부산대학교 도서관

The purpose of this research paper is, starting from the common point of pursuing esthetics as the most basic and original experience in accordance with Zen, to reinterpret Mark Rothko’s paintings, who aimed to go beyond the limitation of duality by considering color-field paintings in Zen’s esthetic point of view, which interpret sensory information with intuition, and express human feelings. In chapter 2, it looks at characteristics of Zen theory, esthetic features of Zen, and Zen applied on modern arts. In chapter 3, it interprets Rothko’s paintings based on Zen theory and esthetic characteristics, after studying his central ideas in his artworks by document research of his philosophy of art and his paintings. Since World War 2, materialism has prevailed, and anxiety, hollowness and skepticism of existentialism have caused artists to thirst for new culture and arts. Eastern Zen theory, which consists of illogical sensibility, esthetic experience, and forms that touch a deep part in human mind, impressed them deeply. Zen’s intuitive creativity leads to Buri(不二) that unite phenomenon and nature, the self and the world, zero and color, and mind and materials as one. This kind of theory had a big influence on modern abstract arts, which might have been a formative path for those who seek artistic alternative to pitiable mind by generating freedom and inner world for them themselves. This writing intended to support Mark Rothko’s argument that color is only a means to deliver subject, which is to represent transcendental experience that overcome human finitude. It analogized human tragic emotion and interpreted in categories of Buri, Isim Jeonsim(以心傳心) and Hoegwang Banjo(回光返照) of Zen and time, speed, flatness and infinity of writing brush. The interpreted artworks were limited to his color-field paintings, which appeared since 1947 among the contradiction between concreteness and supernaturalness. The colors of them were close to atonal, implied religious content, expressed his spiritualty and resulted in communication and union. His pains and understandings expressed in his color-field paintings were interpreted in conjunction with imaging of self-reflection and Buddha’s teachings and aesthetic experience of Zen theory. The purposes of this writing are as follows:To overcome human finitude by Zen theory that had a big influence on Mark Rothko,who intended to put his spirit into artworks.To interpret color-field paintings of him, who wanted ‘real transaction’ between appreciator and artworks.To increase interests of appreciators through artworks that include emotion with mental communication.To emphasize the independent value of creative and natural eastern philosophy that go beyond simple reproduction. To discover how characteristics of Oriental philosophy, which are connotative and implicative, were expressed on Western paintings.