Evolution of Korean Dansaekhwa Monochrome Painting: Are Contemporary Korean Artists Still Carrying the Torch?

Author

• Mary Anne McCraw

Date

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Art History

Committee Chair

Rebecca Howard

Committee Member

Hamlett Dobbins III

Committee Member

Rebecca Howard

Committee Member

William McKeown

Abstract

The first abstract and uniquely Korean artistic movement to emerge from South Korea, Korean Dansaekhwa is now globally popular and can be considered the embodiment of Korean contemporary art. The original founders developed a practice that was groundbreaking in its significance, involving both a new relationship between art and materials and a distinctly Korean ideology. Dansaekhwa artists in the 1960s and 1970s imbued their painting rituals with an intense study of the materiality of the art tools and supplies, infused it with the Korean meditative practice of ancient ink painting and calligraphy, and immersed it with a connection to nature. This study aims to comparatively analyze the similarities and differences between the works produced by younger contemporary Korean artists practicing in the Dansaekhwa style with the original Dansaekhwa artists’ work, using a social art historical approach.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.”

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest/Clarivate.

Notes

Open Access

Recommended Citation

McCraw, Mary Anne, "Evolution of Korean Dansaekhwa Monochrome Painting: Are Contemporary Korean Artists Still Carrying the Torch?" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive. 4020.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/4020