Chaekgeori: Multi-Dimensional Messages in Late Joseon Korea

pattern covering over four-fifths of the screen’s surface (Fig. 9). The pattern is not merely a frame for the tabletop scene in the center but is an important design element in its own right. Conventionally this spacious ‘‘background’’ might have been left as negative space, but the leopard spots turn it into positive space, nearly eliminating the concept of negative space altogether. The intermingling of reality and abstraction takes many forms in chaekgeori painting. For example, tabletop chaekgeori artists freely adopted diverse perspecFig. 14. Preliminary Drawing of Scholar’s Accoutrements (Chaekgeori), Korea, 19th century. Eight-panel folding booklet, ink on paper, 69.2 350.5 cm. The Robert and Sandra Mattielli Collection, Oregon, USA. SUNGLIM KIM Chaekgeori 23