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A Study on the Material Characteristics and Functionality Evaluation of a Size Layer of a Canvas (캔버스 차단층(Size Layer)의 재료특성 및 기능평가 연구)

  • Kim, Hwan Ju;Lee, Hwa Soo;Chung, Yong Jae
    • Journal of Conservation Science
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    • v.32 no.2
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    • pp.167-178
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    • 2016
  • Despite the size layer is an important part for conserving the artworks in the configuration of oil painting, the conservation scientific approaches of that have not been made yet. Therefore, this study produced standard samples on the basis of the analysis results of oil painting works, and carried out the evaluation of functions of the size layer materials. As a result of literature material, traditionally, animal glue was used for the size layer, whereas synthetic resin have been used in combination with animal glue since the modern age, in particular, it was identified that Polyvinyl Acetate(PVAc) was in general use. As a result of analysis of oil painting works, size layer was detected on the support and it was identified as animal glue. As a result of analysis based on Funaoka canvas for ground, it showed that the lead oxide and the titanium dioxide were the main constituents. On the basis of these results, standard samples were produced. As a result of evaluation on the functions of the size layer materials, in the case of the animal glue, stable result was observed in the shrinkag expansion rate, whereas slight weakness was observed in moisture proofing, color, and tensile strength, and dense cracks were found on surface. As for PVAc(A), moisture proofing, color, and the tensile strength exhibited stable results. Higher shrinkage rate was observed and the cracks with wide gaps were found on surface. As for PVAc(B), tensile strength, shrinkage expansion rate, and surface observation showed stable results, whereas moisture proofing property showed poor results. Different aspects were observed in each experiment, and this phenomena were considered to be due to the density and the adhesion properties between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules in the size layer materials. The results are expected to be used as materials for the oil painting work conservation henceforth.

A Study on the Aesthetic Emotion and Creativity of 'Objet Animation' -Focused on the analysis of 'Objet' type of cultural arts education outcomes- ('오브제(Object) 애니메이션'의 미학적 정서와 창의성에 관한 연구 -문화예술교육 결과물의 '오브제(Object)' 유형 분석을 중심으로-)

  • Kim, Hyun-Young;Kim, Jae-Woong
    • Cartoon and Animation Studies
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    • s.50
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    • pp.43-73
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    • 2018
  • This is a study on 'Objet' in animation culture art education. Research on the use of Objet in modern art is actively under way. From Cubism to Dadaism, Surrealism, Futurism and Pop art, it is no exaggeration to say that the Objet is stepping with modern art. In addition, Objet has a remarkable value in the field of visual arts expressing 'motion' such as kinetic art, video art, media art, and animation. However, there are not many cases of classifying and studying the types of Objets used in artworks. Therefore, this researcher has been influenced by the surrealism discourse and prepared six types of Objets type analysis framework. And the research focused on 'the aesthetic emotion and educational aspect of creativity improvement' of Objet animation was conducted. The type analysis framework is named as a drawing Objet, Objet of existence, a morphine Objet, epidermis Objet, assigned Objet and assemblage Objet and this type is presented and analyzed with case image. The data used in this study was focused on the outcome of Objet animation that were trained for non-experts in culture and arts education. This aesthetic emotion refers to Freud's desire for life (Eros) as Attraction, and desire for death (Thanatos) as Uncanny (fearful unfamiliarity) and explains the conflicting concept with the Animism, the indigenous religion. Next, educational aspects of Objet animation creativity improvement in relation to the term 'functional fixedness' was discussed as described by Gestalt psychologist Karl Duncker (1903-1940). Overcoming the functional fixedness is a phenomenon that is fixed only to the functional aspects of things and can't be changed. In this study, the educational aspect of creativity improvement was demonstrated as a case of overcoming the functional fixedness through 'Objet Animation' culture and art education. Ultimately, this study is to prove the aesthetic emotion and creativity of the Objet animation by analyzing Objet types. Furthermore, it is meaningful to suggest direction when using 'Objet Animation' in culture and arts education.

Rethinking Korean Women's Art from a Post-territorial Perspective: Focusing on Korean-Japanese third generation women artists' experience of diaspora and an interpretation of their work (탈영토적 시각에서 볼 수 있는 한국여성미술의 비평적 가능성 : 재일동포3세 여성화가의 '디아스포라'의 경험과 작품해석을 중심으로)

  • Suh, Heejung
    • The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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    • no.14
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    • pp.125-158
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    • 2012
  • After liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, there was the three-year period of United States Army Military Government in Korea. In 1948, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Republic of Korea were established in the north and south of the Korean Peninsula. The Republic of Korea is now a modern state set in the southern part of the Korean. We usually refer to Koreans as people who belong to the Republic of Korea. Can we say that is true exactly? Why make of this an obsolete question? The period from 1945 when Korea was emancipated from Japanese colonial rule to 1948 when the Republic of Korea was established has not been a focus of modern Korean history. This three years remains empty in Korean history and makes the concept of 'Korean' we usually consider ambiguous, and prompts careful attention to the silence of 'some Koreans' forced to live against their will in the blurred boundaries between nation and people. This dissertation regards 'Koreans' who came to live in the border of nations, especially 'Korean-Japanese third generation women artists'who are marginalized both Japan and Korea. It questions the category of 'Korean women's art' that has so far been considered, based on the concept of territory, and presents a new perspective for viewing 'Korean women's art'. Almost no study on Korean-Japanese women's art has been conducted, based on research on Korean diaspora, and no systematic historical records exist. Even data-collection is limited due to the political situation of South and North in confrontation. Representation of the Mother Country on the Artworks by First and Second-Generation Korean-Japanese(Zainich) Women Artists after Liberation since 1945 was published in 2011 is the only dissertation in which Korean-Japanese women artists, and early artistic activities. That research is based on press releases and interviews obtained through Japan. This thesis concentrates on the world of Korean-Japanese third generation women artists such as Kim Jung-sook, Kim Ae-soon, and Han Sung-nam, permanent residents in Japan who still have Korean nationality. The three Korean-Japanese third generation women artists whose art world is reviewed in this thesis would like to reveal their voices as minorities in Japan and Korea, resisting power and the universal concepts of nation, people and identity. Questioning the general notions of 'Korean women' and 'Korean women's art'considered within the Korean Peninsula, they explore their identity as Korean women outside the Korean territory from a post-territorial perspective and have a new understanding of the minority's diversity and difference through their eyes as marginal women living outside the mainstream of Korean and Japanese society. This is associated with recent post-colonial critical viewpoints reconsidering myths of universalism and transcendental aesthetic measures. In the 1980s and 1990s art museums and galleries in New York tried a critical shift in aesthetic discourse on contemporary art history, analyzed how power relationships among such elements as gender, sexuality, race, nationalism. Ghost of Ethnicity: Rethinking Art Discourses of the 1940s and 1980s by Lisa Bloom is an obvious presentation about the post-colonial discourse. Lisa Bloom rethinks the diversity of race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender each artist and critic has, she began a new discussion on artists who were anti-establishment artists alienated by mainstream society. As migration rapidly increased through globalism lead by the United States the aspects of diaspora experience emerges as critical issues in interpreting contemporary culture. As a new concept of art with hybrid cultural backgrounds exists, each artist's cultural identity and specificity should be viewed and interpreted in a sociopolitical context. A criticism started considering the distinct characteristics of each individual's historical experience and cultural identity, and paying attention to experience of the third world artist, especially women artists, confronting the power of modernist discourses from a perspective of the white male subject. Considering recent international contemporary art, the Korean-Japanese third generation women artists who clarify their cultural identity as minority living in the border between Korea and Japan may present a new direction for contemporary Korean art. Their art world derives from their diaspora experience on colonial trauma historically. Their works made us to see that it is also associated with postcolonial critical perspective in the recent contemporary art stream. And it reminds us of rethinking the diversity of the minority living outside mainstream society. Thus, this should be considered as one of the features in the context of Korean women's art.

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A Convergence Study for the Academic Systematization of Cartoon-animation (만화영상학의 학문적 체계화를 위한 융합적 연구)

  • Lim, Jae-Hwan
    • Cartoon and Animation Studies
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    • s.43
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    • pp.285-320
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    • 2016
  • Cartoons and Animation are convergent arts created with a composite application of language arts described in the form of literary texts and sounds, plastic arts visualized in the form of artistic paintings, and film arts produced in the form of moving pictures. An academic university major in cartoons and animation studies established in late 20th century however, did not satisfactorily meet the needs in academic research and development and the free expression of artistic creation was limited. In order to systematize the major in cartoons and animation studies, an convergent approach to establish and clarify following are in demand : the terms and definitions, the historical developments, the research areas and methods, the major education and related jobs and start-ups. New culture and arts industries including cartoons, animation, moving images, and games contents are not yet listed in the industries listing service jointly provided online by the portal site Naver.com and Hyung-Seol publishing company. Above all, cartoons and animation are inseparably related to each other that even if one uses the term separately and independently, the meaning may not be complete. So a new combined term "Animatoon" can be established for the major in cartoons and animation studies and also used for its degree with concentrations of cartoons, animation, moving images, games, and etc. In the Introduction, a new combined term Animatoon is defined and explained the use of this term as the name of the major and degree in cartoons and animation studies. In the body, first, the Historical Developments classified Animatoon in the ancient times, the medieval times, and the modern times and they are analyzed with the help of esthetics and arts using examples of mural frescos, animal painting, religion cartoons, caricatures, cartoons, satire cartoons, comics, animation, 2 or 3 dimensional webtoons, and K-toons. Second, the Research Areas of Animatoon reviewed the theories, genres, artworks, and artists and the Research Methods of Animatoon presented the curriculum that integrated the courses in humanities, science technologies, culture and arts, and etc. Third, the Major Education considered Animatoon education in children, young adults, students of the major and the Related Jobs and Start-Ups explored various jobs relating to personal creation of artwork and collective production of business-oriented artwork. In the Conclusion, the current challenges of Animatoon considered personalization of the artists, specialization of the contents, diversification of the types, and liberalization of the art creation. And the direction of improvement advocated Animatoon to be an academic field of study, to be an art, to be a culture, and to be an industry. The importance of cartoons and animation along with videos and games rose in the 21st century. In order for cartoons and animation to take a leading role, make efforts in studying Animatoon academically and also in developing Animatoon as good contents in the cultural industries.

Study for making movie poster applied Augmented Reality (증강현실 영화포스터 제작연구)

  • Lee, Ki Ho
    • Cartoon and Animation Studies
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    • s.48
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    • pp.359-383
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    • 2017
  • 3,000 years ago, since the first poster of humanity appeared in Egypt, the invention of printing technique and the development of civilization have accelerated the poster production technology. In keeping with this, the expression of poster has also been developed as an attempt to express artistic sensibility in a simple arrangement of characters, and now it has become an art form that has become a domain of professional designers. However, the technological development in the expression of poster is keep staying in two-dimensional, and is dependent on printing only that it is irrelevant to the change of ICT environment based on modern multimedia. Especially, among the many kinds of posters, the style of movie posters, which are the only objects for video, are still printed on paper, and many attempts have been made so far, but the movie industry still does not consider ICT integration at all. This study started with the feature that the object of the movie poster dealt with the video and attempted to introduce the augmented reality to apply the dynamic image of the movie to the static poster. In the graduation work of the media design major of a university in Korea, the poster of each works for promoting the visual work of the students was designed and printed in the form of a commercial film poster. Among them, 6 artworks that are considered to be suitable for augmented reality were selected and augmented reality was introduced and exhibited. Content that appears matched to the poster through the mobile device is reproduced on a poster of a scene of the video, but the text informations of the original poster are kept as they are, so that is able to build a moving poster looked like a wanted from the movie "Harry Potter". In order to produce this augmented reality poster, we applied augmented reality to posters of existing commercial films produced in two different formats, and found a way to increase the characteristics of AR contents. Through this, we were able to understand poster design suitable for AR representation, and technical expression for stable operation of augmented reality can be summarized in the matching process of augmented reality contents production.

Effect of Cognitive Affordance of Interactive Media Art Content on the Interaction and Interest of Audience (인터랙티브 미디어아트 콘텐츠의 인지적 어포던스가 관람자의 인터랙션과 흥미에 미치는 영향)

  • Lee, Gangso;Choi, Yoo-Joo
    • KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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    • v.5 no.9
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    • pp.441-450
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    • 2016
  • In this study, we investigate the effect of the level of cognitive affordance which explains an explicit interaction method on the interest of viewers. Viewer's recognition of the interaction method is associated with cognitive affordance as a matter of visual-perceptual exposure of the input device and viewer's cognition of it. The final goal of the research on affordance is to enhance the audience participation rather than the smooth interation. Many interactive media artworks have been designed with hiding the explicit explanation to the artwork due to worry that the explicit explanation may also hinder the induction of impressions leading the viewer to an aesthetic experience and the retainment of interest. In this context, we set up two hypotheses for study on cognitive affordance. First, the more explicit the explanation of interaction method is, the higher the viewer' understanding of interaction method is. Second, the more explicit the explanation of interaction method is, the lower the interest of the viewer is. An interactive media art work was manufactured with three versions which vary in the degree of visual-perceptual information suggestion and we analyzed the participation and interest level of audience in each version. As a result of the experiments, the version with high explicitness of interaction was found to have long time spent on watching and high participation and interest of viewers. On the contrary, the version with an unexplicit interaction method was found to have low interest and satisfaction of viewers. Therefore, regarding usability, the hypothesis that a more explicit explanation of interaction would lower the curiosity and interest in exploration of the viewer was dismissed. It was confirmed that improvement of cognitive affordance raised the interaction of the work of art and interest of the viewer in the proposed interactive content. This study implies that interactive media art work should be designed in view of that the interaction and interest of audience can be lowered when cognitive affordance is low.

The Method of the Cultivation of Taste and the Possibility of the Edification of Personality & the Cultural Development Through It: The Approach to Analyzing the Examples of the Judgment of Negative Taste in Kant's Critique of Judgment(§§32-33) (취미 도야의 방식과 이를 통한 인성의 교화 및 문화발전의 가능성: 칸트의 『판단력비판』 §§32-33 부정적 취미판단의사례 분석을 중심으로)

  • Yang, Hee-Jin
    • Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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    • no.117
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    • pp.139-167
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    • 2017
  • This essay attempts to reveal how taste spontaneously cultivates and why it is necessary for cultivating taste to edify our personality and to develop culture. It is a key of the solution of the problems that taste always reflects its judgment through pleasure. Because the grounds of the universal validity of the judgment of taste are found, whenever taste tests the validity of its own judgment, the so-called 'delight of discovery' makes taste cultivate itself. For having the moral personality, we need to practice spontaneously the morality of our own behaviour and for judging whether an artwork to represent the period is succeeded or not, we need to have a high insight to select the cultural heritage. But the autonomous thinking can delightfully be made a habit, judging the beauty of artworks. In the main body of this essay, it is determined from the three examples of the negative judgment of taste which Kant suggested in deduction. According to Kant, the negative judgment of taste means that the beautiful work is displeased, but what it asserts is that taste is cultivated. I formalize the methods of reflection of taste revealed in three negative judgments of taste into'resisting', 'indicating of error', 'self-retracting'.(Chapter 2) And from this, I emphasize the necessity to cultivate taste in the way that these methods of the cultivation of taste can affect building our personality by stimulating our reason to have interest in moral(Chapter 3) and in the way that taste directly judges the product of cultural succession.(Chapter 4) In the end of last chapter, I examine further essentially the method of the reflection of taste, to inquire into how to enable it.(Chapter 5) Especially, I try to illuminate its grounds through Schiller's concept of the "impulse of amusement(Spieltrib)", because his explanation helps us to understand the dynamics of taste's delight of discovery. Although the abilities of mind conflict with each other, taste has the characters that it reflects to encourage them for each other and that it is vitalized by its own activity. We, as it were, can pleasantly handle two tasks, because taste makes the impulse of amusement from conflictive impulses in mind. In conclusion, I state that we have to experience directly the impulse of amusement like creative artist, because it is maximized from creation.

A Study on the Construction Date of the Five-story Stone Pagoda at the Dongsa-ri Temple Site in Buyeo (부여 동사리사지(東寺里寺址) 오층석탑 건립 연대 고찰)

  • Kang, Samhye
    • MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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    • v.99
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    • pp.50-71
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    • 2021
  • The Five-story Stone Pagoda from the Dongsa-ri Temple Site in Buyeo, dated to early Goyeo Dynasty, is valuable in that it is the southernmost example of the capital Kaesong pagoda style. This pagoda exhibits characteristics of the central Goryeo style featured in the pagodas built in and around the capital Kaesong, such as the diagonally curved section of the support for the cover stone above the upper stereobate. It also shares stylistic affinities with eleventh-century stone pagodas. The ansangmun (elephant eye patterns) in the lower stereobate of the Dongsa-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda resemble those in the pedestal of the Stone Seated Buddha (which was likely repaired in 1028 during the reign of King Hyeonjong), at the Jeongrimsa Temple site in Buyeo. It also reflects elements found in the flagpole supports from the Cheonheungsa Temple site in Cheonan. The sculpting techniques used in these patterns are also similar. Such congruencies suggest that the Dongsa-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda was built in the eleventh century. The Dongsa-ri Temple Site in Buyeo, located near the Geumgang River, served as a principal route for transporting grain-tax during the Goryeo Dynasty. It was also situated along the way to the Goryeo royal temple, Gaetaesa Temple. The geographical significance of the site and the extensive repairs undertaken at Jeongrimsa Temple during the reign of King Hyeonjong (r. 1009-1031) of the Goryeo Dynasty appear to have impacted the production of the Dongsa-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda. The Dongsa-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda also bears stylistic resemblances to the stone pagoda and flagpole supports found at neighboring Cheonheungsa Temple, which is presumed to be related to the establishment of Honggyeongsa (or Honggyeongwon) Temple in 1021 in Cheonan. This indicates the route of the transmission of the Kaesong pagoda style. The Five-story Stone Pagoda from the Dongsa-ri Temple Site pays testimony to the cultural accomplishments of eleventh-century stone artworks in Buyeo and adjacent regions. This pagoda embodies the majestic and assertive aesthetics that define of the Goryeo Dynasty, as do early Goryeo colossal Buddhist sculptures, including the Stone Standing Maitreya Bodhisattva at Daejosa Temple in Buyeo, the Stone Standing Buddha Triad at Gaetaesa Temple in Nonsan, and the Stone Standing Maitreya Bodhisattva at Gwanchoksa Temple in Nonsan. All of these bear similarities to the massive stone lantern and pagoda at Hyeonhwasa Temple in the capital Kaesong. The production of the light, sleek, sharp, and sophisticated Dongsa-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda is presumed to reflect the maturity of the cultural competence of the people in Dongsa-ri, Buyeo under the influence of Buddhist culture from the capital Kaesong during the eleventh century, a time marked by active cultural exchanges among regions.

Research on the revitalization of Japanese artworks: Focus on Japan Advanced Art Museum Policy (일본의 문화경제전략과 미술품 유동성 활성화에 관한 연구 - 문화청의 선진미술관 정책 추진을 중심으로 -)

  • Chu, Min-Hee
    • Korean Association of Arts Management
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    • no.51
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    • pp.135-166
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    • 2019
  • Recently, the Japan Cultural Agency announced a plan for revitalizing the art market represented by reading museums (advanced art museums) to promote industry through strengthening the sustainability and economics of art museums. Along with these policy announcements, the Japanese cultural system and Bypyeongje are divided into pros and cons, and there has been a heightened opposition, which is now in a state where policy promotion has been temporarily suspended. The opposite reason is that it does not meet the museum's inherent purpose of preservation and lore, and the reason for favoring that commercialism can ruin the art world is that the Japanese art society is other than art museums and museums Also, it consists of non-profit organizations, art festival administration organizations, support staff, volunteers, etc., but because of the high subsidy bias, no real labor costs are paid, which means that it is virtually neglected. Also, there is a vigilance that the art society itself, which reduces its reliance on subsidies in response to social changes, can survive. Seeing that the situation is not much different from Japan, Korea is also actively discussing new establishments of the National Art Bank, performing art appraisal and evaluation functions for revitalizing art works, art loan, art trust, etc. There is. As it is difficult to solve realistic problems with subsidies from the future situation, it is difficult for us to expand investment in culture, and culture and economy are united and linked. You will find a plan to make it operational. In this regard, it is thought that the examination of the cultural and economic agency's strategy, represented by the Japanese advanced art museums, gives us a meaningful suggestion.

The State Hermitage Museum·Northwest University for Nationalities·Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House, 2018 (아라사국립애이미탑십박물관(俄羅斯國立艾爾米塔什博物館)·서북민족대학(西北民族大學)·상해고적출판사(上海古籍出版社) 편(編) 『아장구자예술품(俄藏龜玆藝術品)』, 상해고적출판사(上海古籍出版社), 2018 (『러시아 소장 쿠차 예술품』))

  • Min, Byung-Hoon
    • MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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    • v.98
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    • pp.226-241
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    • 2020
  • Located on the right side of the third floor of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the "Art of Central Asia" exhibition boasts the world's finest collection of artworks and artifacts from the Silk Road. Every item in the collection has been classified by region, and many of them were collected in the early twentieth century through archaeological surveys led by Russia's Pyotr Kozlov, Mikhail Berezovsky, and Sergey Oldenburg. Some of these artifacts have been presented around the world through special exhibitions held in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Korea, Japan, and elsewhere. The fruits of Russia's Silk Road expeditions were also on full display in the 2008 exhibition The Caves of One Thousand Buddhas - Russian Expeditions on the Silk Route on the Occasion of 190 Years of the Asiatic Museum, held at the Hermitage Museum. Published in 2018 by the Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House in collaboration with the Hermitage Museum, Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia introduces the Hermitage's collection of artifacts from the Kuche (or Kucha) region. While the book focuses exclusively on artifacts excavated from the Kuche area, it also includes valuable on-site photos and sketches from the Russian expeditions, thus helping to enhance readers' overall understanding of the characteristics of Kuche art within the Buddhist art of Central Asia. The book was compiled by Dr. Kira Samosyuk, senior curator of the Oriental Department of the Hermitage Museum, who also wrote the main article and the artifact descriptions. Dr. Samosyuk is an internationally renowned scholar of Central Asian Buddhist art, with a particular expertise in the art of Khara-Khoto and Xi-yu. In her article "The Art of the Kuche Buddhist Temples," Dr. Samosyuk provides an overview of Russia's Silk Road expeditions, before introducing the historical development of Kuche in the Buddhist era and the aspects of Buddhism transmitted to Kuche. She describes the murals and clay sculptures in the Buddhist grottoes, giving important details on their themes and issues with estimating their dates, and also explains how the temples operated as places of worship. In conclusion, Dr. Samosyuk argues that the Kuche region, while continuously engaging with various peoples in China and the nomadic world, developed its own independent Buddhist culture incorporating elements of Gandara, Hellenistic, Persian, and Chinese art and culture. Finally, she states that the culture of the Kuche region had a profound influence not only on the Tarim Basin, but also on the Buddhist grottoes of Dunhuang and the central region of China. A considerable portion of Dr. Samosyuk's article addresses efforts to estimate the date of the grottoes in the Kuche region. After citing various scholars' views on the dates of the murals, she argues that the Kizil grottoes likely began prior to the fifth century, which is at least 100 years earlier than most current estimates. This conclusion is reached by comparing the iconography of the armor depicted in the murals with related materials excavated from the surrounding area (such as items of Sogdian art). However, efforts to date the Buddhist grottoes of Kuche must take many factors into consideration, such as the geological characteristics of the caves, the themes and styles of the Buddhist paintings, the types of pigments used, and the clothing, hairstyles, and ornamentation of the depicted figures. Moreover, such interdisciplinary data must be studied within the context of Kuche's relations with nearby cultures. Scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating could also be applied for supplementary materials. The preface of Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia reveals that the catalog is the first volume covering the Hermitage Museum's collection of Kuche art, and that the next volume in the series will cover a large collection of mural fragments that were taken from Berlin during World War II. For many years, the whereabouts of these mural fragments were unknown to both the public and academia, but after restoration, the fragments were recently re-introduced to the public as part of the museum's permanent exhibition. We look forward to the next publication that focuses on these mural fragments, and also to future catalogs introducing the artifacts of Turpan and Khotan. Currently, fragments of the murals from the Kuche grottoes are scattered among various countries, including Russia, Germany, and Korea. With the publication of this catalog, it seems like an opportune time to publish a comprehensive catalog on the murals of the Kuche region, which represent a compelling mixture of East-West culture that reflects the overall characteristics of the region. A catalog that includes both the remaining murals of the Kizil grottoes and the fragments from different parts of the world could greatly enhance our understanding of the murals' original state. Such a book would hopefully include a more detailed and interdisciplinary discussion of the artifacts and murals, including scientific analyses of the pigments and other materials from the perspective of conservation science. With the ongoing rapid development in western China, the grotto murals are facing a serious crisis related to climate change and overcrowding in the oasis city of Xinjiang. To overcome this challenge, the cultural communities of China and other countries that possess advanced technology for conservation and restoration must begin working together to protect and restore the murals of the Silk Road grottoes. Moreover, centers for conservation science should be established to foster human resources and collect information. Compiling the data of Russian expeditions related to the grottoes of Kuche (among the results of Western archaeological surveys of the Silk Road in the early twentieth century), Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia represents an important contribution to research on Kuche's Buddhist art and the Silk Road, which will only be enhanced by a future volume introducing the mural fragments from Germany. As the new authoritative source for academic research on the artworks and artifacts of the Kuche region, the book also lays the groundwork for new directions for future studies on the Silk Road. Finally, the book is also quite significant for employing a new editing system that improves its academic clarity and convenience. In conclusion, Dr. Kira Samosyuk, who planned the publication, deserves tremendous praise for taking the research of Silk Road art to new heights.