b'show in November 1974, which included prints and paintings. His MFA exhibition, in February 1975, focused on the paintings.Despite the relatively free-wheeling and open atmosphere of the Wisconsin art department, Makuuchi often transgressed even these loose boundaries. Warrington Colescott, who taught etching at the university, remembered Makuuchi as original but uneven, remarking that he was a strong individualist who didnt respond to criticism or pursue his best ideas. 57Balkin remembered that Makuuchi was prone to disappearing, and would often re-appear suddenly, with a wet proof in hand, at the very beginning of class critiques. 58Consequently, it took three years for Makuuchi to finish his MFA. It is also clear that Makuuchis work did not fit the Wisconsin print sensibility, which Colescott described as a mingling of media, the use of multiple and cross-over printmaking techniques, the exploitation of new print surfaces, and the enrichment of imagery through photo-derived resources. 59Makuuchis devotion to monochromatic, linear drypoint was out of step with his peers. Makuuchi felt his marginalization as an artist and a person, even among Asian Americans: Ive been told theres too much ego involved [in my work], which is too bad. I dont want it to be that egocentric. The Asian mindset isnt totally accepting of what Im doing. 60In the face of such criticism, Makuuchi continued to pursue the type of art he wanted to make, often taking a contrarian view toward work that was considered too refined or marketable.FIGURE \x0c\x07 Landlocked Midwesterners or Dad sez a fish always rots from the head first CHECKLIST #18A case in point is Landlocked Midwesterners or Dad sez a fish always rots from the head first (fig. 27). Although the work has strong personal content, alluding to the possible corrosive results (rotting) of Makuuchis continuing to live and workN ig e r i a an d a ft e rin the landlocked Midwest, the composition lacks the obvious complexity of theIn 1976 Makuuchi was offered a teaching position at Adeyemi College of Educa-flip-flops, making it perhaps more legible to a wider audience. The composi- tion, a two-year school for the training of secondary school teachers located in tion showcases his strong draftsmanship, and the color and execution is visuallyOndo City, Nigeria. According to the artist, he was made aware of this position by beautiful. Yet Makuuchi met with resistance any suggestion that he make morethe art historian and graphic artist Okechukwu Emmanuel Odita, who had been work in color or with streamlined compositions. 61According to his friend Josefa classmate at Iowa. 64After one year, he became a lecturer in the Department of LaVigne: You could lay it all out for him about how his course of action wasFine Arts at the University of Ife, also in Nigeria. The goals of the Ife art program, counterproductive to what he wanted to do, and it wouldnt change his mind. Heas outlined in an introduction to a 1984 publication by Frank Aig-Imoukhuede, would just get more determined to do it his way. 62 Secretary for the National Council for Arts and Culture, were to support a re-orientation in art education towards functionalism, the adaptation of Indigenous Following his graduation with an MFA in painting in 1975, Makuuchi struggleddesign resources to the needs and requirements of modern times, and the to find a teaching position. According to his friend Andrew Balkin, he wasevolution of a Nigerian identity for contemporary Nigerian art. 65The Fine Arts distraught and unsure of what to do next. 63Despite his multiple degrees,degree program grew out of the Institute of African Studies (196775), becoming his employment record was spotty, and his recommendations, though plentiful,a full department in January 1976. 66Although printmaking was taught, it was were uneven. under the graphic design section, with an emphasis on practical applications. 6746 47'