기산풍속화를 통해 본 이미지의 타자성: 외국 책에 실린 조선인

Abstract

This paper, on the basis of W. J. T. Mitchell's objecthood theory, analyzes Otherness of Joseon images in Gisan genre paintings, which are open port genre paintings by Kim Jun Geun in late 19th century. Mitchell, a visual culture theorist, argues that, if the image of the colony is projected through imperial ideology, various objecthoods of the image could be revealed. In the case of Gisan genre paintings, Joseon images unveil each of the three objecthoods(Totem, Fetish, Idol), as they go transformed at the two stages. Gisan's Joseon images, initially transformed from Danwon Kim Hond-do genre paintings, are presented as symbolic Totem. When foreigners collected Gisan genre paintings as rare artifacts, the images unveil the objecthood of Fetish. At the next stage, Gisan genre paintings in foreign books, when used as illustrations with texts describing pre-modern traits of Joseon, reveal the objecthood of Idol, which shaped an imperialistic landscape of Joseon. This paper found that geopolitical views intervened in the images of Gisan genre paintings, and transformed the images at the several stages, and that the respective objecthood of Totem, Fetish, and Idol is unveiled in the images. Particularly, the gap between the text and the image was noticed. We come to the following conclusions: this may well correspond to the way of Western imperialism in the late 19th century which, through folklore pictures, viewed non-European natives as the Other and defined them as uncivilized savages. Furthermore Gisan paintings in Japanese books were used as instruments which justified the colonialization of Joseon.