In this study textbooks are dealt not as the transmitter of objective truth or indisputable facts, but as a cultural entity or symbol through which multi-faceted perspectives interact with each other: The textbook conveys the needs of the nation, which develops the national curriculum and authorizes textbooks; the perspectives of teachers who interpret the textbook also shape the actual content of textbooks; and the students draw the characteristics and meanings of the subject as they study the textbook. For the analysis of textbooks, the conceptual background was drawn in association with critical theory and multiculturalism. By examining three aspects that affect the content of art textbooks, such as National Art Curriculum, Arts and Culture Education movement, and the notion of tradition, this study seeks a way of viewing the textbook as a channel of communication in the educational field and as a guide for constructing students' art experiences. This study sheds light on the relationship between the textbook and various social? cultural changes, and reviews literature to support the argument that the critical and reflective discourses on the role and function of textbooks in society should precede the microscopic improvement of art textbooks and art education.