These works, which sublimate dynamic forms such as flying birds and the speed of fluids, are connected to more organic forms through the bronze material.
Noda’s desire to express the sculptural imagery that wells up within him more directly led him to create maquettes using clay in addition to paper. These small maquettes also led to new realms in the creation of sculptures.
In September 2010, Noda returned to Greece and was commissioned by the mayor of Marathon, Greece to create a monumental sculpture. Noda created “The Spirit of Hermes” (Fig. 23). This year marked the 2,500th anniversary of the Marathon Battle, which is the origin of the “marathon.”
The monumental sculpture is five meters high and was installed next to the outdoor ruins of the stadium, which is also the starting point of the Athens Marathon. This work is a dynamic sculpture inspired by the Greek god Hermes, and resembles a powerful runner or a lightly flapping bird. In this way, Noda’s sculptures have developed into a unique luminism using mirrored surfaces, and have gained recognition overseas
5. Lafcadio Hearn Sculptures
In search of a timeless spirituality, Noda became interested in Koizumi Yakumo 小泉 八雲 (Lafcadio Hearn), known for his Japanese works such as “Kwaidan-Stories and Studies of Strange Things.” Then, while investigating Hearn’s footsteps, including visiting Hearn’s birthplace in Lefkada, Greece, Noda became aware of the need to deepen his own art and to promote cultural exchange between the East and the West. Noda was also inspired by his friendship with the Greek-American artist Theodoros Stamos who spent his summers in Lefkada and knew of Hearn and his relationship to Japan. Noda knew Stamos from New York.
Noda, together with Hearn’s great-grandson, Director Koizumi Bon (Koizumi Yakumo Memorial Museum), became involved in an art and cultural exchange project that spanned Greece, the United States, Japan, and Ireland, which led to the revival and resurgence of Hearn’s popularity, and led to the installation of a sculpture.
In October 2009, when Noda turned 60, an exhibition themed on Hearn was held on the campus of the American College of Grece in Athens to commemorate the 110th anniversary of Japan-Greece friendship, along with the installation of a sculpture entitled “The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn (Athens)” (Fig. 24) .
In October of the following year, an exhibition was held at Matsue Castle to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Koizumi Yakumo’s visit to Japan, and a stainless steel sculpture of the same type as the one in Athens, “The Open Mind of Lafacadio Hearn/Koizumi Yakumo (Matsue)” (Fig. 25) , was installed in the Matsue lakeside park of the Shimane Art Museum to echo the two countries.
The curves in different directions represent the East and the West, and the heart-shaped opening that intersects in the middle symbolizes the harmony between East and West and Hearn’s spirit of tolerance, as well as Hearn’s view of things without discrimination or prejudice, his spirit of “symbiosis,” and tells the story of his extraordinary life. Incidentally, this location was chosen to allow the setting sun to enter the heart-shaped space in the center of the sculpture, in honor of Hearn’s love of sunsets.
In 2014, to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the death of Koizumi Yakumo, the 2.2-meter-tall “Lafcadio Hearn-Odyssey of an Open Mind” was installed at the Greece Cultural Center in Lefkada, birthplace of Hearn. The Odyssey is a long epic poem from ancient Greece that is said to have been written by the poet Homer.
The sculpture’s shape suggests the beginning of Hearn’s difficult journey from his birthplace, with the wings at the top spread wide. It is a sign of Hearn’s flight out into the world.
The fourth and the final chapter of Noda’s Yakumo Sculpture Series “Eternity-Resting Place of Lafcadio Hearn” (Fig. 26) was installed in October 2019 at the Koizumi Yakumo Memorial Park (Tokyo) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the friendship between Shinjuku Ward and Lefkada City. The 2.8-meter-tall heart-shaped opening allows a view of Yakumo’s bust, which was inspired by the idea of the sunset in Matsue. This friendship partnership originates from the fact that Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), who was born on the Greek island of Lefkada, spent his last years in Shinjuku Ward.
In this way, over a period of about 10 years from 2009 to 2019, sculptures were installed in four locations connected to Lafcadio Hearn: Athens and Lafkada in Greece, Matsue, and Shinjuku. The installation of these sculptures allowed Noda to feel the connections in Hearn’s footsteps, from points to lines, and from lines to surfaces.
6.Noda Creates More Sculptures in Japan
Noda continued with other public sculptures throughout Japan and Hiroshima Prefecture. In March 2011, he installed “Gale Flash Back” in the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art Sculpture Park.
In April of the same year, he created “Evolution” and “Quest”, two decorative laminated glass sculptures at Fukuyama City University. These were created by digitally reconstructing a large number of small sculptures that were successively copied, printed on film with a special method, and finally sandwiched between two pieces of glass. This series of works is based on the hand-drawn sketches of “Awakening V,” but is also closely related to the fields of photography and computer graphics.
In March 2012, Noda completed “The Future Is Now” (Fig. 27) which was installed in the south plaza of Fukuyama Station . The mirror-finished stainless steel sculpture appears to change expression dramatically depending on the angle, weather, and the viewer’s mood. From one angle it looks like a folded paper crane, from another it looks like a windmill, and from another it looks like a rose, which symbolizes Fukuyama, making it a work for the future.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Fukuyama City, the sculpture “Enlightenment” was commissioned installed on the atrium wall the Kannabe Community Center in Fukuyama City (Fig. 28). This was his first attempt at a sculpture to be installed on a wall. It is 1.8 x 2 meters long and 1.2 meters deep, and is a gorgeous piece of stainless steel painted in gold and silver, combining four pieces each, to represent the flow of energy.
Noda created it with the hope that “the people of Fukuyama who see the work will have something they can share with the world.” The title of the work has the meanings of enlightenment, enlightenment, and awakening. It also contains the hope that Fukuyama will continue to develop in a spontaneous and active way.
In March 2020, a monumental sculpture “Glory” (Fig. 29) was installed at the entrance to FPCO Arena Fukuyama and Fukuyama City General Gymnasium sculpture to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Fukuyama City Athletics Association. The title was chosen with the hope that “the future that Fukuyama City is heading for is full of ‘glory’ (9).” It is 5.7 meters tall and took three years to complete from the time it was conceived.
This work is located at a position that connects the north and south of the sculpture “Now is the Future” at the Fukuyama Station South Plaza, and is the 13th work. Noda created it with the hope of “fostering a place for cultural exchange with the world through art, and connecting it with the development of Fukuyama City as a legacy for the next generation (10).”
The pedestal is a triangular pyramid of black granite with a sharp finish, and the sculpture, which is composed of curves and twists, is placed on top of it. As befits a sculpture in a gymnasium, it expresses the dynamism of athletes enjoying sports, leisure, events, etc., and different images can be seen depending on the angle.
In May 2022, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of Horkos Co., Ltd., “Mind Beyond” (Fig. 30) was installed in the lobby on the first floor of is new headquarters building. It is 5 meters long and 2.6 meters wide. What is particularly noteworthy is that it is an “aerial sculpture” suspended from the ceiling by three wires, and the three variable light bulbs on the left and right of the wall create a seven-colored light effect. The work is filled with thoughts of the future and limitless progress. It contains flowing energy, flight, anti-gravity, spiral life. The motifs of his works are DNA and other elements. This work strongly expresses these images by making it a mid-air sculpture.
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In February 2024, “Soar Into the Bright Future” was installed at the main entrance of the headquarters of Castem Co., Ltd. (Fig. 31). This sculpture is 4.15 meters tall and is the 15th work in Fukuyama City. As the title “Soar Into the Bright Future” suggests, the shape of the sculpture captures the moment when a bird spreads its wings and takes off on a pedestal made of jet-black granite.
This work is related to “Perpetual Flight II: Beyond Time and Space,” which was installed on National Route 486 in 2000 by the arterial highway connecting Fukuyama and Fuchu; from the road you can see the evolution of Noda’s sculptureal works over the past 24 years.
“Evolution and Innovation II” (Fig. 32), which also was installed in September of the same year 2024, is a sculpture established to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Noda Metal Industry Co., Ltd. At 6.64 meters tall, it is the second largest after the 7.14-meter-tall “The Future is Now” installed in front of Fukuyama Station. A smaller verions of the same work was installed at Nariwa. This work conveys Noda’s spirit of craftsmanship and can be said to represent a new milestone.
7. Conclusion
Noda’s public sculptures have been installed in important locations such as Mongolia, Hiroshima, Fukuyama, Matsue, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Museum of Art in China, and the Delphi European Cultural Center, a cultural facility directly managed by the Greek government (11). These sculptures will remain in their place forever as national or city landmarks, and will be passed down as a legacy to future generations by continuing cultural exchange across borders for many years.
Noda’s large public sculptures are characterized by polished stainless steel, which erases the boundary between the work and the viewer, or the space in which they are installed. They are characterized by their dynamic shapes that involve nature and buildings and are twisted in multiple layers. The mirror surface also creates a sense of lightness that seems to expand the surrounding space.
As Noda has always said, “My perspective in my work is always that of a painter who pursues a dream space, and I continue to seek a fusion of that with the formative sense of a sculptor (12).” his is based on the desire to “free myself from the physical constraints and restrictions of materials, and to always be aware that my work is an extension of my pictorial expression (13),” and this is one of the characteristics and attractions of Noda’s sculptures.
He is exploring the possibilities of collaborations with different industries, events, and cultural activities. His communication skills have been honed through negotiations and contact with people from various fields, including the industry and different industries, on the international stage in order to elevate his work to new heights. In recent years, his relationship with Tadao Ando’s architecture was seen at the exhibition held at Ando’s Takahashi City Nariwa Museum of Art in 2022 must have been a touchstone for breaking new ground..
Katsunobu Ohmae, March, 2025.
Notes
In writing this article, I received advice from Masaaki Noda, including an interview, and was provided with a large amount of material. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to him.
(1) The above is the original text of an article published in the New York Times on Sunday, October 17, 1982. Masaaki Noda’s name is a typo.
(2) This Awakening series is characterized by a distorted parabolic bend of metal plate that appears to emerge from the surface of a stainless steel plate installed directly on the wall. The title “Awakening-II” indicates the complete liberation from the constraints of metal frames and surfaces.
(3) The series from around 1979 caused a great controversy in the art world at the time as to whether it was painting or sculpture. At that time, the influence of minimalism was still strong, and the line between painting and sculpture was quite strict, but Noda was flexible in adopting it.
(4) Masahiko Moriya, “Apollo’s Mirror, Conductor of Space,” Catalog of the “Masaaki Noda Exhibition,” Fukuyama Museum of Art, January 13, 2006, p. 154. According to Moriya, “His sculptures create a harmony that coexists with the environment. A conductor of space, a sculpture like a musical conductor, this way of being can be seen as Noda’s expression.”
(5) This is a recollection of Mr. Noda’s time through an interview.
(6) According to Mr. Noda, he visited several companies in Fukuyama, Osaka, and Kyoto to make the request. He was shown some prototypes, etc. However, it was completely different from the image of the original.
(7) The words of Kunio Noda were recalled through an interview with Mr. Noda.
(8) Kunio Noda, “Manufacturing starts with self-manufacturing,” Pamphlet for “Noda Metal Industry Co., Ltd. 50th Anniversary Commemoration Evolution and Innovation Sculpture Sculpture Unveiling Ceremony,” Noda Metal Working Industry Co., Ltd., September 21, 2024
(9) “Dynamic sculpture unveiled at Fukuyama New General Gymnasium,” Sanyo Shimbun, March 4, 2020.
(10) Speech by Masaaki Noda at the unveiling ceremony, based on an interview with Noda.
(11) The sculptures that have been installed so far are located both in Japan and overseas, including 15 in Fukuyama City, two in Hiroshima City, three in Osaka Prefecture, one each in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Shimane Prefecture, four in Greece, two in the United States, and one each in China and Mongolia. They have been installed in train stations, national highway intersections, parks, consulates, art museums, hospitals, universities, high schools, nurseries, gymnasiums, and indoor and outdoor locations in public facilities and offices. They come in all sizes, from around one meter to over six meters.
(12) and (13) An interview with Mr. Noda in which he spoke about his aspirations regarding the creation of the sculpture.
English Version Translation Notes
The initial translation from Japanese to English utilized Google translation services and was edited and updated by Alan D. Sugarman. Sugarman has known Noda since 1995 and also manages Noda’s web site at masaakinoda.com. The translated word “Monument” was edited as “Sculpture” to match English language usage. Importantly, the names of sculptures were edited to match the names used in various English language catalogs and other publications. Finally, a list of sculptures with locations was added in the next session.
Locations of Public Sculptures With Links to Google Maps
As a guide to readers, the geographic latitude/longitude locations of each sculpture is provided below.
“Perpetual Flight II – Beyond Time and Space” 「 飛翔II 時空を超えて」, National Highway No. 486 connecting Fukuyama and Fuchu: Shi-ichi-cho intersection, Shi-ichi-cho Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2000.
“Perpetual Flight III – Dream Catcher”「 飛翔III ドリームキャッチャー」, Tode High School Shinichi-cho Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2002.
“Perpetual Flight V – Luminary”「 飛翔V リュミナリー」, HIrano Nursery School Kannabe-cho Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2003.
“Perpetual Flight VI – Rising to the Firmament” 「飛翔V 天空昇」, Shenzhen Museum of Art Shenzhen , Kenton, China. 2003.
“Apollo’s Mirror” 「アポロの鏡」, European Cultutural Center of Delphi Delphi, Greece. 2005.
“Pursuit” 「追跡」, Fukuyama City Center Library Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2008.
“The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn (Athens)” 「ラフカディオ・ハーンの開かれた精神」, The American College of Greece Athens, Attica, Greece. 2009.
“Genesis ” 「創世 」, Fukuyama Museum of Art Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2009.
“The Spirit of Hermes” 「ヘルメスの精神」, Marathon Stadium Marathon Municipality, Attica, Greece. 2010.
The Open Mind of Lafcadio Hearn (Matsue)” 「ラフカディオ・ハーンの開かれた精神」, ShinjiLake Matsue City, Shimane, Japan.2010.
“Gale Flash Back” 「疾風 フラッシュバック」, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. 2011.
“The Future Is Now” 「いまこそ未来」, Fukuyama Station Square Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2012.
“Serenity” 「セレニティ, Kokoro Hospital Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2012.
“Lafcadio Hearn – Odyssey of an Open Mind (Lefkas)” 「ラフカディオ・ハーンと開かれた精神のオデュッセイア」, Lefakas Cultural center Lefkada Municipality, Ionia, Greece. 2019.
“Endless Possibility” 「無限の可能性」, Shigiya Machinery Works LTD Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2016.
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“Enlightenment” 「啓発」, Kannabe Civic Center of Fukuyama City Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2017
“Revelation” 「天啓 」,, YHRP Museum – Hiroshima University Hospital Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2018.
“Ambition” 「大志」 , Eishin Junior High School Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2019.
“Eternity – Resting Place of Lafcadio Hearn” 「無限の未来 小泉八雲終焉の地」 , Koizumi Yakumo Memorial Park Shinjyuku, Tokyo, Japan. 2019.
“Glory” 「栄光」 – ,F-Pico Arena Fukuyama (Fukuyama General Gymnasium) Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan, 2020.
“Fresh Wind” 「新風」 , Ohki-Kensetsu Co. Shiichi-cho, Fukuyama, Japan, 2020.
“Pegasus of Hope” 「希望のペガサス」, Mongolian Medical University Hospital Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 2021.
“Mind Beyond” 「 超想」 , Horkos Corp. Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, Japan. 2022.
“Evolution and Innovation II” 「進化と革新-II」, Noda Metal Working Industry Co., Ltd. Higashi Osaka City, Japan. 2024.
“Soar Into the Bright Future” 「颯翔 はやと」, Castem Co., Ltd. Fukuyama, Miyuki-Cho, Japan. 2024.
“Neptune” 2025 , Fukuyama City Center Library Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. 2008.