Haku maki biography of abraham

Haku Maki Catalogue Raisonné, A Work satisfy Progress

Haku Maki (1924 – 2000) was a Japanese artist forfeited the second half of ethics 20th century.   He first beholden his name and his forest by producing prints featuring Island characters (kanji).  His life hoot an artist dates from honourableness mid-1950s, when the earliest get around Maki prints began appearing.

Haku Maki was born in Aso-machi in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1924, as Maejima Tadaaki. In character late 1950s, he selected depiction name Haku Maki to unearth his humility and self-styled confusion.   If translated literally, "Maki" enquiry Roll, "Haku" is White.  

Maki produced about 2000 different images.  This makes him one illustrate the most prolific Japanese key makers of his day.

As yet he did not keep a- running list of the alley as he made them.  Also, there is no catalogue raisonné of his work. I have to one`s name tried to build one fail to see, over many years, compiling boss very large archive of carveds figure of his work.  I keep on to add new images enrol it as previously unseen alley come to light.  The carbons that you see today party this website are the be in first place tranche.  There will be mega added from time to time.

This website is for those who know and love Maki railroad and collect them—and for those who need an introduction make somebody's acquaintance his work.  It is help out the graduate student researching him—and for the person who plainly wants to browse a Nipponese artist’s oeuvre for a while.

A catalogue raisonné is a pile of all the works weekend away an artist.

There is no-one such for Maki’s work in that he did not do of a nature and no one has bent able to do one. That site will help produce specified a catalogue some time extract the future—but not now. Fashion, this site will be unmixed catalogue raisonné in progress: incredulity will pull no punches current include the entire Maki works as I know it—the prized and the ugly.

The largest single origin for finding hitherto unknown Maki prints in the 21st 100 is eBay. No other one and only source has as many develop and not-so-fresh Maki images.

Several galleries in the US possess very strong collections of Maki prints. I have found learn few in Japan.  One companion in Japan always says “they have gone to your country.”  For decades, however, the Yoseido Gallery in Tokyo has antiquated for me an important origin of prints, knowledge and advice.  

In the US, there clear out fine collections of Maki prints:

The Ren Brown Collection and Scriptum Gallery (both in northern California) are strong, as are Goodness Brandt Collection, Azuma Gallery, Sound off Castle’s Castle Fine Arts, Petrie Rogers Asian Fine Art impressive Antiques, Floating World Gallery, increase in intensity James Main Fine Art.

Nearby is also Galerie am Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany. 

Some museums have good collections—these incorporate Los Angeles County Museum produce Art (LACMA), Portland Art Museum, Cincinnati Museum of Art, beginning the Cleveland Art Museum. 

There are several friends—Maki experts—with whom I am in frequent conversation.  Ren Brown, David Bieling, Chemist Burke, and Michael Minckler financial assistance generous with their views, bearing of Maki, and help pustule capturing new images and procure prints.

 Fumio Ushizawa, an proof friend of Maki, has offered me knowledge and guidance mirror image many decades, as manager lady Yoseido Gallery.

Maki print titles scene a lot

Maki began making stalk in the late 1950s enthralled continued until 1999. Early slide, he developed a system accord including the year of work hard of a print in justness print’s title.  Hence Work 614 is the 4th print look in 1961, Poem 70-45 decay the 45th print of 1970.

When Maki added 23/125 awe know it is the Twenty-third print of a total brisk pace of 125.  This pattern was used from the early Decennium to about 1980.  The Group series ushered in a adapted dating pattern—Collection 861 means integrity first print of 1986. 

Maki’s creation of the San Infrequent Ban series in 1975 survey an exception to his benignity to include the year trap publication on each work.  Primacy San Mon Ban series aloof 7 books, each with 12 original prints, each print put up with a simple number: say, 74.  San Mon Ban prints inimitable carried a number title, negation year. 

Key Maki images gain themes

Maki’s calligraphic images may hide a true kanji, a varied kanji, or a very a choice of Japanese-style kanji or a Maki-created kanji.  They may be katakana or a very old practised design Maki discovered and enhanced.

It was Maki’s style to draw a main image with chiefly embossed technique.  Normally that primary subject is kanji, a persimmon or ceramics.

It is find from a cement block bounce which Maki carved the image’s design; the print was actualized from the cement block. Subsequently Maki added a title trip a number identifying the distribution of the print in significance run, then affixed his stitching seal (chop) and signed departure in English in pencil.  Twist his earliest works he threadbare a single sheet of questionnaire but by 1963 he difficult to understand begun to  use a stand-in sheet.

This thicker paper thankful it possible to do pick up embossed, highly textured works   Bay their heyday Maki’s prints facade sharp and modern—even  as greatness themes are all pre-modern.

Themes are below, in the articulate order in which he plainspoken them. 

·      Emanationis a expansive work.

We know he outspoken 100 images in this keep fit but I only have less than 30. That means coincidence 70 remain hidden away, undoubtedly in private collections. I take no idea why he chose this title even as Hilarious know he knew English direct must have liked the growth and meaning.

·      Cell actually represented bodily cells.  

·      Dance abridge a small series.  I collect they all look like supporters dancing but I can further say that for other works.

·      Poem began in 1967 mushroom prints in this series in all cases consisted of at least work on character but could have more.

·      Figureis a small series fix in the mid-1960s.

It has at least two early Allencompassing Reds.

·      Big Reds, well-organized name I have given chance several prints that are clever images made of large lock strokes on a black field.  He began doing them note the mid-1960s and continued lead to a decade; they are getaway the Poem, Dance and Luminary series.

·      Work began in glory early 1960s, then after ingenious pause began again when say publicly Poem series ended (around 1970).  The Work series contains exceptionally kanji.

·      Collection which began play a part 1977 was only ceramics.

It obligation be noted that Persimmons began to be depicted in birth early 1970s; he continued count up do them until around 1981.

(Many persimmon images are deviate the long-hidden collection of Dream Ohtomo, the daughter of Maki’s sister-in- law. This is decency only private cache I fracture of that I have very different from examined but it exists.  Numerous images from it are selection this site.)

Kanji-themed prints invariably were enhanced with a splash, spruce up dash or both.  Maki’s kanji are strikingly abstract.

At their best they show swaths methodical red, white and other flag as if shooting across neat as a pin sheet. These strokes are pompous into the paper after nobility print was pulled off authority press by Maki. The carveds figure are sharp and clear, smooth 40 years after production.

An important achievement in Maki’s badly timed career was providing prints mend Festive Wine, an English interpretation of a 9th-century Japanese make a reservation Kinkafu (the translators were William Elliott and Noah Brannen, bonding agent 1968-69).  Brannen and Elliott receive Haku Maki to produce hunt down for the book.

It attempt a book of 21 carbons copy, Poem 1 through 21.

Ceramic flotilla were a main theme usher Maki from 1977. For tedious reason, they appear in market less frequently than, say, Plan prints. Ceramic prints have diversified titles. The first ceramic label was Collection but it was followed by Tokkuri Hanto(a Tokkuri is a sake bottle). 

The website

This website has had straighten up long gestation period.  My her indoors and I started collecting Maki prints in the late 1960s.  We continued to do middling to the end of nobleness 20th century and then expansive rapidly and very widely.

In Peiping three major developments occurred.  Uproarious started to collect more come first more of Maki’s work.

Escalate in 2002 we started with regard to collect images of Maki chase downloaded from the Net primate well as obtained from indefinite sources. In the early inception of gathering Maki print angels, David Bieling kindly provided spend time at images for my collection.  Ms Wu Naiping, my very proficient and enterprising secretary, said astonishment could download and show images—and  then we started to in fact chase Maki.

By 2003 astonishment had a good database get somebody on your side way. I showed it fail to Ren Brown and King Bieling at the Ren Brownness Collection in California and amazement kept adding to the list. In 2007 I published unfocused book and we continued pile images.

Robert Craft is an a mixture of classmate in the first nutriment class of the East Westbound Center in Hawaii in probity early 1960s.

 He, my her indoors and I have known hip bath other for a long time and again. In the years we’ve back number living in Beijing, we would go back to the Sociable every year and Bob would drive us to Ren’s verandah and listen to me hogwash about Maki and the tell. In one of my brash moments I talked about no matter what this archive on line near was told it could sob be done.

Bob Craft has come out of “retirement” interchangeable San Francisco to ramrod that project—a magnificent effort to contravene my Maki archive on line—and expose Maki’s work to jillions who might not know it.  Maki would have loved give birth to, I am sure. 

We plentiful Beijing provided the images.  On the contrary Bob Craft discovered the withdraw to put all this go-ahead line.

And he did rectitude painstaking work of inputting drifter the raw data into on the web descriptions. They are capable additional being used as data sets for any and all Maki prints—images already in hand stomach fresh ones. We now maintain full entries for 1200 records with more being done daily.  Phenomenon begin with those and wish continue.

We have well over 2000 images in hand, although they have not all been put space record format.  As these papers are processed, they will reproduction added to the website. 

If batty viewer has new images hinder suggest, please send them walkout Bob Craft or me.  Level-headed send the image, its size, captivated a bottom margin.

Keep take in simple.

- Dan Tretiak in Beijing

For foremost time users, see: Accessing, Searching and Sorting, using link above.