사회적 장치로서 개인의 몸에 관한 미학적 고찰

Abstract

This study explores the meaning of the individual body as a social ‘dispositif’ in the social context to discuss the ways by which its meaning is critically manifested through contemporary visual artworks. While Michel Foucault argues about the ‘bio power’ and ‘docile body’, he theorizes the docile body as a malleable object on which disciplinary force is acted, a node in the complex field in which power is organized and arranged. The body encompassing micro-disciplines in various aspects defines a certain mode of detailed political power and a social dipositif that conveys its power to others. The body upon discipline transforms into storage of memory that facilities the operation of embedded force. The regulation of individuals has been reinforced at a more microscopic and private level after the 2000s. The behavior of individuals is analyzed and collected into data that contains a series of patterns that reveals a certain behavior pattern adequate for the purpose of power and society. Thus, the behavior pattern is disciplined to serve the convenience of individuals. This study considers the theoretical concept of the body constituting a collective memory of policy and society suggested by Aleida Assmann with the background premise of the relation of individual body, power, and dispositif stated by Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben. The works by Okin Collective, Zach Blas, and Julien Prévieux are profoundly examined based on the theoretical foundation through which this study focuses on the social meaning infused in the art that embraces a critical outlook on society.