Fine Art

What we commonly refer to as "art" (예술 in Korean) consists of "craft" (藝) and "technique" (術). The English word "art" originates from the Greek word "ars," meaning technique (techne). Before the 17th century, practical arts such as architecture, crafts, and design were all referred to as "art." However, as painting and sculpture separated from architecture, they came to be called fine art.
 
Fine art, as visual art, expresses the artist's thoughts and emotions through complete forms. Unlike commercial products created to satisfy consumer demands, fine art has a distinct production process. This difference is called "self-purpose," which is where the purity and creativity of the artist emerge. Importantly, self-purpose does not imply mere personal preference or satisfaction. Instead, it gains value when the visual form created by the artist reaches a level of universal consensus.
 
In Korea, the term "art" (美術) generally refers to "fine art" and was first used in 1911 by the Seohwa Art Association during the Japanese colonial period. In Korea, art before 1945 is usually called modern art, and after 1945, contemporary art. Both terms translate to "Modern Art."
 
The problem arises when we use the term "modern art" to refer to post-1970s contemporary art. From a perspective that "language shapes concepts," the emergence of new terminology reflects a change in meaning. If we don’t properly grasp this change and confine it to old frameworks, it can lead to cultural anomie, akin to putting fresh apples in a rotten box. Therefore, I would like to clarify the meaning of contemporary art briefly.

Modern Art

Historically, modernism is often marked by the "French Revolution" (1789). In philosophy, its roots lie in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781), in literature with Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du mal (1857), and in art with Monet's 〈Impression, Sunrise〉 (1872), which is considered the beginning of Impressionism.

Monet’s 〈Impression: Sunrise〉 does not depict the shape of the subject but how it appears under light. Before the 20th century, the ability to paint something as "realistic as possible" was the key criterion, known as illusionism. However, Impressionism was based on Newton’s scientific discovery that "the colors we see are not inherent to objects but wavelengths reflected by light."
 
Moreover, with the invention of the camera, which could reproduce subjects more realistically than painting, depicting subjects became less meaningful. As a result, after Impressionism, the personal perspective of the artist gained more importance. Personal perspective here does not mean subjective whim but rather revealing unseen truths or genuine values through the artist’s vision.
 
In Cézanne’s 〈Mount Sainte-Victoire〉 (1895) or 〈Still Life with Apples〉 (1895), the forms are awkwardly deconstructed. This is not because Cézanne failed to depict the mountain or apples beautifully but because he was showing how the human eye "perceives" objects. This approach, called visual perception, later influenced artists like Picasso and Hockney.

When comparing the two images, Cézanne's work appears somewhat unsettling, with mismatched perspectives and awkward composition, yet each object is clearly defined. This is because Cézanne didn’t paint from a single viewpoint or with a strict perspective, but rather focused on each object as it appeared to his eye.

The year 1945 is often referred to in modern art because of the historical event that shifted the center of art from Paris to New York after the end of World War II. As a result, abstract expressionism, pop art, etc. that developed in New York after 1945 are often referred to as post-war art.

Post-Modern Art

Postmodernism, which expanded globally after the 1980s, reflects a trend influenced by anti-rationalism and deconstructive philosophy. Unlike Modern Art, which focused on pure and singular forms, Postmodern Art embraced complex compositions, objects, and installations.
 
In Korea, some texts translate postmodernism as "anti-modernism," "beyond modernism," or "late modernism." Since the word "post" encompasses all these meanings, it’s more appropriate to understand Postmodern Art through these concepts rather than divide them.
 
One of the key concepts of postmodernism is "simulacrum," meaning "a copy without an original."

For example, in Andy Warhol’s 〈Campbell’s Soup Cans〉 (1962), the image starts as a product we know but becomes something entirely new through endless reproduction, detached from its original meaning.
 
Another key term is "pastiche," meaning "hybrid imitation." This refers to borrowing elements from other artists' works and incorporating them into one’s own. While this sparked debate over originality versus imitation, it is now recognized as a major expression technique in modern art.

David Salle’s 〈Muscular Paper〉 (1985) exemplifies this. The work is divided into three canvases, mixing multiple subjects and techniques.

It features a photo of Picasso’s sculpture by the French photographer Brassaï, and a split-face figure from Jusepe de Ribera’s 〈The Club-Footed Boy〉 (1642). Salle’s appropriation of others' works asserts that his values stem from diverse sources, emphasizing the independence of his art.
 
This practice of using others' works is also called "appropriation," a key term in understanding postmodern art alongside simulacrum and pastiche.

Contemporary Art

The term "contemporary" began to be widely used in Western art in the 1970s and has recently been translated as "contemporary art" in Korea.

Contemporary art aims to reflect the various issues of our time through new forms, encompassing all aspects of human concern. It also breaks away from traditional methods, using a wide range of materials and techniques.

The beginning of contemporary art can be traced back to Marcel Duchamp's (1887–1967) urinal piece 〈Fountain〉 (1917). This work, which transformed a mass-produced urinal into art, is referred to as an "object" (French for objet) and is considered a groundbreaking piece that shattered the fundamental concepts and forms of modernism.

While Monet of Impressionism and Picasso of Cubism employed innovative techniques, they never stepped outside the confines of the canvas. Duchamp, however, is regarded as a true revolutionary for completely breaking down that barrier.

Joseph Kosuth’s 〈One and Three Chairs〉 (1965) further advanced contemporary art by presenting a chair, a photograph of the chair, and its dictionary definition. This piece shifted the focus to the concept of what constitutes an artwork, opening up a new dimension in art.

The art philosopher Arthur Danto viewed this work as the start of contemporary art, predicting that as art became more philosophical, it would no longer focus on beauty or visual representation.
 
In 2015, the Museum of Modern Art in New York held an exhibition titled “The Forever Now: Contemporary Painting in an Atemporal World”, questioning the existence of genuine painting in an era of “atemporality.”

The theme of this exhibition was to question what constitutes genuine painting and how it can exist in an era of "atemporality"—a time when things momentarily appear and disappear, or suddenly emerge from unknown places.

Some of the artists invited to the exhibition laid canvases on the floor, turned them upside down, or presented materials that seemed entirely unrelated to painting, claiming them as such. Others exhibited canvases adorned with neon signs, taking on radical and extreme forms, which stirred significant controversy even in New York at the time. Notably, some of the participating artists went on to become stars in contemporary painting after the exhibition.
 
Furthermore, contemporary art demonstrates the infinite potential of human perception by borrowing and incorporating radical concepts or technologies from all areas of society, including religion, philosophy, science, politics, and economics, to create completely new forms of art.

Korean-American artist Anicka Yi (b. 1972), who won the 2016 Hugo Boss Prize and held an exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, showcased works such as “Life is Cheap”. In this exhibition, she crafted an ant colony to resemble an electronic circuit, displaying live ants within it. With the help of a chemist, she also cultivated mold, which grew on objects in the exhibition space, creating beautiful and surreal visuals. Additionally, she presented a piece where visitors could smell the scent collected from specific locations, allowing them to experience human fragrance.

Jordan Wolfson (b. 1980), who participated in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, exhibited 〈Female Figure〉 (2014) at David Zwirner Gallery. This work combined animatronic technology with the grotesque appearance of a gay male figure in a female body. The figure’s intricate yet disturbing hand movements, along with its unsettling habit of locking eyes with the audience, vividly illustrated how contemporary values and ethics are shifting.

Today, it has become nearly impossible to view art through a single set of principles or standards. However, this doesn’t mean that the intrinsic truth of humanity or the value of art has disappeared. As Lévi-Strauss said, "Technology and civilization may evolve, but the human spirit and culture do not progress. They simply expand, are seen differently, and are reinterpreted."