장욱진 예술세계에 나타난 道家의 생태미학

Abstract

Today, while science and technology, material growth, and abundance contribute to the advances of civilization, environmental and ecological problems that are derived from them are threatening the survival of mankind. Amid such a situation, it is necessary to establish the perspectives and grounds on human nature to reflect on and overcome the ecological crisis, and the ideological resource can be found in Taoist philosophical thought. Taoist’s ecological wisdom, which pays attention to the relationship between humans and nature, can be a philosophical and aesthetic viewpoint that can relieve the ecological crisis. Laozi’s idea of ‘Tao emulates nature’ and Zhuangzi’s idea of the ‘Union of Self and Things’ have philosophical and aesthetic values that deeply explore the relationship between people and nature and agree with nature. Taoist’s ecological world view regards the ecosystem as a space of harmony and symbiosis, and people and all things have fundamentally equal value. Such ecological aesthetic thoughts and expressiveness of Taoist appear in the paintings of Chang Ucchin, a modern and contemporary Korean painter. Since Ucchin Chang’s life and art have been sought and learned through nature, his artistic identity is connected with nature. Therefore, he idealized life in harmony with nature and expressed it through his painting. The simplified formative aesthetics is characterized by exceeding the meaning of the figure itself and having the identification of the self and nature as a subject matter. It can also be said that the commonality resulting from the ontological equality of humans and nature and life in harmony with nature show ecological wisdom. The nature shown in the paintings is not limited to the object to be enjoyed while appreciating it, but it is the place to stay and live in. That is, Chang’s paintings harmoniously illustrate the relationship between nature and humans who live together with nature rather than possessing or conquering it. This study examined the nature and Taoist’s view of nature, and based on this, tried to confirm the ecological aesthetic thought that appeared in Chang Ucchin’s art. Such discussion will be able to help understand Taoist’s ecological wisdom, offer a new perspective on Chang Ucchin’s art, and contribute to establishing the ecological wisdom and perspective required in today’s era.