우에노 나오테루의 미학강의

오랜만에 미학개론 책이 출간되었다. 요즈음에는 어느 분야에서든 개론서가 잘 읽히지 않는다고 한다. 설령 개론서라 할지라도 독자를 확보하기 위해 아니 구매자를 확보하기 위해 화려한 제목을 내걸고 출간되는 경우가 많다. 대학출판부에서 발행하다보니 이 책은 소박하지만 미학개론이라는 이름을 그대로 달고 있는데, 이 땅 최초의 미학강좌라는 부제 가 덧붙어 있는 점이 눈길을 끈다. 이 책은 이 땅에서 최초로 미학개론을 강의한 우에노 나오테루(上野直昭, 1882~1975) 교수의 강의노트를 편역한 것이다. 우에노 나오테루의 강의는 그 존재만이 알려졌을 뿐 구체적인 내용은 드러나지 않았다. 미학이라는 이름으로 강의된 최초의 모습이 어떠했는지 살핌으로써 오늘날의 미학이 우리나라에 처음으로 수입되고 발전된 역사를 되돌아보고자 하는데 그 발간의 의미가 있다고 편역자는 말하고 있다. 그런데 아담한 책이지만 이 책이 이처럼 반듯한 모습으로 세상에 선보일 수 있기까지에는 상당한 노력이 뒤따르지 않으면 안 되었다는 사실을 우리는 새겨보아야 할 것이다. 편역자는 20여 년 전 그가 일본에 연구교수로 체재할 당시 우에노 교수의 영애인 우에노 아키씨로부터 이 책의 바탕이 되는 친필원고인 강의노트를 전해 받고 이 노트가 갖는 학술적의미를 남달리 생각하였다. 그 후 이것을 지인들의 도움을 받아가며 일단 일본어 활자본으로 옮겨 교열하였으며, 이를 다시 우리말로 번역한다음, 출판을 위한 체제의 정비를 가하고, 또 독자를 위한 해제를 덧붙이는 등 여러 가지 수고를 아끼지 않았다

Transformation of Aesthetics : A Preliminary Research for the Establishment of Theory of Art Culture

Recently, we can find frequently the word art culture in ordinary usage, instead of art. There are some reasons for the usage. First of all, the reason is connected with the circumstances of contemporary arts. Avant-garde art is very difficult to understand and not interesting for the general public, on account of its seriousness and narrowness. In other words, the concept of art today has become a jargon which is available only among artists, critics and enthusiastic fans. Therefore, one would like to escape from using the word art. Here, a new compound word art culture has emerged in order to include the fine arts, experimental arts and popular arts. This word is very convenient to comprise something new on which we throw doubt about its genuineness of art. However, the non-prescribed using the word cause to make the concept in vain. Therefore, this paper aims to define clearly the concept and the sphere of art culture. It is significant for considering the future of aesthetics. To carry out this research, we need to inquire into the birth and the transition of the concept of art. And then we would like to suggest the theory of art culture as aesthetics in new age. Many of artists and art theorists have indulged in the ideology of romanticism which highly appreciate art as solemn and serious. Even the supporters of avant-garde movement were not exception. For all that, the elites themselves are deploring the death of art or the blind alley of art. This is the present situation of post-modern. But it is the art captured by the ideology of romanticism such as art for arts sake that which confronted with the end. If we look at the popular arts in enlarged view, we cannot find any symptom of decline. Rather they are proud of prosperity. Etienne Souriau has presented early a diagram of art system in round shape. We should modify his diagram, namely to describe a larger circle, to include popular art, ethnic art or folk art, and our traditional art. We could call them quasi-arts. It is natural that the concept of art should expand to the larger circle, comparing our informational society with the 18th century. So we would like to call the whole circle including Souriaus ones as art culture. By the way, the outer circle of art culture is duplicated with other culture spheres, because of not insisting exclusively the art for arts sake. Art culture is overlapping with the life culture such as food, clothing and shelter and leisure culture such as sport, play and travel. Thus a lot of pleasing art culture including fashion, gardening, gastronomy, circus, magic show, and sightseeing tour could be situated rightly. The modern concept of art has been enlarged and fluctuated during the 20th century. On account of not accepting the new arts, it was requested the extension of the concept and the sphere. The emergence of the concept art culture is the demand of contemporary society. Additionally, we need to consider if the name and the content of aesthetics born in the 18th century is still relevant to our time. Reflecting the history of aesthetics, we came to know there was transition in its substantial content. In the 20th century, the general science of art(allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft) was proposed in Germany instead of traditional aesthetics which has neglected the factual phenomenon of arts. It aims to carry out the various phases of art inclusively, namely the nature of art, the origin of art, creation and reception, and the function of art. In the future, we need to construct the theory of art culture beyond the general science of art, in order to manage rightly the human abundant art culture intersecting with the life culture and leisure culture