The purpose of this study is to rediscover Louis Pal, Chang and to retrace his practical efforts that prepared the foundation for higher modern art education in Korea. ere is not much research about Chang. This is is due to his work, mainly religious paintings of Catholics, that were against the heart of aesthetic discussion at the time of his artistic and eductational activities in Korea, which ended after moving to the U.S. in 1964.
Chang who has been determinedly maintaining his identity as a believer
after being born in a modern Catholic family, had studied paintings and theories since 1919 at many international schools including entering and dropping out from Tokyo Art School, studying at National Academy of Design in New York, and entering and dropping out from Columbia University in the New York City. John Myon, Chang, the brother of Chang, and Jeong–On Chang, the sister of Chang who became a nun, also had connections with Maryknoll mission of American Catholics which is why the Chang brothers selected New York for their study. Chang visited the Vatican after leaving Columbia University and began to teach at Whimoon High School after returning to Korea.
Changs visit to the Vatican brought him a shock. Inspection of the ‹Beatification of 79 Chosun Martyrs› held at the Vatican, being in the audience of the Popes, and viewing St. Peters Basilica and its religious artworks such as architecture, sculptures and paintings became an important turning point of his life. Until the liberation of Korea, he mostly focused on religious works related to Catholicism. Chang sought for changes in the midst of different Eastern and Western arts including the flat and controlled style of Beuron in Germany, tradition of Korean Buddhist art, refined and primitive tradition of Chosun, Baroque art full of emotions, Impressionism and German Expressionism. He showed progressive formative viewpoints through such changes. is unbiased aesthetic viewpoint directly intervened in the process of suggesting the direction of the future of Seoul National Universitys School of Art.
In the chaos of the Korean War, Chang who was designated as the professor and the chair of the division of Art in the College of Art at Seoul National University in 1946, had left Korea as a visiting professor at Minnesota State University. He established a plan to make the division of Art an independent college and fulfilled the plan after he came to Korea. After the division of Art in the College of Art was raised as an independent college in 1953, Chang was appointed as the first dean and focused on establishing a system and a foundation of art. It is clear that the political influence of his brother John Myun Chang, who became the prime minister of the parliamentary system at the same time the 2nd republic was established, had empowered him. Chang resigned from his position as professor and dean and moved to the U.S. by connection with Catholic body in 1964 to focus on his works. ere were no art related visits by him until he passed away in 2001.
Changan an academic approach to art, especially focusing on scientific and systematic research in teaching methods of professors of Seoul National University at that time. He strived to provide an integrated education of not being biased to one in modernity and tradition. Changs educational philosophy of emphasizing practical factors without dividing East and West is significant for giving values as an integrated logic that does not uniformly classify traditional and contemporary.본 연구는 서울대학교 미술대학 초대학장으로서 대한민국 대학미술교육의 초
석을 쌓았으며, 아울러 한국 성화의 개척자로 알려진 우석(雨石) 장발(張勃,
Louis Pal, Chang, 1901–2001)선생을 재조명하는 글이다. 이 논문의 목적은 작
가로서의 그의 작업을 통해 미술사적인 평가를 시도하는 측면도 있지만, 궁극
적으로는 한국 근, 현대 고등미술교육의 근간을 마련한 그의 실천적인 노력들
을 되짚어보는 데 있다. 따라서 이 논문을 통해 그의 업적과 관련한 가시적인 성
과만을 드러내기보다는, 교육자로서의 진면목을 드러내기까지의 일련의 과정
들을 다각도의 관점으로 분석해보고자 한다.
장발에 관한 선행연구는 많지 않다. 필자의 논문과 비슷한 주제로 1996년
정형민 교수가 발표한 장발에 관한 논문이 처음의 본격적인 논문이었다. 정형민은 창작과 교육 사이에서, 미술의 지성적 전문성과 미술인을 지성인으로서
의 사회적 지위로 향상시킨 장본인이 바로 장발이며, 다른 무엇보다도 이것이 그의 핵심 업적임을 주장했다. 필자도 이 주장에 동의한다. 곧이어 서울대학교
대학원 미술이론 전공학생의 석사학위 논문이 장발에 관하여 깊이 있게 다룬 연구이다. 그 이외의 연구는 없다