20세기 한국회화에서의 전통론

Abstract

This research attempted to look back on the twentieth century korean art history focusing especially on paintings, which had presumed of the interruption of tradition during the process of coerced modernization, as a retrospective study in order to determine whether the twentieth century Korean painting was only driven by Japanese and Western styles in the former half century and the latter half century respectively. This worked as an achievement of better understanding of the Korean modernist painters' viewpoints on their own tradition. After the opening of ports in the early 1880s in which the imminent arrival of imperialism of the Western forces and the strong's occupation of the weak were prevalent, intellectuals in pursuit of civilization tried to establish their own identity balancing themselves on the turbulent era with the attitude of 東道西器(Dongdoseogi: Maintain the Eastern mentality in the Western technology). The concept of 舊本新參(Gubonshicham: Maintain the essence of the Old when accepting the New) in the Reformation of Gwangmu(光武: the first Korean Emperor) represents both the expectations toward modernization and the faith toward their established practices, while denying the generalization through intimacy with China as well as westernization. In spite of their conservativeness toward civilization, they played a bridging role as spearheads of an advance without delay by executing a variety of new systems such as museums, educational institutes and exhibitions through artists' movements, opening the first photo studio, and publishing the first cartoons on current issues. Even though their efforts failed to bring self-independence to the country in a direct way, it is remarkable that they showed their independent and modern viewpoints with the intention of preserving custom through the publishment of 『槿域書畵徵(Geunyeokseohwajing)』, an encyclopedia of Korean calligraphic painters in 1928, the creation of Lee Wang-ga museum collection, and evaluation of real landscape painting by Jeong Seon(painter, 1676-1759) as a root painter of eastern natural landscape considering the matter of authenticity. They began to crystallize into its modern form like Association of Calligraphic Paintings and Changdeok Palace Heejeokdang murals, through which they struggled for solidarity between the arts from the East and the West as well as the Old and the New. The establishment like Oh Se-chang, Cho Seok-jin, Ahn Jung-shik, and Kim gyu-jin, who were born in 1860s, had put a lot of importance on 舊本新參(Gubonshicham:Maintain the essence of the Old when accepting the New) and hereditary mind on their social convention. By 1919 in which there was 3.1 Movement of Independence, the civilization generation, however, had been rapidly replaced by the enlightenment generation. Mostly born in the 1890s, grown up and influenced by the enlightenment in the colonial rule, the newly emerging generations like Lee Gwang-su(novelist), Choi Nam-seon(novelist), Kim Eun-ho(painter), Lee Sang-beom(painter), Byon Gwan-shik(painter), did not have any lingering perception on tradition. Rather, spurred by Japan's colonial ideology, the 'leading subjects' for modernization which had emerged in the 1920s, even identified their social custom as the other and began to reconstruct identity of Joseon. Viewpoints on tradition as the ideology of Japan's colonial rule can be categorized into three main dimensions like posttradition·rebuilding tradition, localism·folk arts, and rediscovery of classical culture, each of which pushed its own boundaries for the sake of creating new identity of colonial emerging generations. Amid Japan's exploitative propaganda attempts of calling Joseon arts as something degenerated and Confucianism as being responsible for the loss of sovereignty, the enlightenment generation were in some extremely heated denunciations of Confucianism. Rage against their ancestors who had worshipped Confucianism blindly, thus putting the country in a critically vulnerable position. brought them to an extremity of reducing their collective past as hostile, let alone keeping distance as the other. Folkloristics, the biggest achievement of Taishō democracy, had systematically identified Joseon as a tourist region in Japan. With the widespread dissolution of tradition, the newly-presented images had been imprinted as authentic ones due to the academic and ethnographic study of folklore under anthropology and folklore. Writers and artists, at a loss of what to do after losing their supreme identity, found themselves in the new opportunity to be able to rebuild their identity, even being wary of exotic tastes and regionalism. At the end of the nineteenth century, in response to the inevitable shock of the Western culture, there had already been a streak of desire asserting 'return to the East' in order to overcome the limits of the West-centered enlightenment rationality. Led by Okakura Tenshin(岡倉覺三, 1863-1913), based ideologically on Nishida Kitaro(西田 幾多郞, 1870-1945)'s philosophy, and politically on anti-western Shōwa fascism and an urge to surmount western modernization, the spirituality of 'return to the East' and rediscovery of classics was thoroughly rooted in Japan's arbitrary interpretation. It was interpreted in terms of Buddhism rather than Confucianism(孔子敎 or 儒敎), in order to preserve its Emperor system arguing for the legitimacy of the imperial family for the last 2600 years ever since BC 660, because Mencius(孟子) had argued for democratic ideas and possibility of dynastic revolution. Japan had accepted Confucianism in terms of emphasis only on loyalty and filial piety. Ancient Koreas such as Nakrang(BC 108- AD 313) and Shilla(BC 57-AD 935) was put into a spotlight due to the creative potential of new civilization, whereas Sung Confucianism and factional strife, which were incompatible with the unconditional surrender toward the Emperor, was treated as threatening. It is then that intellectuals of literary movement took the opportunity for a new expansion in the recognition of Joseon spirituality which was not accordant with the spirit of Japan, with still accepting the methodology of 'rediscovery of classical culture' brought by Shōwa fascism. Kim Yong-jun established his own interpretation of the twentieth century calligraphic painting, which was the most highly appreciated arts mostly produced by amateurs like aristocrats and scholar-officials, asserting that the most sophisticated experiences of nature and life can guarantee the creation of idiomatic paintings through the appreciation of the finest integrity and the discerning eye. Localism created as a sort of socially established perception during the period of Japanese occupation, since liberation in 1945, had been modernized into two sections. One is that of artists such as Park Su-keun, Lee Jung-seop who developed the local and folk styles from the mainstream of Joseon Art Fair and Competition. This could work as a defending excuse from a severe criticism of Kim Bok-jin that Joseon's localism had been none other than local products created by foreign figures or some exportable goods, and that of Yoon Hee-sun who degraded it as a deformed child by Japan's aesthetics about tea-making art and exotic emotions. The other section is involved with modernization through landscape paintings of high-profile Lee Sang-beom who had gained recognition in the genre of Joseon Art Fair in the context of rediscovery of real landscape. A series of modernizing real landscape painting had finally overcome the West's derogatory viewpoint toward the East, drawing notices to the East's distinction from the West. As a result of long-thought consideration. the real landscape paintings had stepped up to the same ground with the twentieth century calligraphic paintings. There is, however, a difference between them in the fact that the former was involved with a collective movement showing Korean painters' concerns with the combination between that of 'the Korean', not that of 'the East', and that of 'the Modern'. When it came to Korean monochromatic paintings. it was related with the theory of folk art, and simultaneously accepted as a form of calligraphic and scholarly taste. Noticeably as Lee Gyu-gyeong(1788-1856) mentioned integrity and uprightness in describing the splendidly charming beauty of white color from Joseon White Porcelain in 『五洲衍文長錢算稿(Ojuyeonmunjangjeonsango)』, which was a kind of encyclopedia written in the methodology of historical research, and edited in the middle nineteenth century, the celebratory combination of white color and traditional porcelain was related with the taste of aristocrats' white pottery and porcelain wares. These views on arts and crafts were clearly distinct from that of folk art argued by Yanagi Muneyoshi(柳宗悅, 1889-1961) who had extolled the beauty of the people arts. Interests in the 'white' beauty of moon-shaped jars had been initially discovered through the discerning eyes of Kim Hwan-gi, Lee Dong-ju, and Choi Sun-woo, rather than Yanagi. Kim, as a mentor of Park Seo-bo, Lee who published an art history book, and Choi, in charge of directing National Museum of Korea, altogether discussed the theory of folk art along with some high-profile artists during the presidency of Park Chung-hee(president of R.O.K, 1963-1979). As Oh Yoon(artist&printmaker, 1946-1986) had succeeded Kim Ji-ha(poet, 1941- )'s viewpoint on the traditional theatre, they began to consider art as a kind of activism, rapidly expanding its base among the followers, thus appropriating the theory of folk art. It, nevertheless, has something to be desired considering the fact that the historical appearance and interpretation of theatrical heredity and folk paintings categorization by Yanagi were not thoroughly examined, despite the fact that they were pointed out as problems within the realm of the people's art in the 1980s. Ever since the liberation in 1945, the eradication of the vestiges of Japanese imperialism and the establishment of the legacy of Korean independent arts needed to be traced back to the ancestors' fierce struggle of traditional identity under Japanese occupation. It is not an exaggeration to say that the conscious formulation of tradition in the early twentieth century has been encompassing all the twentieth century Korean painting history ranging from the calligraphic paintings and ink paintings, the localism in 1960s, monochromatic paintings in 1970s, oil paintings of people's art in 1980s, even to Joseon paintings of North Korea which has expanded their viewpoints from Kim Il-seong's style to Kim Jeong-il's. Accordingly, modern korean paintings which had been internalized with the dissolution of tradition while pursuing for modernization, have shown that they have been incessantly exploring the significance of identity linking the present to the past from a larger perspective. During the last century of turmoil, the restless exploration can be credited as a power engine for the upcoming development of korean contemporary art, instead of the pursuits of reckless westernization. As this study showed, it had been less than one hundred years that Koreans have had the central defining characteristics of tradition, related to a sense of connection to a much greater whole that includes the local, the shaman, theatre, music, art, traditional taste, techniques of non-techniques, which means to make the least change to the given natural environment, enjoying the simplicity of objects as they are, and calligraphic paintings and spirituality(subjectivity and personality). In addition to the imperatives to transform the traditional assets to suit the needs of the day, this self-awareness requires that we question the role and existence of local culture in a globalizing world with slogans such as postmodern, anti-tradition, and anti-race, not as an attempt to erode native forms of culture and subsume them into a global culture, but as a more sophisticated approach in measuring korean art history, thus especially being able to construct an independent form of Korean art.;근대화라는 명제 속에서 전통에 대한 강한 단절의식을 내재화해왔던 근현대 한국 미술은 역사적 격변을 거치면서도 무조건적인 서구화와 근대화를 추수하기보다는 현대와 전통 사이에서 끊임없이 현재적 정체성의 의미를 모색해왔고,넓은 의미에서 볼 때,그것은 한국 현대미술 발전의 커다란 원동력 가운데 하나였다고 생각된다. 서양화의 경우,80년대 민중미술과 70년대 한국 단색화는 서구적.근대적 가치에 대한 전혀 상반되는 태도에도 불구하고,그러한 가치판단이 현재적 자기정체성에 대한 전통적 환원이라는 방법론에 기초하여 결정되며,결국 ‘근대의 주체성’을 반문한다는 의식에서 공통점을 가지고 있다고 보인다.한편 한국화의 경우 문인화와 수묵화,향토와 진경이라는 전통파악의 관점은 달라도 그 근저에 ‘전통의 현재적 가치’ 를 확인하고자 하는 현대인의 욕구가 반영되어 있음이 간취된다.어쩌면 근대에 있어서 특징적인 전통에 대한 강렬한 단절의식이야 말로,스스로를 전통으로부터 자유롭지 못하게 만드는 원죄의식인지 모른다. 사적으로 고찰할 때 그러한 전통에 대한 단절의식이 현대만의 특성은 아닌 것으로 드러난다.오래 전 동아시아의 경우,공자 이래로 전통문제를 古라는 개념으로 포착하였는데,我,즉 개성의 개념이 우월한 것으로 대두하는 청대 이전까지 모든 미적 판단의 일차적 기준이 되었음을 보았다. 일찍이 18세기 조선에서는 그 이전까지 유례가 없을 정도로 강한 전통단절의식이 팽배해 있었는데,그것은 중화적 가치의 복원이라는 이념에 의해 합리화되었음도 보았다.그러나 이들은 당시의 ‘글로벌 스탠다드’였던 중화적 보편가치를 완전히 자기화하여 고유전통 비판 뿐만 아니라,중화문물의 본산이었던 청의 권위에 도전하는 무기로 변용시키기도 하였다.스스로가 세계의 중심이라는 18세기 조선의 강력한 자긍심은 불과 1세기만에 근대화를 이루고 스스로를 21세기 IT강국으로 인식하고 있는 오늘날 한국의 자기정체성 인식과 유사하게 느껴진다. 개항이후,제국주의 시대가 도래하자 근대적 문물수용의 욕구 속에서 개화기 지식인들은 東道西器나 實體華用的사고방식으로 양자를 절충하고자 하였다.1919년 3.1운동 이후 개화세대는 계몽세대에 의해 빠르게 교체되었다. 오세창, 조석진, 안중식, 김규진 등 기성세대가 대개 1860년대생으로 개화기 교육을 받아서 구본신참의 관념과 전통에 대한 계승의식을 가지고 있었음에 반하여,한 세대 뒤인 1890년대에 태어나 식민지 계몽주의의 영향을 받으며 성장,1920년대부터 각 분야에서 대두한 문학의 이광수,최남선,회화의 고희동,김은호,이상범,변관식 등 신진세대는 전통을 근대적인 것의 타자로 규정한다.이들은 일본의 식민지 이데올로기에 자극을 받으면서,이제는 타자가 되어버린 전통,즉 조선에 대한 정체성을 재구축하여갔다.일본의 식민지 이데올로기로서의 전통관은 크게 탈전통좪전통개조론,향토색좪민예미론,고전부흥론의 관점으로 나눠볼 수 있는데,각각의 이념은 순차적으로 혹은 서로 뒤섞여가며 식민지 신진세대의 새로운 정체성 형성을 자극하였다. 일본은 조선미술퇴폐론과 유교망국책임론을 퍼트렸고 계몽주의에 도취된 신진세대는 전통에 대한 단절의식 내지는 타자화를 넘어서,전통을 적대적인 것으로 환원시키는 극단주의도 낳았다. 일본에 의한 조선에 대한 정체성은 다이쇼 문화주의의 가장 큰 업적의 하나인 민속학이라는 이름아래 학문적으로 체계화되었다.이것은 본질적으로 일본인의 관점에서 파악한 일개 지방으로서의 정체성이었다.그러나 계몽주의적 탈전통의식으로 전통과의 단절과 정체성상실의 위기에 몰렸던 작가들에게 향토적(local),민속적(folk)전통인식은 새로운 정체성 정립의 지평으로 인식되기도 하였다. 신진세대는 한편으로는 이국취향과 지방색론을 경계하면서 한편으로는 일본에 의해 인식되기 시작한 향토주의를 민족적 정체성 형성의 한 계기로 활용하고자 하였다. 그러한 경계의식과 기대심리의 양면성 속에서 조선향토주의는 성장하였다. 어쨌든 향토색 논의는 계몽주의의 자학적 탈전통의식의 굴레를 벗고, 근대인이 아니라 조선인으로서의 자기정체성에 대하여 진지하게 생각하는 계기가 되었고,여기에서 씨뿌려진 신진세대의 자기정체성에 대한 문제의식은,해방후 한국적 감수성이 풍부한 작품들로 다채롭게 열매맺게 되었다 일제강점기 동양주의는 사상적으로는 집단주의적 생명환원론에 기초하여 ‘개인의 초극’을 강요하는 니시다철학에 기반하고,정치적으로는 반서구적 쇼오와파시즘과 ‘근대초극론’을 배경으로 주창된 것으로,여기에서 강조된 동양정신과 고전부흥의 이념은 철저히 일본정신의 관점에서 해석된 자의적인 것이었다.이 때,문장파 지식인들은 쇼와파시즘이 몰고온 고전부흥의 방법론은 수용하면서도 이데올로기로서의 동양주의는 거부하여,오히려 이를 조선전통에 대한 새로운 인식 확장의 계기로 삼았다.그들은 일본정신과 합치할 수 없었던 조선미술,특히 조선의 통폐라 비판된 진경산수와 퇴폐하다고 비판받은 추사파의 가치를 재인식하였고,소재주의의를 넘어서 참신하면서도 근대적인 창작으로 연결시켰다.이것은 전통관에 있어서 새로운 전환이라 하지 않을 수 없는 것이다.그리고 바로 그 지점에서,문장파의 전통관은 오세창이 1910년대에 씨앗을 뿌린 근대적 전통관과 만나는 동시에 해방 후로 이어지는 민족주의적 전통관으로의 가교 역할을 하게되는 것이다. 특히 일제강점기 창출된 전통인 향토주의는 해방 이후 크게 두가지 방향에서 현대화되었다.하나는 조선미전의 인물화 계열에서 주류를 이루었던 향토적(local), 민속적(folk)작품들이 박수근.이중섭과 같은 작가들을 통해 현대화되어 민족전통화되어 갔다.다른 하나의 경향은 조선미전 산수화 장르에서 만연하였던 이상범 작품으로 대표되는 향토주의 산수화들이 해방이후 사경산수의 현대화를 통하여 진경산수의 맥락에서 재조명 받으면서 부흥되었다.이러한 진경산수의 부흥 속에서 그 다음 세대들을 통해 현대진경운동과 수묵운동이 집단적으로 이루어지면서 진경산수화의 현대화가 보다 본격화되었다. 이는 ‘동양성’이 아닌,‘한국성’과 ‘현대성’의 결합에 관한 문제를 고민하기 시작하는 근대 이후 미술화단의 특징을 잘 드러내준 집단적 움직임이었다. 한국 단색화의 전통인식은 민예론과 관련되지만, 이를 문인화적인 취향으로 소화 시켜내었다는 점에 주목하였다. 이규경(1788～1856)이 자신의 『五洲衍文長箋散稿』에서 조선백자의 백색이 청렴과 결백을 상징함을 이야기한 바 있듯이 도자기의 전통과 백색 찬양을 결합시키는 전통 인식은 사대부들의 백자 취향과 결합된다. 민중미술의 전통관은 김지하의 민속연희전통관을 오윤이 계승한 이후 미술을 ‘운동’으로 사고하기 시작한 그들의 후배들에 의해 급속히 저변화 되면서,이 연희전통의 계승을 통해 민예론을 차용하게 되었다. 이와 같이 해방후 한국과 북한에서 각각 식민주의 잔재를 청산하고 민족미술의 새로운 진로를 모색할 때,그 토대가 되었던 것은 일제시기 선배들이 이룩한 전통적 인식의 기반이었다.문인화와 수묵화 개념을 중심으로 하는 한국화운동에서 뿐만 아니라 60년대 향토주의,70년대 한국 단색화를 거쳐 80년대 민중미술에 이르는 한국의 서양화,그리고 김일성주의 미술에서 김정일주의 미술로 전환하며 보다 폭넓게 전통을 받아들이고 있는 북한의 조선화에 이르기까지 일제시기에 형성된 전통의 기본 개념이 도처에서 영향을 드리우고 있음을 확인해볼 수 있었다. 이를 통하여 전통이란 끊임없이 선택되어 계승되고 창출되고 변화되어 가고 있음을 다시 한번 확인하였다.본 논문은,전통이란 박제화된 것이 아니라 끊임없이 살아 움직이고 있는 생물체로서 인식하고 현대 미술,현대 회화 안에서 전통이라고 존재하고 있는 것들이 어떠한 경로를 통해 현재 우리에게 전달되었는지 그 경로를 짚어봄으로써 로드 맵을 그려보고자 한 시도였다.