The T ransition of “Sublime Vulgarity” : The Artistic Conception in Akutagawa’s Middle Works

DOI IR IR (HANDLE) Open Access

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 「荘厳なる俗悪」の変遷 : 芥川龍之介の中期作品における芸術観

Description

Around 1922, Akutagawa's views on art changed dramatically because of his experiences in China. As a result, he showed a tendency to negate his own conventional art style. His criticism of Chinoiserie and of the elitism of connoisseur's taste for its disregard of Naniwabushi are good examples of this. However, few previous studies have linked the influence of his travel to China to works that are not related to China, especially criticism of the connoisseur of fine arts. This article focuses on Akutagawa's changes in the middleperiod (1921-1924) and positions his criticism of the connoisseur's taste as a response to the reality of proletarian masses. By focusing on Akutagawa's term 'sublime vulgarity' (荘厳なる俗悪), I argue that Akutagawa attempted to deconstruct the dichotomy between vulgar and conventional art, and he did so to explore new artistic possibilities. Furthermore, this study argues that later in his career, Akutagawa removed the idea of vulgarity from the concept of 'sublime v ulgarity,' and used the idea of sublimity to point toward a form of proletarian literature. Additionally, by examining the term 'sublime vulgarity' critically from the angles of work analysis and Naniwabushi studies, this article tries to show that Akutagawa had a limited understanding of the proletarian society. This article's main conclusion is that the barely compatible combination of the realistic forces of proletarian masses and his classical view of art are the key features of Akutagawa's middle-period literature.

Journal

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top