줄리안 슈나벨의 신표현주의 회화와 미술사의 ‘차용’에 대하여 (Julian Schnabel’s Neo-Expressionist Paintings and the Matter of Appropriation)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 미술사와 시각문화학회
· 수록지 정보 : 미술사와 시각문화 / 12호 / 170 ~ 191페이지
· 저자명 : 우정아

초록

줄리안 슈나벨(Julian Schnabel, 1951년 생)은 1979년, 깨진 접시를 거대한 캔버스에 무질서하게 붙여 놓은 육중한 회화를 선보이며 뉴욕 미술계에 등장하여, 1980년대를 풍미한 “신표현주의”의 대표주자다. 마침 1960년대부터 ‘70년대까지 미니멀리즘과 개념미술이 주도하던 미술계에서 위기를 맞았던 회화가 경제 호황과 맞물려 되살아나던 시기에 슈나벨은 새로운 회화의 시대를 여는 인물로 손꼽히며 특히 미술 시장에서는 전례 없는 성공을 거두었다. 그러나 “감정”이나 “자아,” “표현” 등의 전통적 가치를 옹호하는 보수적인 비평가들도 슈나벨의 작품 수준을 의심했고, 진보적인 비평가들은 그의 표현주의를 정치적 신보수주의의 반동적 취향으로 치부했다. 본 논문은 회화 외적인 요소들, 즉 과열된 시장, 유명인으로서의 미술가, 회화의 위상 등에 가려 본격적으로 논의되지 않았던 슈나벨의 회화가 관람자에게 주는 시각적, 심리적 효과를 1990년대 이후 슈나벨이 발표했던 그의 영화와 비교하여 분석한 연구이다.

영어초록

In 1979, Julian Schnabel, American artist and filmmaker, first presented his “plate paintings”—large canvases pasted with broken ceramic plates—claiming to have been inspired by the works of the 19th-centurySpanisharchitectAntoniGaudi,amongothers.The“platepaintings”wereimmediatelypraisedandembracedbytheartmarket,underthenotionthattheyheraldedthereturnofexpressivepaintingaftertwodecadesdominatedbyminimalismandconceptualart.Intandemwiththethrivingstockmarketofthe1980s,thepriceofSchnabel’spaintingssoared,achievingnewhighsmonthaftermonth.
Contrary to the unanimous applause from the market, however, art critics were united in their suspicion of Schnabel’s success. While the conservative critics justified Schnabel’s appropriation of the old masters in the context of respecting authority and traditional values, they largely denounced the aesthetic and technical quality of the works. Meanwhile, to the more progressive parties, who embraced post-modernism and post-structuralism in the discourse of contemporary art, Schnabel was a reactionary figure who overtly relied upon antiquated concepts, such as tradition, authority, and the individual hero. Notably, however, the heated debate that arose regarding the status of appropriation, the authority of the artist, and the authenticity of a painting primarily revolved around Schnabel’s persona and his unprecedented success, rather than the works themselves.
In the mid-1990s, after the burst of the art market bubble and the crash of the stock market, Schnabel transitioned into a successful career as a film director. In 2007, for example, he won the best director award from both the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globes for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. While Schnabel’s authority and authenticity as a painter has always been doubted by critics and art historians, he has undoubtedly gained respect and appreciation as a film director.
This study compares various aspects of Schnabel’s paintings—their subject matter, the mode of reception, and their emotional (or even physical) impact on the viewers—with those of his films, especially The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. I argue that the “subject” of Schnabel’s paintings and films is a male “hero” whose life is ensnared in frustration, self-negation, and social alienation, and whose sense of self is badly fragmented by either physical or psychological difficulties. Furthermore, I contend that Schnabel actively attempts to transpose this sense of fragmented self onto the viewer, not only through iconic representation, but also through phenomenological impact.

참고자료

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