Ox
by Maki Haku
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Description
The ox carries deep resonance in East Asian art and philosophy — the ten ox-herding pictures of Zen Buddhism trace a path from searching to enlightenment using the animal as metaphor. Maki Haku's "Ox" almost certainly engages this tradition, the animal becoming both a concrete form and a philosophical cipher. His treatment would likely balance the recognizable silhouette of the beast against the abstraction of ground and mark, maintaining the tension between reference and pure form that defines his best work.
More Prints by Maki Haku
More Animals Prints
Snake Charmers (Hebizukai)
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
Hoshifuri Pine at Zen'yoji Temple in Edogawa (Edogawa-ku Zen'yoji Hoshifuri matsu), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
Drawing for Rabbit and Boy
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
Rabbit and Boy
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ox was created by Maki Haku (巻白).
Ox depicts animals.