토마스 허쉬호른(Thomas Hirschhorn)의 공공미술프로젝트와 민주주의의비판적 모색

Abstract

This paper explores the representation and meaning of democracy in public art projects of Thomas Hirschhorn (1957~), a Swiss-born artist, including <Bataille Monument> and <Bijlmer Spinoza-Festival>. His works were manufactured by unstable three-dimensional collage form with cheap daily materials such as plywood, plastic, foil, etc. in underdeveloped area where immigrants neglected from art reside. Hirschhorn strongly criticized contemporary social phenomena such as globalization and capitalism, through the aesthetic strategy and showed critical attitude for democracy earnestly in the 2000s. The critical eye of Hirschhorn was reflected by changed European situation after the Berlin Wall and Soviet Union were collapsed in 1989 and the changing stream of the whole world. The power of America and several countries of Western Europe with lots of capitals started to use democracy as a tool so as to strengthen their power and protect their economic benefits. Particularly, sequential occurrence of 9. 11 terrorism and Iraq War gave a critical mind that ideological violence can be justified for democracy. Therefore, democracy shows lots of problems. In all of sectors such as politics, society, culture, etc. democracy was a subject of serious discussion and it was not excluded in the art world. In 《Documenta 11》(2002) that <Bataille Monument> was shown, the symposium of ‘unrealized democracy’ was held so as to introspect democratic problems we face with. This research intended to focus on spirit of equality in Hirschhorn's public art projects and autonomy of art insisted by him based on the diagnosis of discussed democratic problems and our direction of practice and analyze them by grafting onto the discussion of aesthetics and politics of Jacques Rancière. Although it's a form of monument dedicated to particular philosopher, the anti-hierarchical works manufactured by cheap daily materials in dwelling area of immigrant workers who are not related to the character is the space where immigrants read books related to philosophy and art and participate in dramas and lectures. The artistic practice shows intellectual equality of immigrants excluded from art and furthermore, gives political nature for becoming an active subject. Rancière emphasizes equality as a precondition for politics and discusses politics based on ‘le sensible’. He states that politics is inseparable from aesthetic, because our senses and actions of seeing, hearing, feeling, and speaking depend on our surrounding circumstances, such as local, political, social, cultural, and educational time and space, and simultaneously, the senses and actions are limited by them. A share of each person can be allocated by senses like what to be heard/unheard and what to be spoken/unspoken. Thus, it can be said that arts or aesthetic to deal with senses result in changes or cracks upon the line of distribution those opposing matters related to senses. In this regard, it can be also said that emergence of new art changes existing order, and then, art itself becomes political. Therefore, regarding the aspect that aesthetic and politics are the same, it can be interpreted that the autonomy of art Hirschhorn insists is nothing but the autonomy of art that Rancière suggests. Marginalized immigrants can practically and actively conduct artistic performance through Hirschhorn’s works. By affirming their new senses and re-distributing senses as drawing a new line to separate existing system into parts, the immigrants come to be reborn as political subject. In this regard, this paper analyzes that public art projects of Hirschhorn criticize democracy used as a tool of advanced countries and furthermore, aim for the theory of democracy including conflicts and dissensus while requesting their stakes and redividing their sense. This paper is a trial to read democracy criticism and the alternative finding in Hirschhorn's works in depth through the discussion of Rancière about aesthetics and politics. It is significant as the process to prepare an opportunity of multi-layered interpretation of Hirschhorn's works in social and political context of post ideology period.