This study focuses on the Koreanness represented in Ha In-doo’s work in the 1970-80s. In Korean modern art history, Ha was frequently mentioned only in the Informel Art which was specified through the Modern Art Association, but the research on his activity in the 1970-80s was never focused thoroughly. This is because Korean art in the 1970-80s was concentrated on monochrome painting and Minjung Art, and artists whom created abstract art with vibrant colors like Ha were extricated from the historical context. This study examines the Koreanness which Ha had explored in the 1970-80s.
Korean modern artists in the 1970-80s were deeply interested in the ‘Koreanness’ or ‘something Korean.’ Korea politically brainwashed people with nationalism after liberation, therefore a notion of nationalism was shaped in the artists’ consciousness, and creating Korean art through succeeding tradition to modern was spreading fast. As Ha too was one of those artists who grew up from this social atmosphere, he tried to inherit a tradition to represent the Koreanness in his work as well as other artists of the same generation. However, while artists like Park Seo-bo, Youn Myeung-ro, Jeong Chang-seop, Chung Sang-hwa, and many others achieved Korean monochrome abstract painting, Ha sought for vibrant colors of abstract art. Unlike monochrome painters those whom concentrated on speculative scenes with ascetic tone of colors, Ha created dynamic pictures with vibrant colors like Obangsaek. Although, it is hard to assure if Ha tried to find a different way from monochrome painting on purpose or not, it could be understood that his achievement is from working in Europe while other artists of the same generation were only accomplishing their positions in Japan.
As a consequence, seeking the Koreanness in the 1970-80s was not because Ha was fallen for the nation-ideology, but rather he believed that possessing originality beyond the western formative language is a key to become an international artist. Ha found its originality in Buddhism ; it is actually more related to that of oriental than that of something Korean, but Ha never considered deeply about this matter because he was more focused on working internationally and gaining internationality as he had several solo exhibitions in Europe. Koreans have believed in Buddhism for a long time and it has always existed in our lives that Ha probably was conscious of Buddhism as just one of our traditions. However, he never limited his work in the matter of the Koreanness one to two years before his death from cancer. Rather, his later works gained a transcendent internationality beyond the Koreanness as he had given his competence through his countless studies, explorations, and observations.