Mapping a Graphic Genome: A Cross-Cultural Comparison between Korean and Japanese Graphic Designers

Abstract

In this paper, the author proposes substitution of the biotechnical term genome for the aesthetic term style. The author does so in order to argue that a graphic designer’s style is not purely an independent representation in visual form of factors interacting with free will, individual beliefs and personal talents. To use Michael Polyanyi’s words, style is also influenced by tacit knowing, by the phylo-genetic factors embedded in a cultural context. The author posits that just as a map of genome — the collection of genes and chromosomes — explain the life structure and condition of an organism, it would be possible to trace a cultural genome by identifying designers’ thoughts and actual works. What kinds of historical contexts, subject matters and inner logics are interwoven in the works of contemporary Korean and Japanese graphic designers? In what ways can such interrelated conditions and perceptions be compared and related to one another? For specific analyses in this paper, the author uses selected works by designers who participated in the exhibition, "Contemporary East Asian Typographic Arts," held at the Seoul Art Center in late fall, 1999. The designers included in the exhibition are deemed well suited for this research, since the organizing committee of the exhibition carefully selected representative designers from Japan, China and Korea. Unfortunately no critical interpretation came out of this exhibit. The fact that it opened and closed without receiving criticism reflects the state of the field, which in Thomas Kuhn’s words, remain in a pre-paradigmatic state. That is, it is a field of knowledge without a shared view of its concerns, common models of action and judgment and a baseline from which to evaluate particular exploration. From this missing inquiry, the issue of mapping a graphic genome emerges.