카프 초기 프롤레타리아 미술 담론

Abstract

Kim Bok-Jin, one of the leaders of the KAPF (Korea Artista Proleta Federatio) has often actively referred to the avant-garde art movements of Europe and Russia (Futurism, Dada, Constructivism and Expressionism) as a model of ‘Proletarian Art’ in colonial Korea. Initially, he paid special attention to the Dada and Constructivism, as he considered that ‘Proletarian Art’ in colonial Korea has two tasks: the deconstruction of vestiges (Dada), and the construction of a proletarian culture (Constructivism). However, the balance between deconstruction and construction was upset. Kim Bok-jin chose Constructivism as an exclusive model of ‘Proletarian Art’ in colonial Korea because he judged that “the unification of art and life,”, the slogan of Constructivism, was suitable for the practice of ‘Proletarian Art’ in colonial Korea. In fact, the KAPF artists became constructivist painters who painted ‘by the gun and carriage’, rejecting Individualism and ‘Fine Art’. This position shift corresponded to the same shift of Japanese avant-garde artists in the middle of the 1920's. Some artists, such as Kim Yong-Jun, an anarchist, believing that Expressionism was the appropriate model of 'Proletarian Art’, opposed this shift. However, Kim Yong-Jun's objections were ignored. KAPF artists put the slogan “the unification of art and life” into practice via the art form of agitation-propaganda (e.g., posters, stage art). They believed that this art form was suitable for the early period of a proletarian revolution and expected that they could construct a proletarian culture after the success of the revolution. However, this expectation was not realized. Therefore, “the unification of art and life” remained as an unfinished project.