A Study of Aesthetic Politics on the Well-Timed Value of May 18 Dance

Abstract

This paper provides a new well-timed value by highlighting the reproduction characteristics of the dance genre by examining the form and content of the cultural and artistic medium that participated in the May 18 democratization from an aesthetic political perspective. To this end, this research explains the process that May 18 dance was developed from a simple memorial ceremony to a cultural industry and observes the discourse on the significant value of this genre at this time, which is comprehensively included in the culture and art genre. Introducing Roland Bleiker's aesthetic political thinking, the researcher emphasizes that this theory can be a theoretical alternative to pursuing aesthetics as a cultural product at the same time without losing the politics of reproducing the spirit of protest and union. Lastly, the cases of May 18 dance are re-evaluated in a way that specifically applies aesthetic political thinking while examining them. As a result, it was argued that the limitations of May 18 dance that could not fully reproduce the sacrifice and efforts of Gwangju citizens can be overcome with aesthetic politics based on nonverbality and abstraction, and through this symbolic process, a lasting relationship between suppliers and consumers can be formed. This paper is expected to expand the scope of academic research on May 18 to dance studies, calming concerns about commercialization of performance art genres, including music, art, performances, and exhibitions, at commemorative events.