Shamanism is one of our racial minds deeply rooted in our people. Regardless of our belief in it, Shamanism is located in our traditional, cultural experiences. This paper is to examine how the paintings of shaman reflect the Korean's view on God, Man, and Nature.
The shaman gods are divided into two groups, those on nature and those on man, but all the shaman gods are supposed to have human body. The number of shaman gods is over 300, and the paintings of them are estimated over 90. The number of paintings in a female shaman's room varies from 15 to 20, and their size is not irregular, varying from 65㎝ to l00㎝. The shaman prays every day and night her wishes for divine ability, before dean water, in the face of the paintings hung on the walls.
Therefore, the paintings of shaman stand for her wishes to be united with gods. The paintings have a function as the object of her wishes to revive her religious, mystic experiences, to fulfill her religious satisfaction, and to rely on strong, divine power. A painter listens to the shaman's story on her gods and represent them through his imagination and artistry. In this process shaman's order plays an important role, but the result is from the painter's imagination and formative ability. The existing paintings, according to the painters, reveal the varieties in shape and technique. There is no same paintings. In late period of Yi Dynasty the painters of shaman might be well-trained painters, or Buddist painters.
The shape of gods in these paintings is abstract rather than realistic in the view of the features of the face and the proportions of the body. Most of shaman gods sit in the right position without activity, and the canvas is structured symmetrically, Exceptional is the shape of Changbu goddess who loves music and play. It shows more activity, and is represented more rhythmically. The color consists of the five elemental colors which contrast in color and darkness to be mellowed into the harmonized beauty. The paintings after the liberation are more spectacular and more contrasting in color compared with the earlier ones. Descendants search for a different color harmony from the harmonized beauty of the ancestors.
Nowadays the copy of the paintings of shaman is used as a stage property, and the actress plays the role of shaman on the stage. They think they can make use of the shaman's playful characteristics. The copy of the paintings is hung even in the shaman's room, because it is cheaper and more convenient to get. The fact implies the change of shaman's consciousness in the modern world. Soon the traditional paintings of shaman will be replaced into new ones in the cyber world.