Aesthetics of Outsiders

The Aesthetics of Outsiders explores how Korean art and Korean artists might be redefined in the twenty-first century—an era in which national boundaries are dissolving and transcultural and transnational paradigms are taking precedence. What does national cultural identity mean when artists create and live beyond the confines of territory, language, and state? This book provides a critical interpretation of Korean artists based in New York, drawing on in-depth research into three intergenerational groups: artists who relocated to the United States as adults and established themselves in the New York art world; immigrant artists who left Korea in early childhood with their parents; and Korean American artists born in the US to Korean parents. Each group embodies a distinct configuration of identity, shaped by differing degrees of memory, language, and unconscious attachment. The first group retains a vivid “pure memory” of Korea; the second group carries a “childhood block” that clouds recollection; and the third group have inherited a cultural legacy without any lived memory of Korea itself. Their artistic practices reflect these divergent positions, giving rise to varied and singular expressions of Koreanness. This study contends that national cultural identity is increasingly shaped by those who operate as outsiders within transcultural spaces. Through this lens, The Aesthetics of Outsiders offers a timely redefinition of Korean art and artistic identity in a globalised world where the borders of culture are continually being redrawn. It is an important addition to collections which support research in contemporary art, Asian art, and immigrant and diaspora culture and society.