An Animated Look at Noguchi's Experimental Playgrounds That Were Never Built

"I think of playgrounds as a primer of shapes and functions; simple, mysterious and evocative; thus educational. Rather than have swings and swift metal slides, Noguchi wanted earthen steps, a bandshell, and a large hill for sledding and gathering. The idea was that it could be just as fun in the winter as in the summer and stimulate kids' imaginations more than the prescriptive equipment typical in urban parks."

"A series of short animations recreates this lesser-known history. Using hand-painted celluloid under a Rostrum camera, Eastend Western imagines what these never-built playgrounds would have looked like and how children may have interacted with the unconventional structures. There are concrete mounds with cavernous openings, labyrinthine sand gardens, and asymmetrical equipment that could teach users that the rate of swing is determined by the length of the pendulum."

Isamu Noguchi, renowned for sculptures and lamps, dedicated significant attention to playground design as educational spaces shaping childhood development. In 1933, he proposed Play Mountain, an ambitious New York City project featuring natural topography, earthen steps, and hills rather than standard swings and slides. His vision aimed to stimulate imagination and function across seasons. Parks Commissioner Robert Moses rejected the plan, and despite multiple efforts, none of Noguchi's playground designs were constructed in New York. Hand-painted animations by Eastend Western now visualize these unrealized projects, depicting concrete mounds, sand gardens, and asymmetrical structures designed to teach physics principles. The Noguchi Museum exhibition and accompanying monograph document this lesser-known aspect of his artistic legacy.

Read at Colossal