I've always been intrigued by the "Radio Nurse" that Noguchi designed for Zenith back in the 1930s. It was intended to be used as a way for parents to monitor sounds coming from infants in their rooms, and it broadcast whatever it heard to a remote receiver. Noguchi's design is reminiscent of a nurse's head (with the traditional headcovering); I find it both appealing and slightly sinister. Given its form and function, it's utopian and Orwellian at the same time.
Unfortunately, after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, many of these expensive devices were destroyed by irate Americans who refused to have anything with a Japanese name on it (the housing said "Noguchi" in tiny letters). Consequently, surviving examples are rare and expensive.
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Date: 2006-04-22 06:49 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, many of these expensive devices were destroyed by irate Americans who refused to have anything with a Japanese name on it (the housing said "Noguchi" in tiny letters). Consequently, surviving examples are rare and expensive.