Abstract

This heuristic research-creation thesis paper considers and analyzes how the process of producing a series of work using Asian watercolours and contemporary approaches to chaekgeori – a Korean ‘oriental painting’ genre from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) can be translated to an intercultural art education approach. This genre depicts a Korean scholar’s tools, books, and foreign objects and continues to interest contemporary artists to this day due to its occasional use of Western painterly devices such as tromp l’œil and chiaroscuro. My body of work will conceptually depict notions of ‘cultural translation,’ ‘third-space’ and interculturality as an art education approach that respects diverse traditions and cultures.
The objective of this study is to understand the ways in which we make art by experimenting with Asian watercolours technically (applying layers, blending, focusing on detail) as well as conceptually using the chaekgeori painting genre. I support my prediction that my Canadian upbringing will intermingle with my Korean heritage as I implement traditional Korean techniques through the paintings produced. I also present contemporary artists from South Korea who work with ‘oriental painting’ such as Kyung-Min Nam who depicts Korean scholars’ studies and Western artists’ studios. Through this studio-based project, I convey as a Korean-Canadian artist-educator that (1) the act of creation and practice is just as, if not more, important than the final outcome and (2) pushing boundaries of tradition results in an intercultural approach to art education that highlights the significance of heuristic thinking and learning through a hybrid practice of mediums and practices.