Catalog (175)

This Maki print has had a charmed existence. It was printed in Japan in the mid-70s, just as Maki was beginning to leave the production of prints with kanji as the main theme and start doing then with Ceramics, mainly in the Collection series. This is the second print of his long ceramics series – some of which were simply entitled as this is with the year 75-59. This was done in 1975 and was a quite large edition 201. This one is number 5 of 201.The print was first distributed by Red Lantern Gallery in Kyoto. Whoever bought it made sure it would survive a long time. It was framed and matted by the best framer of the day in Tokyo, Kato. It stayed in Japan from framing until being sold recently at an auction in Tokyo. The print shows a dramatic mustard yellow vase in the center and a nice red persimmon off to the left. In the Maki style of seeing balance: to the right is a signature in white and the Maki seal. Maki used this white ink squiggle about a dozen times in the 70s. The leaves of the persimmon are tipped with a Japanese lacquer to make them glisten as in the autumn light. The print is dramatic and calm. It has finished traveling for a while. It now resides in Beijing next to other Maki prints. It is a kind of reunion for all. Frame 8 shows the original Red Lantern catalogue with this image.

The Portland Art Museum has very recently begun to put its holdings of prints of Haku Maki on its site. These cover a wide range of Maki art: from the very earliest days of his work until the 1980s. The listing is particularly exciting because it shows several very early prints I have never seen. These are shown in the first 3 images of this listing. At the beginning, Maki’s images were abstract, embossed and small editions. We see the earliest known Woman image, an apple and a Work image that I still cannot explain. Of importance to other Maki collectors and me is an image of Mt Fuji which I had not seen before and one of 2 insects in the style of San Mon Ban images but slightly larger in size. There will be more coming on line soon. I thank Todd Burke for directing me to this source and Maribeth Graybill and Amanda Kohn for making it happen. Daniel Tretiak Copyright 2013 The museum has about 75 Maki prints; about 40 are on line and available for viewing in Portland Oregon The first 3 images of this listing http://www.portlandartmuseum.us/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=keyword;keyword=Haku%20Maki

In 1976 Haku Maki did his eight-volume San Mon Ban--a total of 96 different embossed images. These included many items Maki had just used, would use soon and used later. I first show images of two prints like those in San Mon Ban but slightly larger. Then two images of insects in San Mon Ban and then 4 images of insects long hidden in my archives--even to me. These might all be called Maki Lite. The two shown here are Insect 2 Fleas; Insect 3 ants There is also a simple Insect and another Insect 4 ants. All reportedly had editions of 100 but I have never seen them except in archive and I do not have the actual print.

This colorful print is an early Maki embossed print. It is a quite small print done in a very low run. Only 30 copies were made. Maki started doing 50 copies by 1962. Earlier he may have lacked the confidence to do runs of that size so he did 30 as shown here The three red suns are dramatic, The print is signed in white ink, an early Maki touch. The 3 suns shimmer. The title is in kanji – a rare Maki style. This is Ji hao 31 [Signal 31]. The paper is double thick, an early use of such paper by Maki. The horizontal print measures 21in x 9in.

Q R T U V W X Y (*) Z Poem T is a distant Predecessor of image 10 Most if not all the prints in this series were sold through Red Lantern Gallery in Kyoto. missing J K L M N O - other than G and S. U is clearly a predecessor of Poem 59-55

In the mid-1960s, Haku Maki was firmly launching his career as an important Japanese print maker. He did a series of prints of which a long and key series was the Alphabet A – Z. In turn, the Alphabet was the first series of what came to be many series of prints, all of which Maki called the Poem series. Prints in the Poem series continued to be produced until 1972. He produced all of the Alphabet in 1966 or part of it in that year and part in the next. Even at this old age I do not know the precise years. Furthermore, after a long effort of collecting the series, I do not have images for all 26 letters. I have never seen Poems G I J K L M N O S. The images are some of Maki’s quite good prints but none laid the ground work for important other work. I cannot make a case that Poem U,a square woman, is a strong example of what the kanji for woman should be. The pink sun and the quarter moon used in Poem D were used later on but I do not feel that is because they were used successfully in this series. The black and white image is from David J.Finkelstein in NY. Here we show Poem A B C D E F H P Poem D's crescent moon appeared elsewhere. We show one example. C-1 was re-discovered in a chance find in our files. It is prime Japanese hieroglyphics: hoki moji or a kind of pointillism. Copyright 2013 Daniel Tretiak

In the period 1966-67, Haku Maki did two large series with Song as the theme. There was Flower Song, a series of 10 prints. And there was Animal Song which was Maki’s Asian Zodiac series, with 12 images. It was also a small series with small editions--50 in the case of Animal Song (released in Kyoto, so very hard to find: only one friend has the full set), I do not know who has the full set of Flower Song. Equally rare is Moon Song. Many years ago I saw Moon Song 1 and did not buy it; this time I snapped it up. I show it below. Is it a necklace, as one may call the “companion piece” shown beside it but done in 1981. Moon Song is simple and elegant. No complicated calligraphy. No snappy colors. “Just” an embossed design of large beads forming a necklace and one small one coming with a small two colored bead in the center. It has been hidden for so long! copyright Daniel Tretiak 2013

1971 was a big year for Haku Maki He did over 100 different images of Japanese prints. Some, like this one, were big prints--this one, Poem 71-91, is 30.5 Inches x 15.25. It is 68/108. This is the abstract kanji for Mu or Nothing and he titled it Nothing The kanji starts at the top then cascades down to the final four strokes at the bottom. From a distance it appears to me like the steps going from top to bottom of a building on a Chinese hill on the Yangzi. Rare and dramatic,fully restored.The back has tape remnants which are stable and cannot be removed.

Haku Maki tried to work until he died; the last images were not pretty. They were printed first on very thin paper, which was then “wrapped” around heavy shikishi board. They are lithographs not done from wood blocks. From the late 1980s Maki had stopped doing embossed prints turning instead to collages and lithographed prints. These are among his last prints: Kyowa brand Shikishi board is made in Japan. Size: 9 1/2" x 10 1/2" (24.2cm x 27.2cm) There are two (2) pieces in one pack. These plain Shikishi art boards got a white rice paper on one side and light yellow color paper with golden sparkles on the other, edged with gold colored trim. Already mounted, the white rice paper surface is still very absorbent. You may also paint or write on the yellow side if you wish. Thus late in life Maki seems to have experimented by doing lithograph on this board. The prints all give the impression of being dashed off with a brush, not printed, but they were. These were supposedly large editions, up to several hundred, but some were done in small editions. Maki did not give these prints titles. Hence I describe the themes as follows: from left to right: Self Not known Mountain Nothingness Rain and Let it go All the images follow the Maki formula for identifying them as his: they are signed (but we cannot confirm by whom), they have the Maki seal (but who affixed it?) and who actually published the print? Maki was near death when these were done. Why did Maki do them?

In 1990 Haku Maki produced as many as 6 different images of famed Mt Fuji(Fuji-san). Here are three, each one printed from a different block.

In 1971 Haku Maki Japanese Master print-maker was at the height of his creative powers. He had already done several “big” prints and turned his skills to producing dramatic prints. This Big Blue was one. It depicts a war instrument, a halberd. Maki created this design so that it showed how the character was written. He showed us how the stroke order flowed on a woodblock print. The first flowed from lower left corner to the top right, The second stroke flowed from top to bottom, piercing the center of the print. The third stroke comes across the print from right to left. The actual kanji has to have 4 strokes: here the yellow splash should be at the right but Maki put it at the left, to be the 4th stroke. Or was the black sun at the right the 4th stroke? The blue strokes are all covered with lacquer, a frequent Maki touch. (The sun was covered in this lacquer--as was often the case.) The whole print shows off the creative style of the Master, everything fits nicely in the place allocated. The print’s size is slightly smaller than I expected it would be. For many years I had assumed the image was a Blue Woman but I had never seen the bottom margin. When Chinese colleagues saw the print and the bottom margin combined with the image they immediately said it was not Woman but a halberd, a weapon. Maki almost never depicted a weapon. As a Zen Buddhist he seemed to steer clear of military themes. I note the print is not a particularly solemn one. The blue is strong the yellow splash is bright and the sun sizzles. Sanae nakajima helped with the translating of the title. copyright daniel tretiak 2013

Poem S B. This small and unpretentious print was a sleeper. Whoever sold it knew not what he had. Indeed neither did I until well after it came here to Beijing. It is a very rare 1968 Maki print. Not 1967 and not 1969. It has the kanji for Rope in the center and that is placed on a subtle but firmly done kanji for STONE - but the kanji is in there ass backwards. The correct rendering is in image 5. Mysteries abound.I have never seen the sub-title SB in a Maki print. I do not know what it means. We have seen FP but not SB. This is a rare image: the numbering 1/50 suggests this was the first image of the run--but it could have been the only one. Did Maki only do one? The paper that was ordered by Maki came from a paper maker he knew who prepared paper for him. (I do not know who he was.) The paper had the distinctive “moon surface” Maki used countless times in his prints. Note this is fairly early Maki: he employs only one splash. In frane 5 I show how Maki would have done the Stone kanji if he were not being cute: straight up (as made in Beijing). Size: 21.5 x 21.5cm.

In the early 1980s Haku Maki produced this unusual print, Poem 3. It has a kanji bottom margin (Mountain and Water) and is only slightly embossed. It is as if he started to do a lithograph and then decided to emboss it a bit. It is a modest-size print and not spectacular. By the time he did this print Maki had finished with embossed kanji and ceramics and was heading toward less compelling work.Poem 3 has a gold sun right center, but the print has no drama and no oomph. 15x15cm.

Note 10 part II continues to discuss the evolution of Maki's prints.

This research note was edited by Lois Dougan Tretiak whose assistance is gratefully noted.

Maki not only did Large red kanji on black backgrounds, which I have denominated Big Reds.He also did Big Yellows, as in this dramatic print Poem 71-7 (Mind). Size: 32.6 x 17.2in/83 x 44cm. For comparison, I've also included Poem 68-71 (Mind). It is in frame 8.

This is Maki's print 71-2, which tells us it was the second print that he created in 1971.

teaching example board wrapped in thin paper last 2 images seller claims this is from Oakland Museum seller claims it is signed by Maki the writing and the date are NOT Maki style Maki did the print but did he sign it? did he sign this "painting" friend doubts Oakland Museum and Maki would not have meshed