20th Century Korean Art

In recent years the increase in interest in Asian art has led to a number of books being published about Japanese and Chinese artists. However, the exciting Korean scene is still largely undocumented. Now Kim YoungNa reveals Korean modern and contemporary artists to the West. Twentieth-Century Korean Art provides a comprehensive, engaging survey that places emphasis on art historical narratives. It draws on primary sources and historical artefacts as well as on new interpretations of issues such as the identity of Korean art and the cultural ramifications of Japanese colonialism. Covering over one hundred year from the late 19th century through to the 1990s, the essays in this book examine how both external influences and wills-to-change within Korean society itself generated an artistic vitality against a shifting political, social, and cultural backdrop and how this necessarily involved East Asia at large and the West.

Walk the galleries of any major contemporary art museum and you are sure to see a work by a Korean artist. Interest in modern and contemporary art from South—as well as North—Korea has grown in recent decades, and museums and individual collectors have been eager to tap into this rising market. But few books have helped us understand Korean art and its significance in the art world, and even fewer have told the story of the formation of Korea’s contemporary cultural scene and the role artists have played in it. This richly illustrated history tackles these issues, exploring Korean art from the late-nineteenth century to the present day—a period that has seen enormous political, social, and economic change. Charlotte Horlyck covers the critical and revolutionary period that stretches from Korean artists’ first encounters with oil paintings in the late nineteenth century to the varied and vibrant creative outputs of the twenty-first. She explores artists’ interpretations of new and traditional art forms ranging from oil and ink paintings to video art, multi-media installations, ready-mades, and performance art, showing how artists at every turn have questioned the role of art and artists within society. Opening up this fascinating world to general audiences, this book will appeal to anyone wanting to explore this rich and fascinating era in Korea’s cultural history.

A crucial artistic movement of twentieth-century Korea, Tansaekhwa (monochromatic painting) also became one of its most famous and successful. In this full-color, richly illustrated account--the first of its kind in English--Joan Kee provides a fresh interpretation of the movement's emergence and meaning that sheds new light on the history of abstraction, twentieth-century Asian art, and contemporary art in general.

The first comprehensive survey to explore the rich and complex history of contemporary Korean art - an incredibly timely topic Starting with the armistice that divided the Korean Peninsula in 1953, this one-of-a-kind book spotlights the artistic movements and collectives that have flourished and evolved throughout Korean culture over the past seven decades - from the 1950s avant-garde through to the feminist scene in the 1970s, the birth of the Gwangju Biennale in the 1990s, the lesser known North Korean art scene, and all the artists who have emerged to secure a place in the international art world.

The social and economic rise of the chungin class (“middle people” who ranked between the yangban aristocracy and commoners) during the late Chosŏn period (1700–1910) ushered in a world of materialism and commodification of painting and other art objects. Generally overlooked in art history, the chungin contributed to a flourishing art market, especially for ch’aekkori, a new form of still life painting that experimented with Western perspective and illusionism, and a reimagined style of the traditional plum blossom painting genre. Sunglim Kim examines chungin artists and patronage of the visual arts, and their commercial transactions, artistic exchange with China and Japan, and historical writings on art. She also explores the key role of men of chungin background in preserving Korean art heritage in the tumultuous twentieth century, including the work of the modern Korean collector and historian O Se-ch’ang, who memorialized many chungin painters and calligraphers. Revealing a vivid picture of a complex art world,Flowering Plums and Curio Cabinets presents a major reconsideration of late Chosŏn society and its material culture. Lushly illustrated, it will appeal to scholars of Korea and East Asia, art history, visual culture, and social history. A William Sangki and Nanhee Min Hahn Book Art History Publication Initiative. For more information, visit http://arthistorypi.org/books/flowering-plums-and-curio-cabinets

Mount Geumgang, also known as the Diamond Mountains, is perhaps the most famous and emotionally resonant site on the Korean Peninsula, a magnificent range of rocky peaks, waterfalls, and lagoons, dotted with pavilions and temples. Since ancient times, it has inspired cultural pride, spurred spiritual and artistic pilgrimages, and engendered an outpouring of creative expression. Yet since the partition of Korea in 1945 situated it in the North, Mount Geumgang has remained largely inaccessible to visitors, shrouded in legend, loss, and longing. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Verdana} Diamond Mountains: Travel and Nostalgia in Korean Art is the first book in English to explore the pictorial representations of this grand and varied landscape. The special exhibition it accompanies, organized by Soyoung Lee, Curator in the Department of Asian Art, examines the evolution of Diamond Mountains imagery from the golden age of Korean true-view painting in the eighteenth century to the present day. Even today, when a profusion of Instagram photos can make the world’s most obscure sites and geographical oddities seem familiar, the Diamond Mountains portrayed here in album leaves, scrolls, and screens will be a revelation to many.

The only college-level publication on Korean art history written in English Korean pop culture has become an international phenomenon in the past few years. The popularity of the nation’s exports—movies, K-pop, fashion, television shows, lifestyle and cosmetics products, to name a few—has never been greater in Western society. Despite this heightened interest in contemporary Korean culture, scholarly Western publications on Korean visual arts are scarce and often outdated. A Companion to Korean Art is the first academically-researched anthology on the history of Korean art written in English. This unique anthology brings together essays by renowned scholars from Korea, the US, and Europe, presenting expert insights and exploring the most recent research in the field. Insightful chapters discuss Korean art and visual culture from early historical periods to the present. Subjects include the early paintings of Korea, Buddhist architecture, visual art of the late Chosŏn period, postwar Korean Art, South Korean cinema, and more. Several chapters explore the cultural exchange between the Korean peninsula, the Chinese mainland, and the Japanese archipelago, offering new perspectives on Chinese and Japanese art. The most comprehensive survey of the history of Korean art available, this book: Offers a comprehensive account of Korean visual culture through history, including contemporary developments and trends Presents two dozen articles and numerous high quality illustrations Discusses visual and material artifacts of Korean art kept in various archives and collections worldwide Provides theoretical and interpretive balance on the subject of Korean art Helps instructors and scholars of Asian art history incorporate Korean visual arts in their research and teaching The definitive and authoritative reference on the subject, A Companion to Korean Art is indispensable for scholars and academics working in areas of Asian visual arts, university students in Asian and Korean art courses, and general readers interested in the art, culture, and history of Korea.