박생광의 회화: 한국적 이미지의 추구

Abstract

This study is aimed to examine ‘Park Saeng-gwang's painting focusing on the pursuit of Korean image’ from a humanities perspective based on empirical data. Until now, research on Park Saeng-gwang has been written within the framework that his painting expresses the beauty of the Korean people. Specifically, many of the papers focused on material and color in terms of the works’ forms or traditional elements such as folklore, shamanism, and folk painting in terms of the contents. Those studies were written while focusing on the point that Park Saeng-gwang sublimated our folklore or religious elements through the bold use of color in the aspects of reinterpreting tradition. It was attempted to find the meaning by stressing the aspect of rediscovering the beauty of Korea and reinstating our color painting; however, this author deems that it was not enough to interpret the fundamental ground of Park Saeng-gwang's works. It is difficult to analyze the true significance of his works without considering why he paid attention to shamanism in his later years and what he wanted to express through his works. Therefore, it should be prioritized to interpret the nature of shamanism, and we should never be too silly to analyze his works only fragmentarily. The meaning of Park Saeng-gwang's works is in the fact that he broke away from the existing worldview and restored the base culture of the Korean people with shamanism that other people were reluctant to pay attention to. Shamanism was what was despised by the ruling class in the Joseon Dynasty, persecuted as the people's faith during the Japanese colonial period, and underestimated as irrational superstition by Western values after the liberation; however, it has continued to exist till now with its tenacious vitality. For this reason, this study attempts to understand the nature of Korean image he pursued and extend the discussions that have been carried out by exploring shamanism preferentially.