Local Colourism in Korean and Taiwanese art under Japanese colonial rule: the native artists' national identity

Abstract

This thesis aims to present a new perspective to interpret Local Colourism in Korean and Taiwanese art by investigating its origin and the link between these nations, within the context of the artistic milieu during the colonial period in the early twentieth century. Local Colourism has received substantial scholarly attention in Korea and Taiwan, and most studies recognise the art trend as a part of the colonial policy that was designed to satisfy the exoticist viewpoint of the coloniser. This is the first comparative study on Local Colourism of Korea and Taiwan, which were the two most prominent colonies of Japan, concerning the native artists’ national identity. It emphasises the artists’ active role in Local Colourism and explores the social and cultural conditions that enabled Local Colourism to develop as a movement that took hold in these countries. This research demonstrates that Local Colourism emerged from Japan in the late nineteenth century, and traces the origin with focus on Kuroda Seiki 黒田清輝 (1866– 1924). It examines how its influence was expressed in the formation of Korean and Taiwanese Local Colourism in the 1920s and 30s, and further investigates the role of a new art education model that the Japanese Government-General implanted in both colonies. While paying close attention to the social and cultural circumstances of colonial Korea and Taiwan, it explores how the artists of colonised nations expressed their sense of national identity in their work, and what led them to develop and promote Local Colourism in their homeland.