<b>POEM 71-25</b> / Haku Makic. 1980s$2,250</em>

Details

It may be a surprise to know that Haku Maki was enlisted in a special squadron of Kamikaze pilots during the second world war. Fortunately, Japan's surrender occurred before a mission was assigned to him. After the war, Maki served as a Vice Principal at an elementary school. Despite his formal position, Maki's longing for the creative arts may have summoned a chance to meet with the Sosaku Hanga artist Koshiro Onchi. Under Onchi's direction, the burgeoning artist received the inspirational sustenance and encouragement to produce artwork that pushed the boundaries of both the technical aspects of printmaking as well as accepted artistic subjects. As a result, Maki developed a highly innovative printmaking process of chiseling woodblocks and cement molds, which created deep embossing (raised reliefs) into the paper that provided his calligraphic-inspired designs a compelling three-dimensionality previously unseen in the medium.

This work showcases Maki at the height of his artistic strength. The composition features a bold, abstracted, calligraphic form soaring across a black matte plane. The character's red surface is embellished with black embossing that echoes the quick and spontaneous hand gestures associated with calligraphy. A dot-like form in black and a yellow tear-drop shape further highlights the character's form and helps animate the figure within the composition. Although Maki's compositions are not composed as legible kanji, the way the artist renders his composition, in this case with a fire-like vitality and enthusiasm, strongly conveys to the viewer the essence meaning for Poem 71-25.

Connoisseur's Note

This large-scale work is one of the artist's most desirable designs. The work displays Maki's signature style with a black matte background and a lively animated abstracted character. As Maki prints go, his designs that feature red calligraphic forms have always been the most sought after, and this design is chief among them. Further, bolster its desirability, this work was featured as the cover piece for Daniel Tretiak's monograph on the artist. A signed copy by the author is included with the print.