<b>SYMBOL NO. 1</b> / Haku Makic. 1950<b>SOLD</b></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 design attests to the artist's fascination with calligraphic forms to convey artistic expression beyond their utilitarian function. A stylized character at the right is presented to the viewer in a semi-abstracted form, while the inscription at the lower-left anchors the composition and recalls calligraphic compositions for kakemono (scroll) formats. This early work also anticipates the artist's lifelong interest in poetry, which would inspire him to use the naming convention "poem" with a unique number as an identifier for each work.

Connoisseur's Note

Symbol No. 1 is an exceedingly rare work produced at the onset of the artist's career. Its enumeration of 1/1 unequivocally supports its rarity and suggests it may be the artist's first formal work. The flat un-embossed quality of this impression suggests it predates Maki's use of cement blocks. Further, this design predates any listed print in the Tretiak Maki reference.