A Study on the problem of body-sign in Abakanowicz's works : On Abakans and Extension of body

아바카노비치에 있어서 신체 기호의 문제 -아바칸Abakans과 몸의 확장을 중심으로

Body has been high-lightened as one of the most important theme since the philosophy and the arts are focused on it in the late 20th century. It would be of worth to study the characteristics of contemporary fiber-art works, especially done by Abakanowiz who has been regarded as a dominant pioneer in the contemporary fiber-arts from the viewpoint of inter-grade of the physicals and the mental. This paper, therefore, deals with the Abaknowiz' works in the context of human body and body-signs. Life and works might be classified into 5 stages: first, learning period since her birth in 1930, second, creation period of Abakans, third, remodelling period of Abakans, fourth, composition and dissolution period of Abakans and the last and fifth, new transformation period of Abakans. 'Abakans' through her whole life as an artist have been a plastic language and based ultimately on external human body but in various materials and forms. Abakan as a human-sign uses the past experiences and the texts of the other world in mixed and overlapped forms. Life-size Abakans by Abaknowiz can be easily understood as Abakanowiz herself and her Polish ancestor at the same time. The neuter Abakans with mashed face and obscure body is a expressive figure of coexisting world with opposite concepts like war and ideology, anxiety and freedom, man and woman, and etc. Human body as body-sign is an extensive image has existed since our forefathers and overlapped with the inter textual and the popular images. 'Abakans' that is our world and inner-self at the same time might be a window through which she tries to show what the world is.