중국 회화의 냉소적 현실주의의 특성에 관한 연구 : 팡리쥔(方力鈞), 웨민쥔(岳敏君)을 중심으로 = Characteristics of Cynical Realism in Chinese Art

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper studies the characteristics of Cynical Realism in Chinese art. The author elucidates the emergence of the development and the characteristics of Cynical Realism in the 1990s by means of the trends and schools of Realism in China. In this analysis, the author establishes a firm identification as a painter among the various sects of the contemporary art and founds the sound criteria and principles.
Several trends in visual language emerged in China after the Chinese Avant Garde in the late 1980s. Student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square broke out in 1989, coinciding with the prevalence of Cynical Realism throughout the 1990s. International exhibitions made known the evolving Chinese art to the western world, which had just gone through the Cold War.
Cynical Realism became a prominent trend in Chinese art in the beginning of the 1990s. China was in the middle of a whirlpool: the newly developing market economy was changing social interactions, and culture and fine arts were in no different situations. Artists' sense of values and aspects of the world were drastically changing because of the growing skepticism of socialism, an emotional prop for the Chinese people. Artists explored various aspects and ideas in pursuit of forming new standards of reality. Cynical Realism was nurtured as part of this movement.
This paper consists of two sections. Firstly, Chinese realism is examined in its creation and transformations over time. Cynical Realism is not an irrelevant drift from conventional realism. Cynical Realism is analyzed through the social and political background. Also, the influence of the development and associations with conventional realism on the philosophical characteristics of Cynical Realism is closely inspected.
Secondly, the author depicts the peculiar qualities of Cynical Realism that separates it from other movements through examples of the most renowned artists and their works. The upbringing of the artists is discussed to explain the cynical nature of their work such as distrust, ridicule, and nihility toward society. Blindness, the period of maturation, and alteration of cynicism as well as many other features and characteristics are demonstrated and argued by example and reasoning.
The author concludes with the significance and limitations of Cynical Realism: Much artistic achievement has been accomplished while changes in the cynical nature has brought limitations to Cynical Realism.
The future of the Chinese modern art does not look too optimistic. Firstly, every trend of western art arisen over the past century has emerged in China in the twenty years since the 1980s. Such hurried growth indicates that Chinese modern art does not have a sound foundation but was nursed only as a flying banner for the revolt against Chinese traditional customs for the sake of the reformation movement. Young artists criticized the traditions by means of the accomplishment of the western modern art, while embodying the individual freedom and ego of the artists.
Secondly, Chinese art makes a dazzling appearance in international art circles in the 1990s, and the western art market was quite generous to the newly entered group of artists and works of art.
The works of the 1990s succeeds the works of the 1980s, without much alteration in their style and manner, only much more elaborated, materialized, and complanated. Such alterations became more westernized, its measure of value controlled by the western market. International exhibitions such as Sao-Poulo Biennale indicate mingling of western art into Chinese art. Chinese artists of those times became popular in the international community of which Cynical Realism is a good example. Chinese modern art is booming in the international art market, and such phenomena influences back the Chinese art market and community. However, consumers are westerners, hence it is only natural that the art works are directed by the tastes of these westerners. Such situations force Chinese art trends such as the Cynical Realism to reflect a secondary reality demanded by westerners in addition to the true status of China. Art works of such trends are of China only in the eyes of the westerners but not by the true measure of Chinese modern art.
Thirdly, today's Chinese modern art is drowned in the swirl of the market economy. Considering cases of Minjun Yue, employing artists to paint his own work in his name should be considered more as a factory than as an artist. Chinese modern art takes its form straight from western art. When the label "Chinese" is put on, however, the arts become original and is labeled as new. Distinguishing logos such as Minjun Yue's "exaggerated laughter" and Lijun Fang's "bald man" manufacture popular art works that sell in the market. Schematization and repetition are struggles to establish new "logos" for commercialization.
The Chinese modern art has been evolving among various trends. The author had an opportunity to look back at Chinese art in the 1980s through the positive and negative aspects of the Chinese modern art evolution. Artists who thoroughly reflect reality with radical talents such as Danqing Chen and Zhongli Luo are examined and the participation and reflection of realism in their work are observed. When reflecting realism, excessive truthfulness inevitably brings extremeness and excessive exaggeration brings only hypocrisy. The same agony troubles the author. Reflecting reality is the duty and obligation of contemporary artists. The credibility of an art work originates not from the public but from the introspection of the artist. The marked changes of Cynical Realism in the 1990s sets an example to younger artists: observing agenuine passion for art deteriorating into commercialization, how should an artist position oneself?

국문 초록 (Abstract)

이 논문은 중국 회화의 냉소적 현실주의의 특성에 관한 논문이다. 연구자는 1990년대에 나타난 냉소적 현실주의를 중국 현실주의 회화의 흐름과 유파 속에서 냉소적 현실주의의 형성 원인을 밝히고 그 특성을 비추어 보고자 한다. 이것은 궁극적으로 연구자가 화가의 길을 선택한 입장에서 스스로 위치를 확인하고 현대미술의 다양한 사조 속에서 가치 판단의 기준점을 어디에 두어야 하는가에 대한 의문을 해결하고자 함이다.
1980년대 말 중국에 아방가르드 미술이 등장한 이후 새로운 조형언어를 담은 여러 경향의 미술이 봇물처럼 등장한다. 그리고 1989년의 “천안문사태” 이후 1990년대 초기에 냉소적 현실주의는 중국에서 성행하기 시작하였다. 이것은 몇 차례 국제전시를 통하여 냉전을 종결한 서구 미술계에 주요한 이슈로 떠올랐다.
냉소적 현실주의는 1990년대 초반에 나타난 미술 사조이다. 중국의 90년대는 시장경제가 급진적으로 발전해가는 시기이며, 또 시장경제 논리가 사회적으로 대중화하여 갔고 문화와 예술 또한 그 소용돌이를 피해갈 수 없는 시기였다. 이러한 사회적 배경은 예술가들의 가치관이나 사상에 커다란 영향을 끼쳤고 또 작품의 주제나 예술적 정서는 급진적으로 변해갔다. 그리고 중국 국민의 사상적 지주
였던 사회주의에 대한 회의로 말미암아 가치관에 커다란 혼란을 빚는다. 이러한 시기에 예술가들은 새로운 가치관 정립을 위하여 다각적인 탐구와 변화를 시도했는데, 냉소적 현실주의도 그중의 한 흐름으로써 같은 맥락에서 발전해 나갔던 것이다.
이 논문은 대체적으로 2가지의 관점에서 논리적 전개를 하였다.
첫째, 현대 중국 회화에 나타난 냉소적 현실주의를 연구하고자 중국 현실주의회화의 흐름을 고찰했다. 그것은 냉소적 현실주의가 결코 전통적 현실주의 회화와 동떨어져 있는 사조가 아니라고 판단했기 때문이다. 이러한 분석을 통하여 냉소적 현실주의의 형성 원인을 밝혀보았다. 그리고 당시의 사회적 배경을 통하여 냉소적 현실주의의 태동 이유를 검증하고, 또 그러한 논증을 기초로 중국 현실주의 회화와의 관계 속에서 어떠한 철학적 특성이 개입하고 있는가를 연구했다.
둘째, 냉소적 현실주의의 대표적 작가와 작품 분석을 통하여 그 냉소적 요소들을 살펴보았다. 냉소적 요소들을 비판하고자 대표적 작가들의 성장과정을 살펴보았으며, 또 그들의 아이러니한 성장 배경에서 사회에 대한 불신과 조롱과 허무함을 엿볼 수 있었는데, 이러한 성향들이 냉소적 특징들로 나타나는 단서가 되었다. 끝으로 작품 분석을 거쳐 냉소성의 맹아적 요소, 성숙 시기, 냉소적 성격의 변화를 관통함으로써 냉소적 요소들과 그 특성을 논증하였다.
결론에서는 이 특별한 미술운동의 의의와 한계를 정리하였는데, 냉소적 현실주의가 이룬 예술적 성과에 대한 긍정적 인식을 통해 그 의의를 찾으면서, 냉소적 성격의 변화를 통하여 냉소적 현실주의 미술의 한계를 비판적으로 정리하였다.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 서론 = 1
• 1. 연구 목적 = 1
• 2. 연구 범위 및 연구 방법 = 2
• Ⅱ. 현대 중국 회화에 나타난 냉소적 현실주의 = 3
• 1. 중국 현실주의 회화의 흐름 = 3
• 2. 냉소적 현실주의의 형성배경 = 12
• 3. 냉소적 현실주의 철학의 특성 = 14
• Ⅲ. 냉소적 현실주의의 대표적 작가와 작품 분석 = 19
• 1. 작가의 성장과 예술적 관점 = 19
• 2. 작품 분석 = 23
• Ⅳ. 냉소적 현실주의 미술의 의의 = 42
• 1. 예술적 성과 = 42
• 2. 한계 = 48
• Ⅴ. 결론 = 53
• 참고 문헌 = 56
• （Abstract） = 57