The Abolition of the Calligraphy Section at the Korea Art Exhibition and Changes in Perceptions of Calligraphy

Abstract

The Korea Art Exhibition, held by the Government-General of Korea from 1922 to 1944, was the first government-run exhibition to be held in Korea. Calligraphy was included as Section 3, alongside painting, sculpture, and so on. There was no calligraphy section in government-run exhibitions in Japan, but it was established from the outset at the Korea Art Exhibition, only to be abolished a mere dozen years later. What possible reasons could there have been for this? In this article, taking into account prior research, I focus on the calligraphy section at the Korea Art Exhibition, and by tracing the circumstances behind its establishment and abolition, I examine changes in contemporary calligraphers' perceptions of calligraphy and the background to these changes.

  It has been pointed out in prior research that the circumstances leading to the abolition of the calligraphy section were influenced by the position of calligraphy in Japan at the time. In addition, it has also become clear from statements made by contemporary painters and calligraphers that importance was attached to whether or not the art was technically outstanding in comparison with that displayed at exhibitions in Japan. Further, it has become evident that not only were the artistic qualities of calligraphy criticized for being inferior to Eastern and Western painting, but calligraphy and the classical subject matter of traditional painting (orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and plum) were regarded as symbols of the detestable “unmodernized” feudal system prior to the colonial period and were subjected to criticism primarily by younger painters who had received a Japanese art education. At the same time, calligraphers among former scholar-officials and educated professionals (chungin 中人) deliberately chose to preserve traditional ideas about calligraphy even during the colonial period and sought venues for their activities outside the Korea Art Exhibition. This represented a view of art that they themselves chose in Korea as it was being “modernized.”