1970~80년대 한국 추상미술과 물성(materiality)

Abstract

Disappearance of images and expressions summarizes the character of the Korean abstract art that emerged during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Monochrome painting, a leading artistic style during this period, and abstract sculpture were non-representational and eliminated even visual elements which previously had often been found in l’art informel and geometric abstraction. Instead, materiality was considered as an important element. The properties of materials used in artworks were emphasized especially in the monochrome paintings of Seo-Bo Park and Chong-Hyun Ha, the abstract sculptures of Moon-Seop Shim and Seok-Won Park during the 1970’s and 1980’s, as well as the abstract ink-an-wash paintings of Soo-Nam Song, who headed the ink-and-wash painting movement. This paper considers that the primary reason why these contemporary artists, regardless of their areas, produced works focused on materiality based not on inner necessity but upon external influence. This paper concludes that Ufan Lee was the immediate influence. Originated from critical perspectives on Western modernism, Ufan Lee’s Mono-ha is an artistic style that shows things “as they are,” unmanipulated by human intentions. Mono-ha arrived in the Korean art world during the late 1960’s, and subsequently Korean artists came to stress the materiality of the objects used in their work. Even though it is difficult to compare painting and sculpture styles of the 1970’s and 1980’s, we can observe that the common aspect of these two areas is to highlight the materiality of mediums used. This reflects that artists of the 1970’s and 1980’s shared common concepts and artistic consciousness rather than art forms. Focusing on this matter, this paper studies the meanings that the artists tried to convey through materiality.