• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.516-524
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• 2021

The 'artist's intention' plays an important role in the conservation process of contemporary art. Accordingly, the information on artworks owned by the artist, their bereaved family members, and foundations that have decision-making power is important. The artist's interview is the kind of data that can clear 'artist's intentions' to ensure reliable conservation treatment can be carried out even after the artist's death. Therefore, this study attempted to use information from the artist's interview on the type of wood in the manufacture of the filler required for lifted and separated bark conditions in the conservation process of wooden artwork in the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. While the conservation treatment resulted in the stable preservation of the bark of artwork, an analysis of the wood confirmed that the information in the artist's interview was not true. Consequently, we suggest that attention must be paid toward the information provided by artist, their bereaved families, etc. Based on the result of this study, this is also expected to help preserve upcoming artworks with similar bark conditions.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.464-476
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• 2021

Various materials, depending on the personality of the artist, are required for contemporary art. Thus, it is necessary to decipher the expressive intentions of the artist and characteristics of the materials required for the conservation of such art. The purpose of this study is to analyze the causes underlying the deterioration of sculptures made from soap and to determine the ideal hygrothermal environment required to stably exhibit and store these artworks. Furthermore, we aim to maintain the long-term structures of the artworks in accordance with the changing expressions and intentions of the artist. Our analysis confirmed that the extracts of the soap sculptures were composed of glycerin and that the sculptures were sensitive to humidity. Moreover, we determined that a relative humidity (RH.) of approximately 60~65% made for an appropriate hygrothermal environment required to preserve the sculptures. We also preserved each work in various ways by applying appropriate preservation treatment, and found that the optimum preservation environment for soap sculptures was a temperature of 20±2℃ and a RH. of 60±5%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fashion and Beauty
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2008

The Institute of Contemporary Art has gathered, arranged and exchanged historical data and a variety of information of art. It also aims at Helping revitalize artistic activities and develop diverse areas of art among regions. This scheme for revitalization of art includes holding seminars, international exhibitions or regional exchange exhibitions, publishing papers, and enhancing art education. This paper provides a view of what the Institute of Contemporary Art at Kunsan University has done so far, pursues better ways for revitalization of artistic activities, and suggests a future-oriented approach for making the institute a place for regional exchange of modem art and design.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.27
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• pp.23-38
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• 2022

The standing plaster figure entitled is an early work from Choi Man Lin's 'Eve' series. It reflects the aesthetics of abstract sculpture in the period following Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Modern and contemporary sculptures can be made from a wide variety of materials, so the particular selection of materials and expressive techniques are indicative of both the artist's intentions and the zeitgeist of the moment. In this regard, the materials and production techniques used in provide important basic data for the chronological study of Choi's artistic development. In this study, scientific analysis was conducted to reveal the production techniques used in the work. The scope of appropriate conservation treatment was decided through consultation between several people with decision-making authority. First, the internal structure was inspected using X-CT scanning, and a material analysis was conducted to identify the formal characteristics, materials, and production techniques found in the work. As the analyses revealed the work to be in a relatively stable state, only minimal conservation treatment was applied based on the opinions expressed by the institution housing the work, by a former assistant of the artist, and in an interview granted by the artist during his lifetime.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.13
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• pp.133-156
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• 2012

This paper briefly charts the history of excrement as part of the late 20th-century art and explores ways in which excrement functions in the realms of 'High' art. From Piero Manzoni's to David Hammons' performance , excrement has taken a small yet distinctively important part in the development of contemporary art. In an attempt to challenge the hegemony of 'high' art, on the one hand, and resist the commercialization and fetishization of art, on the other, Manzoni allegedly offered his own "shit" preserved in a tin can and sold it at the price of gold of the same weight. Andy Warhol took the legendary Abstract-Expressionist painter Jackson Pollock as the object of parody, simulating Pollock's dripping action by pissing onto the canvas that had been primed with copper-based paint. Warhol's urination produced splashes and stains of iridescent colors just as the patterns on ordinary abstract paintings. In contrast to Pollock's masculine action, Warhol's pissing alludes to the artist's homosexuality. Excrements in art also provoked controversies, debates, and even acts of vandalism against the artworks. The works of Andres Serrano and Chris Ofili infuriated many Christians for the blasphemous use of excrement with religious icons. Politicians engaged in the heated debates on the use of public and national funds in support of some of the 'politically incorrect' contemporary art. In the midst of media sensation and criticisms, these works challenged the conventional understanding of artistic beauty. The preexisting artworks were also targeted. African-american artist Hammons assumed the role of spectator in by urinating on Richard Serra's sculpture in the street of New York City. It was an act condemnation levelled at the racist pattern of the way in which large portions of funds and commisions of "public" art tended to promote established 'white' artists, whose work or creative process often failed to reflect the actual public. The use of excrement in art is not unusual in contemporary art practices. With its subversive power, excrement plays an important critical roles in the shaping of contemporary art.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2020

It is difficult to predict the kinds of damage to contemporary art because of the diversity of materials and experimental techniques used. This makes it hard to conserve. Furthermore, the artist's intention in contemporary art is emerging as one of the important issues to be handled in conservation treatment. Thus, collaboration with various stakeholders such as the artists themselves, bereaved family members, and foundations have become more important than ever from the viewpoint of planning conservation treatment. The trustworthiness of conservation treatment would be significantly enhanced if conservation treatment reflected the understanding and respect of not only the appearance of the work, but also the social/cultural context inherent in the work. This should be done, in particular, through collaboration with the artists. In this study, various case studies at home and abroad were analyzed as to explore collaboration methods with various stakeholders for objective and trustworthy conservation treatment. Along the way, the study raised the need to establish new conservation ethics for contemporary art. It is expected that the outcomes of the study could be used as basic material to preserve the originality of contemporary artwork and to set the direction for conservation practice.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.333-343
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• 2016

A study on conservation of outdoor painted sculptures has begun to receive attention as increasing numbers of the sculptures, but it is still in an early stage in South Korea. In the case of a painted outdoor object which has been exhibited in National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), 'Black nana' produced by Niki de Saint Phalle in 1964, deterioration was observed, such as flaking and discolouration of paint layers due to ultraviolet light and a sudden temperature change during an outdoor exhibition. For this reason, prior to treatment of the sculpture, to find out the painting techniques and materials applied, cross section, FT-IR, Raman and Py-GC/Mass were conducted. As a result, the type and colour of the paint agree with results of the other studies as well as deterioration pattern. It is expected that the results of this study will be utilized for treatment proposal and conservation material selection of 'Black nana'. In addition, to determine the artist's intention of the artist, cooperation with the foundation of Niki de Saint Phalle and artist's assistants will be carried out.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.10
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• pp.85-103
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• 2010

Mona Hatoum and community make unlikely bedfellows. From her beginnings as a teenage exile to her maturity as an internationally celebrated artistic nomad, Hatoum defies classification within any single geographical or cultural community. Attempting, however, to locate specific points of contact between her and certain communities in terms of artist-in-residence projects in which she participated might be a particularly fruitful way of circumventing her notorious critical resistance to identity and her refusal of homogeneity. This paper starts with Miwon Kwon's critique of contemporary practices in community-based art, which locate an essentialising force that isolates a single point of commonality and overlooks authentic differences. It then turns to Jean-Luc Nancy's reconceptualization of community as 'unworked' and 'being-in-common' to provide analytical tools for avoiding the dangers of essentialism. By examining the three residencies that Hatoum accepted in the mid-1990s in the light of Nancy's observations and theories, and by bringing the idea of artistic nomadism and that of community into juxtaposition, we hope to show that Hatoum succeeds in finding an equilibrium between art and community, and that this sheds new light on the issues raised in recent discussions on such relationship.

• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.15-32
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• 2012

From the beginning of the twentieth century, 'Modernism' impacted and transformed art and clothing. Pablo Picasso and Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel were two of the most central characters in Modernism working simultaneously in their disciplines. Picasso's innovations, particularly in abstract art and Chanel's fashion designs, that dramatically departed from the previous corseted and highly decorative styles, were so significant that they have left an influence on contemporary art and fashion. This study will compare their visual works and documented evidence of their motivations, within the context of their cultural backgrounds, to reveal meaning in the occurrences of overlaps. This approach has examined the historical, cultural background of the artist and designer's environment from different perspectives, adding to previous research in this area. Through this research, outcomes of the analysis have shown similarities and divergences in the wider genres of art and fashion and the practice of the artist and fashion designer. The reference list to this text, used in the survey, gives a comprehensive overview of pertinent publications disseminating Picasso and Chanel's visual works, oral perspectives and cultural impact.

• 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.