Kim, Jun-Geun(Gisan) was a late 19th century Chosen dynasty painter who created numerous genre paintings for West European clients in the newly opened treaty ports of Wonsan, Busan and Inchon. The treaty ports in the late 19th century Chosen represented of the crossroads the economy, values, and the institutions of the West European powers. In particular, the agriculture-based economy, Confucianism, and land-owner noble class started being eroded by a commerce-based economy, the values of Christianity, West European institution, and a new class of people who amassed wealth from commerce. As Kim, Jun-Geun’s paintings were created for sale to West European clients, they exhibit characteristics that are distinct from the traditional genre paintings in terms of presentation style and the selection of the subject matters. The export genre painting originated in the 18th century around Guangdong, China. Broadly, there are two styles of genre paintings: the Guangzhou style and Ningbo style. Kim, Jun- Geun's paintings resemble the Ningbo style. The Ningbo style tends to highlight the main subjects, form an album of small paintings, and provide a simple treatment of the scenes without the background. Kim, Jun-Geun's paintings cover most aspects of life of common people of his time, ranging well beyond the subjects matters of the traditional genre paintings. His subject matters include the scenes of funeral, folk games, Buddhist and ancestor worship, prison and punishment, shaman custom, debauchees, government officials' formal trips, beggars and handicapped, etc. Many of the subjects are the neglected and the oppressed of the society. And he presents in detail the dress and its ornament that the subjects wear, and all the utensils and things around them. Besides, his subjects' faces are generally expressionless, and their postures are stiff; as such, the feeling of liveliness or movement is lacking. It may be the results of Kim, Jun-Geun's taking the other perspective, namely of his West European clients, rather than his own. The adoption of the other perspective may in turn be a product of the Social Darwinism and the new sense of values that accompanied the infusion of Christianity and West European institutions. Kim, Jun-Geun's portrayals of his subjects appear to reflect the attributes with which the West European Orientalists' of the period characterized the people of the Far East, namely, backwardness, barbarity, irrationality, violence, and mysticism.
한국미술이론학회는 미술이론의 고유한 역할과 방향을 모색하고자 창립되었다. 미술창작과 해석에 필요한 제반이론을 생산하고 다양한 미술현장의 활동을 검증하고 비판하며 연구하는 학회로서 미술의 이론과 실제사이의 분리현상을 극복하는데 기여하고자 한다. 현재 미술관련 학회들의 성격이 대부분 이론영역에 치중해있고, 학과나 전공에 특화되어 있는데 반하여, 본 학회는 미술의 현장과 창작과정을 적극 반영하고 미학, 미술사 등 기존의 미술이론 영역 뿐 아니라 실기와 미술교육, 경영, 행정, 전시 등 다양한 분야를 총괄하는 학제 간 연구를 활성화시키고자 한다. 앞으로 다양한 미술이론 영역에 대한 심도 있는 연구는 물론 한국미술계의 발전과 변화에 조력할 수 있는 실천적이고 생산적인 미술이론의 형성에 본 학회는 최선을 다할 것이다.