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Noguchi pedestal sells for $320,500  

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TinyArmada
(@tinyarmada)
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24/12/2011 6:56 am  

I'd take the SUV
SUV thanks. Leather, trim interior and prodigy in the CD stacker, thanks.
You want to talk about an investment? I'll take 300,000 in MCM that I can use, love, look at and like. But not that ugly stool.
Sure sure it has "historical importance", so I guess that would be the only reason you would buy it.
And the ONLY reason because it is ugly, and could be put together by a 6th grader.
I guess if the historical importance is the big deal, than a description rather than a photo would be more appropriate to post about the piece - than a photo.
Because honey, you're and ugly son and it is no wonder it was never sold anywhere.
- A.S.


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NULL NULL
(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)
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24/12/2011 6:54 pm  

Perhaps
A lucrative business proposition for the right master craftsman?


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tktoo
(@tktoo)
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24/12/2011 7:15 pm  

Tiny, no one is asking you to buy it.
Or even like it, for that matter. It is what it is and, apparently, what it is is worth $300 grand.
Something along these lines might be more to your liking, perhaps:


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TinyArmada
(@tinyarmada)
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24/12/2011 10:17 pm  

Oh yeah...
I'm thinking of mass producing these....my shop in China could bang these things out I bet. The only thing is, where do I find such crappy wood?
If I found it and burned it, to later find it was worth a mint, yeah sure - everyone would have the same regret, but that would never happen as I would never have purchased it.
Perhaps one day when I am rich I would consider buying pieces I don't visually like for the investment purpose - what a sad sad day that would be. And this one would never be on the list. Besides, too many other good choices out there.
I like the SUV - but the accessory it comes with it much much more desirable than the vehicle.
I'm in it for the hunt - take that away and the game - for me - is not much of a game. I work hard for the pieces I have and that makes it feel like a real reward when you do get it.
Most people reading this thread think the same thing - it is ugly, it is disgusting and they would never own it no matter how much money they had.
But the few of you hard-core Noguchi fans, keep standing up and shouting...there is a tiny spot for you in this rather big stadium.
- A.S.


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NULL NULL
(@teapotd0meyahoo-com)
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24/12/2011 10:37 pm  

The "accessory"
Can you be yours for $320,500 (or more).


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tktoo
(@tktoo)
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25/12/2011 2:17 am  

I love that it's not parked between the lines!
And that it could safely transport a Sputnik lamp home from Sotheby's!
Is that Fergie a tastemaker, or what?


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Spanky
(@spanky)
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25/12/2011 4:49 am  

I wish I'd seen this sooner....
I wish I'd seen this sooner. I was looking for some tube socks like that for my grampaw.


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tktoo
(@tktoo)
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25/12/2011 6:14 am  

POTT to thp.
"post of the thread"
Well done!


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HPau
 HPau
(@hpau)
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25/12/2011 10:11 am  

Homo faber vs Homo ludens?
Thanks to the OP, monetary value aside...no real interest for me but thinking about the little pedestal was extraordinarily stimulating.


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whitespike
(@whitespike)
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25/12/2011 8:51 pm  

this pedestal = revolting waste
Now that there are several kids in the family, I see the ridiculous amount of waste around Christmas.... so much money spent on plastic crap that will rarely if ever be played with beyond just a few hours total. My wife works at an inner city preschool where kids wear shoes with their feet cramped and come to school without jackets. We have vowed not to waste our meager income on wasteful things. I must admit, I was first in line to save up a regrettable percentage of my earnings for the finer things. To an extent this is okay, who am I to judge? But the amount spent on this underwhelming piece is disgusting. I don't mean to be a sore, but how many shoes and jackets would this buy for our children? They are not riff raffs who can go work. They are our innocent, who we allow to suffer while we sit in awe of our own fancy acquisitions.
At one time I could ignore it, I am not proud to say. But after having a son and seeing his friends hungry and cold this just bothers me. We spent more on other children at the school than for our own. This isn't to pat myself on the back. But it's to show that even a little family who cannot afford a second car and lives check to check can make a difference.
I love Noguchi. But this is crazy. And this particular object looks like firewood. Should I assume it went to a museum? I hope so. I hope there is not a single person this foolish.


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whitespike
(@whitespike)
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25/12/2011 9:13 pm  

futhermore
If you were to see this pedestal and a Saarinen pedestal table for sale side by side for $300, which would you buy? No matter how nice the joinery or proportions, at best most would consider this a marginally successful DIY project and would leave happily with the Saarinen. I think this would be true even if we were ignorant of the designers of either table. The Saarinen, along with many, many other tables would be an even more pleasing pedestal for Noguchi sculptures. Even Noguchi's own still-produced Prismatic or Cyclone tables would be more pleasing to the majority, I suspect.
Otherwise, we are just talking investment and perhaps this is the wrong forum. This is for design lovers no?


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Eameshead
(@eameshead)
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25/12/2011 9:32 pm  

The price is not the fault of the artist.
1)Its all links in the chain.... Just like there are a lot of Picasso paintings that are quite underwhelming as resolved objects eve, the crappy ones are worth a lot because they are all "links" in a rather formidable chain that has had quite a bearing on history and other artists. Context is everything.
2) The price is not the fault of this artist. Remember that. Yes the price paid is disgusting. But that is quite a separate issue.
3) For many sculptors, the base is indeed part of the piece. There are two basic modes of thinking about presentation of "traditional" sculpture. One is that the base is a separate entity from the sculpture, and if a sculpture needs a base, there should be a clear distinction between base and sculpture. The other way of thinking is that the base is an EXTENSION of the piece. PART of it. So I would think that some research would have to be done to view this piece in its proper context. Without the context of the piece that this base is meant for, the argument about the aesthetics of the base by itself has very little meaning.
Context is everything.
4) Plenty of waste in the world though, who would not agree with that?


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SDR
 SDR
(@sdr)
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25/12/2011 10:18 pm  

I don't see
how the resuse of old lumber to make something of use (if that's the story here) can be called "waste" . . .
Clearly this object doesn't appeal to those who value the perfection of a well-designed manufactured table. Those who like wood, in all its forms, aren't necessarily MCM fans, either. But does this humble table really deserve the verbal abuse heaped upon it here ?
The high price realized at auction only represents our inability to acquire said object -- doesn't it ? Otherwise, the dollar value is irrelevant to our appreciation of a given object. We'd be no less appalled by something like an Eames lounger prototype -- a piece we might actually want to own -- getting an astronomical price, wouldn't we ?
As for the supposed crudity of the Noguchi stand, look again at the sliding dovetail shown in one of the auction photos. As well, there is a lot of thought entailed in the chosen proportions of the piece, and even the uniformity of the surface of the wood should not be taken for granted . . .
But, to each his own.


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whitespike
(@whitespike)
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25/12/2011 10:36 pm  

SDR, really?
Did you read my post? I never said the piece was a waste, rather the money spent on said piece is. I think that was clear... The table itself is not being abused I don't think, rather the table in context of the price. It's just simply absurd. Even if you think it's worth it I think we can agree that it is absurd. Meaning out of the ordinary.
Eameshead,
No one has blamed Noguchi for the price. He's dead. I love his work. Especially his sculptures. He is amazing. I know this was just a pedestal and not meant to be his best work. Which only adds to the bewilderment.


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gene
 gene
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25/12/2011 10:55 pm  

I feel like I must be a very...
I feel like I must be a very jaded person in that I'm not in the least bit surprised or shocked that there is gross inequity in the world, and that there are people who can and do spend a fortune on art work and other luxuries while so many go hungry. I thought everybody knew that already!
Of course there is no moral justification for the money spent on rare artwork. But this $320,000 pedestal is certainly no more obscene than a $100,000,000 Giacometti, or countless other examples of crazy prices paid for works of art. Yes, the pedestal is a humble little thing, but presumably Noguchi made it himself, unlike the rare Noguchi table for Herman Miller that sold for over $600,000 some years ago. And if you already have a Noguchi bronze that's worth millions, what's another $320,000 for a pedestal made by the artist himself?


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