“Black hole sun
Won’t you come and wash away the rain?
Black hole sun
Won’t you come, won’t you come?”
– Soundgarden, “Black Hole Sun”

 

I was writing my entry about Frida Kahlo. During this time, I read that she had a short passionate affair with Isamu Noguchi. He was an equally famous American-Japanese artist and landscape architect. They met while Isamu worked on the highly political relief mural. This was for the Abelardo Rodriguez market in Mexico City. The mural was entitled “History as Seen from Mexico in 1936”.

Most famous for the iconic Noguchi table, Isamu also made the monumental sculpture entitled “Black Sun” in 1969. which is now located at the Volunteer Park in Seattle, Washington, particularly at the eastern edge of the park’s man-made reservoir. Carving was done in Mure, Japan from a single 30-ton block of stone quarried from a Tijuca formation in Brazil producing the polished torus-shaped sculpture measuring 9 ft in diameter and 12 tons in weight.

It was said that it inspired the song “Black Hole Sun” by the grunge band Soundgarden, released in 1994. Written by the band’s frontman, Chris Cornell, it is arguably their most recognizable and famous song. As grunge has been part of my younger years, I took my chance to visit the sculpture. It was actually far from the city center of Seattle. By the time my friend and I arrived there, it was already dark. The view of the Space Needle, Olympic Mountains, and Elliott Bay through the hole of the sculpture is not clear. Despite this, I still felt good. I am happy that I have visited it.