The term ‘avant-garde’ was first coined from a military endeavor where frontline investigation units and skirmish outpost squads who were ordered to observe and gather information about the opposition parties. The term was then used by the Dadaists and Surrealists to indicate those or their artistic endeavor to be in a vanguard position, leading and exploiting new art. This in other words is to provoke active resistance to the already established, traditional, inherited conventionalities. The term is now being used in other art sectors such as music, theater, dancing, film industry etc.

 

Historically it is undeniable that there were always prospering of new thoughts and confrontations causing frictions against the old, no matter how old. We can see the examples of Renaissance era during which Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael and Tintoretto led the new force; and into the Modern era was the force of Rembrandt, Goya, Cezanne, Rodin, Picasso and the likes.

 

Our cases of avant-garde can be said to date back to the very early 20th century during which the art of the west was first introduced, spinning off various factions such as Expressionism and Fauvism, or especially those who carried out the thoughts of Informel in the 50s, so-called ‘avant-garde activists’ of the 60s who formed ‘Chungnyun jakka yeunlipjun’ (Exhibition of young artist’s union), ‘A.G’ (Avant-Garde) and ‘S.T’ (Space and Time). What the latter created was an art movement that gave birth to Korean version of Happening, Earth art, combine, Conceptual art, Environmental art and Minimal art from 50s to 70s.

 

The current picture of the 80s’ art world is tumultuous: the new attention and perspectives towards numerous social events and problems has born the epiphenomenon of active proclamation of artists, often creating works or opinions that click with certain audience groups. The tumultuousness grew from Seoul and spread to other local spheres, beginning to emerge from the early 80s. Before all this were some factors that in the 70s encouraged collective use of certain types of art that arose from some artists whose focus was more on the social use of art as an instrument than to create something unique. One example of this was the wave of monochrome painting which in essence involves a highly simplified procedures of creation. Thus then, the need for fitting into the rapidly changing socio-economic conditions was felt.

 

It is imperative for an artist to be attentive to the contemporary issues of the society and express in their own ways the reality. The motif can come from anywhere, and the selection and performance of an artist is in its very nature personal. There is of course the social burden of responsibility and accountability that follows their actions, but this is not to deny or downplay the obligation of artists to sublimate the artisanship into forms of expression.

 

The reality of our current circumstances is that the whole art world is extremely institutionalized and standardized in the whole process of artistic creation, from selection of subjects and imitative formatting. This self-repression of motive seems to work against the fundamentals of art. Clandestine departure from this real purpose renders art too sick to look at. A movement in art is in one very important way shown and manifested in accordance with different contemporary perspectives, thereby producing different types of art unique to one’s thought and requiring multifarious approaches to style.

 

The use or viewing of art can be considered a way of perceiving relevant society whether the observation and assessment are nakedly apparent or merely understanding with one’s own head. Any sort of art is one of many faces of the society and generation, and is therefore bound to be part of spirit that forms and shapes the contemporary generation. In this context, those derivative kinds that grew out of avant-garde movements in the 70s and 80s, one example of which is Minjoong art, is a face of the spirit bucking the established trend. But such movements have also produced many errors and self-contradictions. Minjoong art, for one, notably expressed the dark side of modern society, showing conflicts and isolated part of physiognomy of our hoods and emotion, all as if they portrayed homely, ghastly nature of our world to represent the public sentiments and are the salvation of people. But art of our era should be based on universal quality and values.

 

What the above implies is not to abandon the old completely, even though some helpful resistance can yield the necessary changes; otherwise there would be a few orderly routines. This means, if one were a human being living in a world that is on constant wave of change, one should perceive through the unique lens and express the thoughts to participate in reality. Such participation shall also be an honest delegate of a community so as to create new languages and interpretations in ways that signifies artist’s image of motivation, be it symbols, configurations or anything. Style, mode of expression and generalized art language, which are also important, then follows.

 

It is hard to dispute efforts to find our own traditional values. We too need our own ways of expressing our unique formative thoughts in international arena. Taking an exclusive attitude and egoistic attachments should not be included in our newly created environments lest there be no truly avant-garde generation. What the spirit of avant-garde is an expressive nutritious matter that helps maintains the freshness of motivation and hope. The seasoned generation now should pay tributes, ambition and desires to new thoughts and movements and this will surely bring about the art world that we all want to be in. 

 

* Unpublished manuscript by Kang, presumed written in the 1980s.