• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.4
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• pp.123-144
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• 2006

Foreigners who arrived in Korea after the age of enlightenment were Japanese, Chinese and 'Westerners' who were Europeans and Americans. The westerners were diplomats who visited Korea for colonization or for increasing their economical profits by trading after the spread of imperialism, and tourists curious of back countries, artists, explores and missionaries to perform their roles for their religious beliefs. They contacted with Korean cultural and educational people as missionaries and instructors during Japanese colonial period. In 1945, the allied forces occupied Korea under the name of takeover of Japanese colony after Japan's surrender and the relation between foreigners and Korean cultured men enter upon a new phase. For 3 years, American soldiers enforced lots of systems in Korea and many pro-American people were educated. This relationship lasted even after the establishment of the government of Korean Republic and especially, diplomats called as pro-Korean group came again after Korean War. Among them, there were lots of foreigners interested in cultures and arts. In particular, government officials under American Forces who were influential on political circles or diplomats widened their insights toward Korean cultural assets and collected them a lot. Those who were in Korea from the period of independence to 1950s wrote their impressions about Korean cultural assets on newspapers or journals after visiting contemporary Korean exhibitions. Among them, A. J. McTaggart, Richard Hertz and the Hendersons were dominant. They thought the artists had great interests in compromising and uniting the Orient and the West based on their knowledge of Korean cultural assets and they advised. However, it was different from Korean artist's point of view that the foreigners thought Korean art adhered oriental features and contained western contents. From foreigners' point of view, it is hard to understand the attitude Korean artists chose to keep their self-respect through experiencing the Korean war. It is difficult to distinguish their thought about Korean art based on their exotic taste from the Korean artists' local and peninsular features under Japanese imperialism. We can see their thought about Korean art and their viewpoint toward the third world, after staying in Korea for a short period and being a member of the first world. The basic thing was that they could see the potentialities through the worldwide, beautiful Korean cultural assets and they thought it was important to start with traditions. It is an evidence showing Korean artists' pride in regard to the art culture through experiencing the infringement of their country. By writing about illuminating Korean art from the third party's view, foreigners represented their thoughts through it that their economical, military superiority goes with their cultural superiority. The Korean artist's thought of emphasizing Korean history and traditions, reexamining and using it as an original creation may have been inspired by westerners' writings. 'The establishment of national art' that Korean artists gave emphasis then, didn't only affect one of the reactions toward external impact, 'the adhesion of tradition'. In the process of introducing Korean contemporary art and national treasure in America, different view caused by role differences-foreigner as selector and Korean as assistant-showed the fact evidently that the standard of beauty differed between them. By emphasizing that the basis to classify Korean cultural assets is different from the neighborhood China and Japan, they tried to reflect their understanding that the feature of Korean art is on speciality other than universality. And this make us understand that even when Korean artists profess modernism, they stress that the roots are on Korean and oriental tradition. It was obviously a different thought from foreigners' view on Korean art that Korean artists' conception of modernism and traditional roots are inherent in Korean history. In 1950s, after the independence, Korea had different ideas from foreigners that abstract was to be learned from the west. Korea was enduring tough times with their artists' self-respect which made them think that they can learn the method, but the spirit of abstract is in the orient.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.6
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• pp.7-25
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• 2008

The following thesis has been composed with the inspiration attained from Paul Ardenne's conception on Contextual Art. In Europe and in the United States, there is a group of artists who emphasize in the importance of artist's participation in social, political, economical, environmental and moral issues. Since the 1960's, these artists have pondered on Modernism's ideas where art is contextually separated from humanly issues whereas the manners of such artists put on emphasis in the intent to participate in the real human social and ethical issues. Forerunner in this field of art such as Wolfgang Leib display hybrid or meta style in their work. His work displays a quadrilateral form of pollen which represents the simultaneous blending of two mixed ideas such as the abstract from the real. Thus heterogeneous style and philosophy which includes a range of medias and today's trend is observed in Contextual Art. Such art form is also found in landscapes where it is not seen as an observable object but rather an interactive object. It is correlated to Arte Povera of the Italian Art Movement, Support-Surface of the French Art Movement and lastly to the Fluxus. Through these art movements, we find a mutual antipathy towards putting art for sales in the capitalism market and reflect the social role of art in postmodern era.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.8
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• pp.185-215
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• 2009

In Malaysia, figurative painting has increasingly become a means for artists to pose questions about presumptions of power and assumptions of history. The body, its potentially breached boundaries and defenses, forms an integral component of the battle for political influence. The degree of control over one's own and other people's bodies has become a measuring stick to determine the power of potential political leaders. Anxiety about boundaries and access to powerful bodies is intertwined with the questions of who has the right to hold power; the relevance of moral bodies and of what comprises an ideal self or selves. These questions are raised in intriguing ways in contemporary Malaysian art. While eschewing a direct take on current politics, Malaysian artists have increasingly turned to the body to address issues in Malaysian history, culture and the distribution of power. This paper will explore some works by three artists in particular, Wong Hoy Cheong, Nadiah Bamadhaj and Ahmad Fuad Osman use the figure to problematise dominant narratives in Malaysian history. Their work variously challenge political, racial and gender hierarchies and in so doing, reveal them as social constructions.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.13
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• pp.35-71
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• 2012

The purpose of this essay is to examine the responses of artists on nuclear experiences through an analysis of the nuclear images represented in contemporary Japanese art. Japan has previously as twice experienced nuclear disaster in 20th century. The first atomic bombs were dropped in 1945 as well as the 5th Fukuryumaru, Japanese pelagic fishing boat, exposed by hydrogen bomb test operated by the US in 1954 nearby Bikini atoll. Due to Tsunami taken place by the great earthquake that caused the meltdown of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in March 2010, Japan is being experienced a nuclear disaster again. Despite practical experiences, comtemporary Japanese art has avoided the subject of nuclear disasters since the end of the Asia-Pacific War for a variety of reasons. Firstly, GHQ prohibited to record or depict the terrible effect of atomic bomb until 1946. Secondly, Japanese government has tried to sweep the affair under the carpet quite a while a fact of nuclear damage to their people. Because Japan has produced numerous war record paintings during the Second World War, in the aftermath of the defeated war, most of Japanese artists thought that dealing with politics, economics, and social subject was irrelevant to art as well as style of amateur in order to erase their melancholic memory on it. In addition, silence that was intended to inhibit victims of nuclear disasters from being provoked psychologically has continued the oblivion on nuclear disasters. For these reasons, to speak on nuclear bombs has been a kind of taboo in Japan. However, shortly after the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the artist couple Iri and Toshi Maruki visited to ruin site as a volunteer for Victim Relief. They portrayed the horrible scenes of the legacy of nuclear bomb since 1950 based on their observation. Under the condition of rapid economical growth in 1960s and 1970s, Japanese subculture such as comics, TV animations, plastic model, and games produced a variety of post apocalyptic images recalling the war between the USA and Japanese militarism, and battle simulation based on nuclear energy. While having grown up watching subculture emerged as Japan Neo-Pop in 1990s, New generation appreciate atomic images such as mushroom cloud which symbolizes atomic bomb of Hiroshima. Takashi Murakami and other Neo-Pop artists appropriate mushroom cloud image in their work. Murakami curated three exhibitions including and persists in superflat and infantilism as an evidence in order to analyze contemporary Japanese society. However, his concept, which is based on atomic bomb radiation exposure experience only claimed on damage and sacrifice, does not reflect Japan as the harmer. Japan has been constructing nuclear power plants since 1954 in the same year when the 5th Fukuryumaru has exposed until the meltdown of Fukushima Nuclear Plant although took place of nuclear radiation exposures of Three Mile and Chernobyl. Due to the exploding of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, Japan reconsiders the danger of nuclear disaster. In conclusion, the purpose of this paper may be found that the sense of victim which flowed in contemporary art is able to inquire into the response of artist on the subject of nuclear as well as the relationship between society, politics, culture, and modern history of Japan and international political situation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.55-67
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• 2012

Based on the fact that a parody is widely used as one of main methods of creating art, this study focuses on the parodic techniques used by one of the most famous contemporary artists, Cindy Sherman. Her unique techniques, which are shown through parody, provide different aesthetical values to contemporary fashion designs. The purpose of this study is to find out whether or not contemporary fashion designs that use parodies can be presented as creative fashion designs. The study was carried out by analyzing data retrieved from various literatures, dissertations, magazines and the Internet. The period between the late 1990s and 2010 is the time when parodies were widely introduced, this study presents tables, pictures and photographs based on data collected from that period. The result of this study suggests that there are mainly four expressive techniques used to create Cindy Sherman's parodies: female viewed from a male's perspective, pornography and sexual satire, narrative and realistic reproductions, and foreignness and harmony in conflict. This study discovered that based on these four expressive techniques, contemporary fashion can produce the following four results according to their production styles, silhouettes, materials, and colors: the beauty of the retro pinup girl style, the beauty of eroticism and sexual satire, the beauty of history through reinterpretation of the past, and the beauty of compromise through conflict. As described above, this study attempts to seek how techniques of parodies give different aesthetical values whether or not they can become creative fashion design techniques by listing Cindy Sherman's unique expressive techniques in her parodies in relation to contemporary fashion designs.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.252-254
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to show the works of Jeju artists and ways to contribute to the Jeju tourism industry, with the research background in that it has recently continued to accept the works of Jeju contemporary artists and draws active works. As a measure to achieve this research purpose, the Deep Dream Generator software was judged to be an effective method for promoting this study. As a specific research process, we will use the Deep Dream Generator to synthesize each of the works of Jeju artists and works of famous foreign artists provided by Deep Dream Generators with their own photos of Jeju Oreum and display the results, and attempt to reinterpret Jeju Oreum using artificial intelligence. In addition, it is expected to revitalize Jeju's art works and tourism by seeking ways to use the results in Jeju tourism products.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.74-90
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• 2010

The history of contemporary art in the 20th century can be said the history of changes. Today the variety of objects destroy the boundaries of each genre. This study aims to understand the relationship between fashion and art that becomes closer by examining contemporary art in the Gwangju Biennale 2008 to enlarge the range of understanding of mutual communication between contemporary art and fabrics which are the object of fashion. The research method was to investigate the characteristics and expression methods of object fabrics shown in contemporary art through the review of papers published at home and abroad, related literatures, and Internet materials. Also, the meaning, technique, and methods of fabrics were analyzed from works introduced in the Gwangju Biennale 2008. In order to achieve this purpose, fabric was examined as the object of work in Gwangju Biennale 2008. As a result, it is found that fabric plays an important role in changing environment newly with more dynamic, abundant, and comfortable and softer feeling than any other artistic materials and enlarging the boundaries of artistic materials by exploring formative possibility. Furthermore, its multi-dimensional expression characteristic presents unbounded possibility. Fabric which has long formed close relationship with human life has taken its place as one genre now. It departs from the past principles of fabric handicraft and the restriction of a classical norm and becomes characteristic of very wide-ranging selection of materials and free expression. Its soft and warm texture provides emotional stability for a human. Although the peculiarity of fabric as an active concept to human environment and new materials and technique based on the aesthetic consciousness of a human rely on the high development of industry, it is significant that artists' liberation from their concept and material sense is accompanied by the expression of freedom.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.3
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• pp.173-192
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• 2005

Yoo Youngkuk started his career as an artist when he entered Bunkagakuin of Tokyo in 1935 he actively participated in the Japanese art scene as a young Korean artist until 1943. In his earliest works, Rhapsody and Work B, Surrealist and abstract influences are manifested as these were prevalent in Japan at the time. With the exception of Rhapsody and Work B, all works available that were executed between 1937 and 1940 are abstract, which points to the fact that Yoo intended abstraction from the beginning. Surviving works in relief suggest his early style was founded on the abstractions similar to Russian Avant-Garde, Neo-plasticism and Bauhaus simplicity. His early abstractions were not the ideational images derived in the process of the abstraction of the representational image, but they arose from the constructive attitude in composing the already stylized non-representational geometries. It is worth noting that his early emphasis was on the pure and absolute geometric abstraction, rather than the images motivated from the figurative representation. Yoo differentiates himself from Kim Whan Ki in the following aspects: one, he eliminated the subject matter i.e. human figures and the nature; two, he maintained the constructivist attitude in creating a strict and absolute abstraction; three, he experimented with different styles without combining them. He manifests direct influences from the prevalent Western art influences, such as Futurism and Russian Avant-Garde, unlike Kim who vaguely references. In both paintings and reliefs, Yoo's attempt in the realization of the pictorial depth and space seems cerebral and conceptualized compared with the other artists of the time who resolved abstraction via the constructive dimension. Uemura, a contemporary critic to the geometric abstractions in Japan, disapproves the stylistic bent in the adaptation of the abstract painting without the comprehension of its spiritual movement. As witnessed in other criticisms as well, contemporary Japanese critics' interest lie mainly in the superficial observation such as the presence of representational elements, composition and use of color. Such formal and superficial understanding of the geometric abstraction resulted in