The Korean Society of Art Theories Roundtable
(This session will be in Korean)
Longinus’ Concept of Sublimity and Art Assisting Nature
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Eunjung Cho
This paper examines how the Grece-Roman concept of sublimity became related to ancient and modern aesthetics and art criticism, focusing on Longinus’ Peri Hypsous (Περὶ ὕψους). In the phases of modern reception, Longinus’ treatise became grafted to the abstract concept on the sublime and the matter of cognition. However, Longinus’ main concern is not revealing the fundamental nature of the objects, but teaching of grandeur style to manifest the sublime, providing guidelines on verbal and visual expression. He insists that we employ art in a fitting way to assist nature in order to ensure perfection. For Longinus, Plato and classical Greek writers are the ideal examples of such a task. By comparisons of visual arts and literature, he pursues transcendence grandeur over technical accuracy. Modern ideas on the ancient concept of the sublime is bound to the fragmentary state of written sources. And we also heavily rely on the texts of ancient authors to detect how the concept of the sublime was materialized and evaluated in visual arts at that time, as most of the original artworks were lost. Paradoxically, such facts tell us that the ancient texts of literary criticism took crucial part in the development of art practice and criticism. Written texts of ancient authors were educational media, providing a paradigm of judgment for contemporary and later critics. The ‘technologia’ of Longinus requires careful inspection not only for the ancient concept of the sublime but also for the relationship between ancient rhetoric and visual art criticism.
Types of Archives in Contemporary Korean Art
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Hye Mi Choi
In archival science, where 'archives' is translated as ‘records for preservation’, the typologization of archival preservation records is one of the most crucial issues. Operating under the premise that each record possesses its own unique content and structural context, archival science has classified archives at various levels of content structure context. Discussions in archival science surrounding the definition of records have focused on aspects of evidence, information, and memory. Within the interrelationships of various concepts such as evidence, memory, and identity information, archival science has managed archives, and the typology of archives has been an essential task. The situation is similar in what is known as archive art, which incorporates archives as methods and strategies of artistic practice. Much of the critical discourse on contemporary archive art has focused on the typologization of archive art. This study observes and examines the logic, strategies, and issues of typologizing contemporary Korean archive art, referencing discussions on archival types in archival science. How has the critical discourse in Korea typologized archive art? How does this typologization compare and contrast with those in other regions or countries, for example, Hal Foster’s categorizations? Are there unique types of contemporary Korean archive art? These are the key issues this paper addresses.
Policy Changes in Intangible Cultural Heritage during the Kim Jong-un Era and Amendment of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act (2018)
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Carey Park
In North Korea, in the era of Kim Jong-un in 2012, the 'Cultural Heritage Protection Law' was enacted, establishing a legal framework for the protection of intangible cultural heritage for the first time. The 2012 'Cultural Heritage Protection Law' expanded upon the 1994 version to enable the protection of intangible cultural heritage, which was previously unmanageable under the existing 'Cultural Heritage Protection Law,' within the category of 'cultural heritage.' This study analyzes North Korea's policy for the protection of intangible cultural heritage by examining the fully revised North Korean “National Heritage Protection Law” of 2018. In particular, the 2018 comprehensive revision of the North Korean “National Heritage Protection Law” reveals several significant changes compared to the 2015 version. Through this analysis, the study identifies commonalities and differences between North Korea's intangible cultural heritage policies and those of South Korea, as well as analyzes the relevance and differences with UNESCO's policies on intangible cultural heritage. Based on this, the study discusses the sustainability of North Korea's intangible cultural heritage.
