This study investigates the possibility of contemporary transmission of Buncheong ware artifacts within a society increasingly shaped by digital technologies. The dynastic transition during which Buncheong ware emerged and the present era-marked by ac...
This study investigates the possibility of contemporary transmission of Buncheong ware artifacts within a society increasingly shaped by digital technologies. The dynastic transition during which Buncheong ware emerged and the present era-marked by accelerated technological innovation share a common condition as periods of socio-cultural transition. Having adapted its production methods and forms in response to changing contexts, Buncheong ware embodies a character that resists confinement to fixed formats. The researcher recognizes museum collections often fixed as objects of preservation as cultural heritage that can be mobilized within contemporary sculptural contexts, and takes them as subjects of inquiry. From this perspective, this study adopts the transformation of Buncheong ware as a method of artistic production, focusing on the process through which ceramic artifacts are reconstructed within contemporary making environments.
The research is organized in three stages: theoretical discussion, case study, and studio-based production. The theoretical section identifies the distinctive characteristics of digital images and Buncheong ware, and establishes a conceptual framework for how Buncheong understood as a product of the past-may be transformed into a contemporary sculptural language. The case-study section examines the practices of Gala Porras-Kim, Kemi Staros, and Yoo Euijeong, artists who reconstruct historical objects through a contemporary lens, and analyzes their approaches. Through this analysis, the study identifies diverse strategies for transforming artifact images. In the production stage, photographs of Buncheong ware sourced from online museum archives are digitally manipulated using Adobe Photoshop and subsequently materialized in clay, resulting in the series Seeking Balance.
The digital image transformations applied in this study demonstrate that Buncheong ware artifacts can be realized as contemporary works through structural manipulations of digital images in Photoshop and subsequent handbuilding processes. Photoshop filters enable multiple modes of transformation that translate the form and structure of given objects into new sculptural vocabularies, and this variability inherent in digital images serves as the foundation for sculptural experimentation. The study suggests that cultural heritage can function as material for contemporary creation as it passes through digital technology and craft processes. This perspective encourages recognition of cultural heritage not merely as objects of preservation and appreciation, but as starting points for transformative creation. Archive-based image use, digital editing, and manual making are interlinked, expanding the interpretive range of tradition and enabling a productive approach distinct from the museum's preservation-oriented perspective. This demonstrates how images generated in digital environments can be materialized through craft-based making processes and transformed into sculptural language. Through the convergence of tradition and digital technology, this study expands the sculptural possibilities of Buncheong ware and demonstrates through experimentation that traditional forms can be reinterpreted and transformed within contemporary conditions. Ultimately, the study aims to propose a new direction for the transmission of cultural heritage.