Aims & Scope
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The Korea Association for History of Modern Art (KAHOMA) was established in February 1990 to promote academic research and exchange on the history and theory of modern and contemporary art, at a time when there was no association that professionally researched modern and contemporary art in South Korea. Since its establishment, KAHOMA has been intensely focused on interdisciplinary studies, particularly on modern and contemporary art, which compasses art history, art theory, curatorial and professional fields of art research, and aesthetics. Also, the association contributes to in-depth research and exchange throughout art culture in a wide range of areas, including existing paintings, sculptures, photographs, video, and architecture as well as visual and material cultures, new media, life sciences, curation, and art administration, expanding the scope of traditional art historical research methodology and attempting to relate it to other studies in integral ways. Through regular academic presentations, symposiums, and publications, KAHOMA aims to develop modern and contemporary art history and expand and educate the researcher base of modern and contemporary art history. In particular, the Journal of History of Modern Art, which was first published with the establishment of the association, is a professional journal published twice a year and contains the results of academic research and exchanges that have been led by the association. The association has pioneered a variety of new subjects such as contentious and critical topics (feminism in contemporary art, war and gender issues related to Japanese military sexual slavery, homosexuality and sexual politics, etc.); public topics (food and art, art and competition, public art and biennale, disputes over art markets and museums, etc.); discussions about the relationship between technology and art using cutting edge technology―photographic media, video, digital, bioart, etc.―and so on. Based on these efforts and achievements, the association encourages researchers to engage in ongoing research on modern and contemporary art, while also contributing to the research and education of art history by drawing the attention of subsequent generations to modern and contemporary art history. The association also collaborates on research with scholars from other fields of study and institutions to make diversified approaches to art in the rapidly changing era of the knowledge-based society and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Moreover, it makes continuous efforts to ensure that art history research can be carried out in connection with both high-tech science and technology research and the humanities. Through these efforts, KAHOMA is expanding the prospect of multidisciplinary research about contemporary art of the twenty-first century.