This research examines the ways in which Teum aesthetically functions as one of the structuring and performing principles of Talchum. While arranging the important concepts of Teum, this tries to find out its structural meanings, along with its functi...
This research examines the ways in which Teum aesthetically functions as one of the structuring and performing principles of Talchum. While arranging the important concepts of Teum, this tries to find out its structural meanings, along with its function interactively produced in the communal relationship between the performers of Talchum and its audience. First, Teum is a term for the liminal space of temporal, spatial, and human relationships, as well as of consciousness aspects. As a point of vacancy which breaks the performing flow of Talchum, Teum has various characteristics of difference, variety, cracks, transgression, borders, respite, and opportunities, thereby bringing forth the threshold between the performers and the audience. Second, Teum is adopted as a structural device of the performing principles of Talchum, while allowing gatherings and departures in the process of scene (madang) composition. Each scene is connected with the other scenes without any causes in illogical ways in time sequence according to the performing condition. Various kinds of Teum can be arranged to the inner part of each scene to induce the variety of its composition and to reflect the spot situation on the Talchum text. Therefore, Teum has such structural meanings as borders, openings, and aesthetic fields, although it makes the form of Talchum indeterminate. Third, Teum functions as some aesthetic devices such as participatory motivation, interactive dynamics, and the means of the audience inner change. Though Teum breaks the flow of its performance, it turns the audience into positive actors, not passive audience. Teum provides some motivation for the audience to participate in the performance, leading the performers and the audience to their emotional collaboration for the dynamic interaction. While the words and gestures of performers induce the reactions of audience such as cursing, crying, and gesturing in order to be infiltrated into the performance, they increase the power of their effects in mutual ways. Teum functions as a device of transforming the audience themselves into playful individuals. While allowing the audience to be emotionally infiltrated into the performance. Them guides them into the Chuimsae (appeal) of saying hello to the performers. Therefore, Teum paves the way to make possible Talchum as a performance for community by allowing the possibility of opening the horizon for its creative transition.