Korean art

Korean art is noted for its traditions in pottery,

music, calligraphy, painting, sculpture, and other
genres, often marked by the use of bold color,
natural forms, precise shape and scale, and surface
decoration.
While there are clear and distinguishing differences
between three independent cultures, there are
significant and historical similarities and interactions
between the arts of Korea, China and Japan.
The study and appreciation of Korean art is still at a
formative stage in the West. Because of Korea’s
position between China and Japan, Korea was seen
as a mere conduit of Chinese culture to Japan.
However, recent scholars have begun to
acknowledge Korea's own unique art, culture and
important role in not only transmitting Chinese
culture but assimilating it and creating a unique
culture of its own. An art given birth to and
developed by a nation is its own art.
Generally, the history of Korean painting is dated to
approximately 108 C.E., when it first appears as an
independent form. Between that time and the
paintings and frescoes that appear on the Goryeo
dynasty tombs, there has been little research.
Throughout the history of Korean painting, there
has been a constant separation of monochromatic
works of black brushwork on very often mulberry
paper or silk; and these are the examples of it
Contemporary art in Korea: The first example of
Western-style oil painting in Korean art was in the
self-portraits of Korean artist Ko Hu i-dong (1886-
1965). Only three of these works still remain today.
these self-portraits impart an understanding of
medium that extends well beyond the affirmation
of stylistic and cultural difference.

by the early twentieth century, the decision to paint

using oil and canvas in Korea had two different
interpretations. One being a sense of
enlightenment due to western ideas and art styles.
This enlightenment derived from an intellectual
movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. Ko had been painting with this method
during a period of Japan's annexation of Korea.
During this time many claimed his art could have
been political, however, he himself stated he was
an artist and not a politician. Ko stated "While I was
in Tokyo, a very curious thing happened. At that
time there were fewer than one hundred Korean
students in Tokyo. All of us were drinking the new
air and embarking on new studies, but there were
some who mocked my choice to study art. A close
friend said that it was not right for me to study
painting in such a time as this."
Korean pottery was recognized as early as 6000
BCE. This pottery was also referred to as comb-
patterned pottery due to the decorative lines
carved onto the outside. early Korean societies
were mainly dependent on fishing. So, they used
the pottery to store fish and other things collected
from the ocean such as shellfish. Pottery had two
main regional distinctions. Those from the East
coast tends to have a flat base, whereas pottery on
the South coast had a round base.
Laotian art
Lao Buddhist sculptures were created in a large
variety of material including gold, silver and most
often bronze. Brick-and-mortar also was a medium
used for colossal images, a famous of these is the
image of Phya Vat (16th century) in Vientiane,
although a renovation completely altered the
appearance of the sculpture, and it no longer
resembles a Lao Buddha. Wood is popular for small,
votive Buddhist images that are often left in caves.
Wood is also very common for large, life-size
standing images of the Buddha.
The most famous two sculptures carved in semi-
precious stone are the following

Nepalese art
The ancient and refined traditional culture of
Kathmandu, for that matter in the whole of Nepal,
is uninterrupted and exceptional meeting of the
Hindu and Buddhist practiced by its highly religious
people. It has also embraced in its fold the cultural
diversity provided by the other religions such as
Jainism, Islam and Christianity.