《대한민국미술전람회》의 추상 아카데미즘

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the entries and prize-winning art works of the National Exhibition, and determine the contributions and limitations brought on by the 30-year history of the exhibition on the formation of Korea’s modern art, and what role it played in the development of the Koreans’ perception on enjoyment of art and modern art. A closer look into the entries and award-winning works at the exhibition between 1949 and 1981 reveals that there existed a predominant style of painting of realistic figurative art, which was also called academism, yet on the other hand, a number of half-abstraction and abstract works were forming a clear linage of some sort from the early on. Statistics and studies on the materials of work books of the exhibition have pointed to the conclusion that the abstract style of paintings by non-mainstream artists who challenged a conservative National Exhibition was forming a somewhat similar stream within the exhibition. It seems inappropriate to explain the interior border of the National Exhibition with conflicting ideas such as conservative and avantgarde; mainstream and non-mainstream; and figurative and abstract style. The abstractionism that challenged the realistic style of painting in the National Exhibition was accepted in the exhibition to form academism, and the National Exhibition that accepted the challenge of the unconventional had developed to encompass two different streams at the same time.BR The post-war Korean National Exhibition, therefore, was not a failed institution, but rather it embraced both conservative academism and avant-garde modernism at the same time, thereby developing an academism peculiar to the reality in Korea. Furthermore, it accorded with the Korean government’s objective to create a nationwide venue for art participated by all artists, as well as responded in an appropriate manner to the needs of the artists who attempt to acquire authority and honor through the National Exhibition, thus fulfilled its mission.