Earticle

This study aims to explore the contemporary application of the Baoxianghua (寶相花) motif in modern Chinese ceramic design, focusing on its modern visual expressions and diverse possibilities of transformation. Originating from Buddhist art and imperial court decoration, the Baoxianghua pattern symbolizes splendor, harmony, and auspiciousness, and has long held a special cultural significance in China. Historically, the motif gradually expanded from religious and court usage into everyday life, reflecting the developmental trajectory of visual and decorative design. In modern design contexts, the visual expression of Baoxianghua has become more flexible, showing diversified tendencies that encompass both ornate and simplified forms, as well as planar decoration and structural integration. This research examines how the Baoxianghua motif is utilized in daily-use ceramics and art ceramics, and analyzes its expressive characteristics in terms of form, technique, and symbolic meaning. The findings reveal that designers reinterpret traditional aesthetics through formal and technical approaches while inheriting cultural sensibilities, thereby transforming Baoxianghua into a contemporary visual symbol that reflects modern aesthetics and cultural identity beyond its traditional religious and court contexts. The study also identifies homogenization trends occurring in contemporary applications and aims to provide a reference for creative interpretation and cultural continuation of traditional patterns.

본 연구는 들뢰즈(Gilles Deleuze)의 ‘추상기계(Abstract Machine)’ 개념을 토대로 포스트모던 도예의 생성적 과정을 철학적으로 해석하고자 한다. 들뢰즈의 추상기계는 잠재성을 현실화하는 생성의 원리로 예술을 감각이 생성되는 과정으로 규정한다. 본 논문은 이러한 철학적 관점을 도예의 물질적·신체적 실천과 연결하여 도예를 고정된 형식의 산출이 아니라 잠재적 에너지가 현실화되는 사건으로 제시하고자 한다. 이를 위해 들뢰즈의 추상기계, 탈영토화, 잠재성이라는 세 가지 분석 축을 바탕으로 고찰해 보고자 한다. 이를 실증적으로 입증하기 위해 첫째, 하워드 코틀러(Howard Kottler)의 작업을 통해 전통 도예의 기능적·상징적 질서를 해체하는 탈영토화의 실천을 고찰하였다. 둘째, 피터 볼코스(Peter Voulkos)의 행위 중심적 도예를 통해 신체적 리듬과 제스처가 물질과 접속하며 생성의 리듬을 형성하는 과정을 분석하였다. 셋째, 애너베스 로젠(Annabeth Rosen)의 혼합매체 도예를 중심으로 물질 간의 이질적 접속과 혼종성(hybridity)이 드러내는 감각적 다양체의 미학을 탐구하였다. 이러한 분석을 통해 포스트모던 도예는 재현의 예술이 아니라 추상기계적 생성의 장으로서 감각과 물질, 신체와 환경이 교차하며 새로운 존재론적 리듬을 생성하는 예술로 재정의될 수 있음을 제시하고자 한다.

This study aims to philosophically interpret the generative processes of postmodern ceramics through Gilles Deleuze’s concept of the Abstract Machine. Deleuze’s notion of the abstract machine dismantles the logic of representation and operates as a principle of becoming that actualizes virtual potentiality, defining art as a process in which sensation itself is produced. By linking this philosophical framework to the material and corporeal practices of ceramics, this research presents ceramics not as a fixed formal outcome, but as an event in which latent energy becomes actualized. To achieve this, the study examines three key analytical axes: abstract machine, deterritorialization, and virtuality. Empirically, it first explores Howard Kottler’s practice as an artistic embodiment of deterritorialization, in which functional and symbolic orders of traditional ceramics are deconstructed. Second, it analyzes Peter Voulkos’s performative ceramics, focusing on how bodily rhythm and gesture interact with material to form the rhythm of creation. Third, it investigates Annabeth Rosen’s hybrid ceramic works, where heterogeneous materials and sensory multiplicities converge to reveal the aesthetics of hybridity. Through these analyses, the study proposes that postmodern ceramics can be redefined not as a representational art, but as an abstract-machine field of becoming?an ontological space where sensation, matter, body, and environment intersect to generate new rhythms of existence.

도자 금채 기법은 역사적으로 왕실과 종교적 권위를 시각화하는 장식 기술로 전승되어 왔으나, 근대 이후 화학적 금액의 개발과 산업 도자 체계의 확산을 거치며 재료적 조건과 사용 방식에서 중요한 전환점을 맞이했다. 본 연구는 이러한 기술적 변화가 금채의 조형적 활용 가능성을 어떻게 확장해 왔는지를 중심으로 고찰한다. 이를 위해 동아시아를 비롯한 주요 문화권의 금채 기법 전개 과정과 근대 수금 기법의 확립 과정을 기술사적으로 검토하고, 타쿠로 쿠와타, 이수경, 케이티 스타우트, 로베르토 루고의 작업을 분석 사례로 삼는다. 이를 통해 금채가 동시대 도예에서 단순한 장식을 넘어 물성 실험, 장식 전략의 전복, 시각적 서사의 구성 등 다양한 조형 언어로 전유되는 양상을 살펴보고자 한다. 본 연구는 금채 기법을 전통적 장식 기술로 환원하기보다, 기술사와 동시대 조형 실천을 매개하는 분석적 틀로서 재위치시키는데 그 의의가 있다.

Ceramic gold decoration techniques have historically functioned as decorative devices that visualized royal and religious authority. Since the modern period, however, the development of chemically prepared gold compounds and the expansion of industrial ceramic production systems have brought about significant changes in the material conditions and modes of application of gold decoration. This study examines how such technological transformations have expanded the sculptural and expressive potential of gold decoration techniques. To this end, the study reviews the historical development of gold decoration techniques across major cultural regions, including East Asia, as well as the establishment of modern fired-gold techniques, from a technological-historical perspective. It further analyzes selected works by Takuro Kuwata, Yee Sookyung, Katie Stout, and Roberto Lugo as case studies. Through these analyses, the study explores how gold decoration has been appropriated in contemporary ceramics not merely as ornamentation, but as a diverse sculptural language encompassing material experimentation, the subversion of decorative strategies, and the construction of visual narratives. Ultimately, this study aims to reposition gold decoration techniques not as traditional decorative methods, but as an analytical framework that mediates between technological history and contemporary sculptural practice.

도자조형에서 단위체의 반복은 단순한 형식적 전략을 넘어서, 작가의 몸과 감각, 시간을 축적하는 수행적 행위로 기능한다. 반복된 손의 움직임은 조형의 기초이자, 존재의 표현이며, 도예가가 물성과 교감하며 자신을 형성하는 내면의 의례다. 점토를 활용한 도자 창작은 오랜 역사 속에서 기능성과 조형성, 물질성과 상징성을 동시에 내포해 왔다. 특히 도자예술은 성형 이후 가마 소성이라는 최종적 공정을 거쳐 물질화됨으로써 하나의 표현 형식을 완결짓는다. 그러나 도자예술은 타 재료 기반 예술에 비해 물성적 제약이 많은 예술로, 소성 과정의 위험성과 가마의 크기 제한은 창작 범위에 물리적 한계를 부여해왔다. 이에 따라 도예가들은 오래전부터 대형 조형물이나 확장적 설치 작업을 위해 단위체(unit)를 활용하는 방식으로 창작의 확장성을 확보해 왔다. ‘단위체의 결합’이라는 접근은 단순한 물리적 조건의 해결 방식을 넘어서, 현대 도예에서 조형 언어의 하나로 기능하며 의미를 확장하고 있다. 특히 이 방식은 과정 중심적 조형, 부분과 전체의 관계성 탐구, 반복과 리듬의 미학적 조직, 설치 예술과의 융합 등 동시대 미술 담론 속에서도 도자예술만의 고유한 위치를 구축하는 전략이 되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 현대 도자예술에서 단위체를 반복, 결합하여 구현된 조형 사례들을 중심으로 그 미적, 조형적 특성과 개념적 배경을 반복 노동과 자기수양의 관점을 통해 해석해 보고자 한다. 특히 20세기 후반 이후 동서양에서 시도된 다양한 모듈 기반 도자 설치 작업들을 분석하고, 다음의 세 가지 측면에서 ‘단위체 결합 방식’의 예술적 특성을 분류하였다.

In ceramic art, the repetition of units functions not merely as a formal strategy but as a performative act that accumulates the artist’s bodily engagement, sensory experience, and temporal investment. Repetitive hand movements serve as both the foundation of the form and an expression of existence, constituting an inner ritual through which ceramists engage with the material and shape themselves. While ceramic creation has historically embodied functionality, form, materiality, and symbolic meaning simultaneously, the constraints of the material?such as the risks of firing and kiln size limitations?impose physical boundaries on creative possibilities. To overcome these limitations, ceramists have long utilized small units to expand the scope of large-scale sculptures and installation works. The combination of units approach transcends mere technical solutions, operating as a distinct sculptural language in contemporary ceramics. It emphasizes process-centered creation, explores the relationships between parts and the whole, organizes aesthetic rhythms through repetition, and integrates with installation art. This study examines contemporary ceramic works that employ repeated and combined units, analyzing their expressive, formal, and conceptual characteristics. Focusing on modular-based installations produced in both Eastern and Western contexts since the late twentieth century, the study classifies the artistic features of unit-combination methods along three dimensions, highlighting their significance in the discourse of contemporary ceramic art.

Porcelain pillows first originated during the Sui and Tang dynasties, flourished most during the Song Dynasty, and gradually declined after the Yuan Dynasty. Song Dynasty porcelain pillows were deeply rooted in the fertile soil of folk culture and were influenced by the era's economy, philosophical concepts, artistic thought, as well as the materials and techniques of porcelain pillows. The child-shaped pillows (孩儿枕) are rich in form and exquisitely crafted, among which the Ding kiln child-shaped pillow is the most famous, representing the high level of ceramic craftsmanship at the time. These pillows integrate practical and decorative functions, carry rich cultural symbolism, reflect the folk customs and aesthetic concepts of the society at the time, and serve as physical materials for studying ancient social life. This paper takes the Song Dynasty Ding kiln white porcelain child-shaped pillow as its research object. By classifying and organizing its forms of expression, it analyzes the overall proportional relationships and composition of the pillow from perspectives such as formal beauty and artistic conception beauty. It also examines the use of lines and glazes, dissects elements such as the posture, expression, clothing, and surrounding accessories of the child depicted on the pillow, and uncovers the cultural connotations and symbolic meanings behind them. This exploration aims to discuss the influence of the artistic language and aesthetic essence embodied in the pillow on later ceramic arts. As a classic work of Song Dynasty ceramics, the design of the child-shaped pillow encompasses form logic, functional philosophy, humanistic spirit, and aesthetic pursuits. These elements do not remain at the level of traditional symbols but penetrate deep into the creative core of modern ceramic art. Its influence on modern ceramic design is not superficial imitation of form but reaches the level of design thinking—from the why to the how. It provides contemporary ceramics with a spiritual thread connecting tradition and the present, reshaping the value orientation and aesthetic logic of contemporary ceramic art.

본 연구는 K-콘텐츠(드라마·뮤직비디오·영화)에서 전통공예, 특히 도자공예 이미지가 장면 속에서 어떻게 보이고 쓰이며 어떤 문화적 의미를 생성하는지 규명하였다. 이를 위해 분석틀을 공예 범주, 등장 방식, 상호작용, 영상 처리, 서사 기능의 다섯 축으로 제시하였다. 표본은 사극, 현대극, 조리 영화와 주요 K-팝 뮤직비디오를 포괄하도록 선정하였다. 분석 결과, 드라마는 실사용과 근접 촬영을 통해 품위와 관계 그리고 장인성의 서사를 구체화하고, 뮤직비디오는 반복과 대칭, 선형 배치를 통해 한국적 권위와 축제의 리듬을 표지하며, 영화는 체류와 음향, 물성의 결합으로 감각적 의미를 증폭하였다. 유형별로는 백자가 밝기 중심과 질서를, 청자가 절제와 관조를, 분청이 생활의 호흡과 손의 흔적을, 옹기와 뚝배기가 온기, 시간 그리고 기다림을 전면화함을 확인하였다. 본 연구는 장르 간 비교가 가능한 공통 분석 언어를 제안함으로써, 전통공예 이미지를 동시대 시청각 문화 속에서 재번역하는 실천, 제작, 교육 그리고 정책을 구체화할 근거를 제공한다.

This study investigates how traditional craft?particularly ceramic art?is represented and utilized in K-content, including dramas, music videos, and films, and what cultural meanings it generates. The analysis framework was organized into five dimensions: craft category, mode of appearance, interaction, visual treatment, and narrative function. Samples included historical and contemporary dramas, culinary and lifestyle films, and major K-pop music videos that actively employ traditional imagery. The results show that dramas concretize dignity, relationships, and craftsmanship through practical use and close-up shots; music videos employ repetition, symmetry, and linear composition to instantly signify Korean authority and celebratory rhythm; and films amplify sensory meaning through the interplay of duration, sound, and materiality. Each ceramic type embodies distinct symbolic values: white porcelain conveys clarity and order; celadon, restraint and contemplation; buncheong ware, the rhythm of daily life and traces of the hand; and earthenware or stone pots, warmth, time, and continuity. By proposing a cross-genre analytical language, this study provides a foundation for extending the contemporary use of traditional crafts into production, education, and cultural policy, redefining them as dynamic visual and sensory media within Korean audiovisual culture.