Korean Border-Crossing Artists in the New York Artworld
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2006 Korean Border-Crossing Artists in the New York Artworld: An Examination of the Artistic, Personal and Social Identities of Do-Ho Suh, Kimsooja, and Ik-Joong Kang Esther Eunsil Kho Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATRE AND DANCE KOREAN BORDER-CROSSING ARTISTS IN THE NEW YORK ARTWORLD: AN EXAMINATION OF THE ARTISTIC, PERSONAL AND SOCIAL IDENTITIES OF DO-HO SUH, KIMSOOJA, AND IK-JOONG KANG By ESTHER EUNSIL KHO A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2006 Copyright © 2006 Esther Eunsil Kho All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Esther Eunsil Kho defended on February 15, 2006. ____________________________ Tom Anderson Professor Directing Dissertation ____________________________ Susan Wood Outside Committee Member ____________________________ Pat Villeneuve Committee Member ____________________________ Susan Lee Committee Member Approved: _______________________________________________ Marcia L. Rosal, Chair, Department of Art Education _______________________________________________ Sally McRorie, Dean, School of Visual Arts and Dance The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii To my beloved parents, Dr. Heungsik Kho and Dr. Hanna Kim Kho, and To Dr. Tom Anderson, My mentor With gratitude iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my respect and deepest thanks to Dr. Tom Anderson, my major professor, for his wise instructions and caring support. His teaching gave me the pleasure of studying art as one of the greatest moments. I am also thankful to my committee members Dr. Susan Wood, Dr. Pat Villeneuve, and Dr. Susan Lee, for their warm encouragement and insights. I also would like to thank Dr. Youngsun Jin at Korea University, Dr. Benjamin Binstock, Dr. Gordon Pradl, and professor Zoya Kocur at New York University. Each has supported me with heart and helped me through many difficulties during my studies. I will not forget the first exciting moment when Dr. Binstock gave me the intellectual pleasure of learning art, when he taught Deconstruction with lots of passion in his last teaching at NYU in 2002. I would like to thank the subjects of this study, the artists Do-Ho Suh, Kimsooja, and Ik-Joong Kang, without whose gifted talents, extraordinary sensitivities, masterpieces, and professional achievements this research project could not have been conceived. Their work inspired me and I am grateful to each of them. Many thanks are offered to my family as well. I dedicate this work to my father and mother, who always pray for me with endless love, support, and belief in me, to my sister Julia Kho, my brother-in-law Dr. Sookeun Lee, and my brother Joseph Koh. Their caring and prayers have helped me to undertake this journey. I also thank Rev. Dortch, Janice and Marty, Peggy and Ping, and Tadako and Tommy in the International Group of the First Baptist Church, Tallahassee who care of me as their daughter. In addition, I appreciate Jayme’s wise and patient help in such a short time. Very warm thanks go to all my friends in the Department of Art Education, Florida State University, and all over the United States and other countries. I am grateful to our Lord, Jesus Christ, for being with me throughout the study and my life. I am His work of art and my journey is a love letter full of tears to Him. Esther Eunsil Kho iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................................................ x Abstract ...................................................................................................... xii 1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 Statement of Problem.................................................................................. 1 Background of the Problem ........................................................................ 1 Personal Motivation and Point of View................................................ 2 Recent Issues of Identity in Korean Art................................................ 3 Contemporary Art ................................................................................. 5 Art Criticism ......................................................................................... 6 Research Questions and Objectives............................................................ 8 Rationale for the Study ............................................................................... 9 Significance of the Study............................................................................ 11 Scope and Limitations................................................................................. 12 Definition of Terms..................................................................................... 13 Assumptions ................................................................................................ 15 Summary ................................................................................................ 16 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................................................................ 17 Introduction ................................................................................................ 17 I. Art Criticism............................................................................................ 17 Art Criticism and the Role of Critic...................................................... 17 Types of Art Criticism .......................................................................... 18 Mimetic Art Criticism.................................................................. 18 Formalist Art Criticism................................................................ 18 Contextualist Art Criticism.......................................................... 19 Art Historical Criticism.......................................................... 19 Ideological (Socio-Political) Criticism .................................. 20 Expressionists and Psychoanalytical Criticism...................... 21 Cross-Cultural Criticism ........................................................ 21 The Role of Experience and Judgement in Art Criticism..................... 23 Art Criticism and the Tradition of Art History and Aesthetics............. 24 Art Criticism in Art Education.............................................................. 27 II. Identity Construction.............................................................................. 31 Self Identity........................................................................................... 31 National and Cultural Identity .............................................................. 33 Border – Crossing Identity.................................................................... 34 III. Identity Construction in/through Art .................................................... 36 The Nature of the Art World................................................................. 36 v The Binary System of Art and Culture in the Western Art World 36 The Capitalistic Political Art World ............................................ 39 The Mega International Art Exhibitions...................................... 40 Transnational and Multicultural Issues................................................. 42 Marginalized Groups in the New York Art World ...................... 42 Border-Crossing Artists ............................................................... 43 Korean Border-Crossing Artists in the U.S. ................................ 49 IV. Transcultural and Multicultural Art Education..................................... 51 The Multicultural Nature of U.S. Society............................................. 51 Diaspora and Transnationalism............................................................. 53 Multiculturalism: The Diversity Advantage ......................................... 54 Multicultural Art Education.................................................................. 55 The Role of Educational Art Criticism ................................................. 57 A Cross-Cultural Approach to Art Education....................................... 58 Summary ................................................................................................ 62 3. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 63 Introduction ................................................................................................ 63 Theoretical Foundations.............................................................................. 64 Research Design.......................................................................................... 66 Research Methods....................................................................................... 68 Data Collection ........................................................................................... 69 Participants............................................................................................ 69 Do-Ho Suh ................................................................................... 69 Kimsooja.....................................................................................