Iconic Convos: Black Sun

Nicole Bearden (NB): Today we are here with Black Sun from Volunteer Park. I appreciate you taking a moment to engage with us this morning.

Black Sun (BS): Yes, a good conversation passes the time.

NB: Well, we will certainly attempt to make it a good conversation. You have been in the park since 1969. Do you have any favorite moments from the past fifty or so years?

BS: The more people change, the more they remain the same. People, seasons, time—they all cycle, they all come back to incipience.

I bear witness to the spinning wheels of time, the turning clock of seasons, and the joys and sorrows of man—I bear it all and it is both a heavy burden, and a lightsome ecstasy. 

A trio of squirrels playing tag in my tree friends' branches. The cries of a woman brought to regret by a loathsome monster. And in between are the mediocre events, such as life and death which keep us turning—I see all.

NB: What an impressive skill. Was this insight that you possess the intention of your creator, Isamu Noguchi?

BS: It is difficult to assign intention to my creator, as I came to consciousness in the midst of my own creation. I have been told that Noguchi's father was a poet, and indeed, I can feel how the son's innovations are physical manifestations of poetry—an ancestral seam, joining together generations, spanning realms. I can feel my brothers and sisters around the world. All of us are creations of Isamu, and a series of linear connections to his ancestors, as well as one another.

NB: That is an intriguing illustration of intergenerational knowledge.

BS: Come and go, ebb and flow. Round and round, and back we go.

NB: Undoubtedly. So, do you remember your creation?

Isamu Noguchi and Masatoshi Izumi at a celebration in Mure for the departure of Black Sun to Seattle, 1969.

Michio Noguchi. The Noguchi Museum Archives, 03979. ©INFGM/ARS

BS: I recall moments. Flashes of my creator's face, the feel of his hands and the sting of a chisel. Today I feel the caresses of children as they climb, the sharp pokes of crow feet as they hop atop my crown. The rain which dashes piercingly, or bursts as bulbous drops plummet onto my surface. I hear the ducks and geese, the susurrus of leaves and branches stretching in the wind, and the stark longing of humans in the darkness of the night.

NB: What an unexpectedly full existence. Now, I have to ask, for the past thirty-ish years, the rumor has been that famous Seattle band Soundgarden named their first hit song after you. Is there any truth to this rumor?

BS: I cannot recall any incident that would give credence to that rumor. People often show up singing that song to me. However, as you may recall, that is a Black HOLE Sun. I am simply Black Sun (with a hole).

NB: Now that you say it, that does make sense, and I appreciate your candor. Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers before we sign off?

BS: Cherish the circles of life, but beware the processions of hate and ignorance. You will all be gone too quickly, and those like me are doomed to watch you all repeat the mistakes of your ancestors. Break the cycles. And please learn a different song to sing when you visit me.

NB: On that portentous note, I would like to thank you, Black Sun, for sharing your wisdom with us today. Black Sun can be found at Volunteer Park, rain or shine.