Almighty painter

Chapter 1015 Off-Campus Star
About half a year ago, around the halfway point of the art exhibition at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Anna Elena successfully completed her master's degree. Ms. Elena ultimately chose to pursue her doctoral studies at the university. Her advisor was Mr. Smith from the same institution, and her academic focus was—

It returned to Anna's old profession: art history and theory.

The doctoral coursework focused more on research, and Mr. Smith was not a strict professor who required students to spend a certain number of hours a day in the library.

Anna spent little time at university and more time on a ranch outside Hamburg.

When Robert met Anna, she was playing tennis with a black and white spotted dog in the ranch.

"I don't like people who are late."

This was the first thing Anna said to Robert.

"I don't like those art critic journalists."

This was Anna's second sentence to Robert.

“I especially dislike Sarah.”

This was Anna's third sentence to Robert. As she spoke, she opened her palm, letting the graceful animal that had run back spit the old tennis ball from its mouth into her hand. She held the tennis ball, turned to look at Robert, and said in a calm, even tone—

"Sarah introduced an art critic, who was late for their first meeting."

she says.

“I must admit, I’m starting to get a tiny bit interested in what’s to come, Mr. Kent. You have two options: either apologize for being late, or prove to me that the rest of the interview was worth the time that was wasted.”

The moment we met.

Miss Elena only needed three sentences to make Robert realize—

"Okay, this is really a cool guy."

……

If interviewing the rising star Gu Weijing is only as difficult as interviewing Sophie Marceau, then interviewing his agent Anna Elena must be roughly equivalent to interviewing the Queen of Great Britain.

The British Royal Family has at least a dedicated external press office and a spokesperson.

Anna?

The request to conduct an interview was sent to a place that was not even known where. All attempts to contact the other party through various means went unanswered.

Robert was the only pebble that caused even the slightest ripple.

He should rightfully feel honored.

Robert also approached this mysterious ranch on the outskirts of Hamburg with the same reverence he would have for Buckingham Palace. Well, considering the appropriate use of metaphor and analogy—Buckingham Palace should be the magnificent Elena Estate—he was a little disappointed that he hadn't been able to visit that building that covered tens of thousands of acres nestled in the Austrian mountains.

But this ranch on the outskirts of Hamburg?

At the very least, it should be comparable to Windsor Palace or Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, a summer retreat for the Queen.

It was definitely worth the trip.

Robert was immediately stunned upon meeting the three-story brick building. It was magnificent and imposing, and the huge cat litter box in the hallway was just as magnificent and imposing, like one meant for a lion.

The valiant hunting dog surrounding the woman looked as if it had jumped out of an oil painting depicting a hunting scene, both magnificent and majestic.

Even the big cow in the pen—

As Robert passed by, he felt that the way the other person looked at him was like that of a bull standing still in a fight.

A tiger lurks in my heart.

Smell the roses.

Magnificent and majestic.

Well... everything mentioned above should just be a reverie that blends the real world and the illusion together under the influence of a strange psychological filter.

Robert found information about the ranch on Google Maps while in his car.

If the destination were the Elena Estate, a massive building with a huge dome, exterior walls covered with various curves, ovals, and wave-like textures, and interior walls filled with frescoes, which was popular in 17th-century Central Europe, and decorated with popular styles from different eras in later times, it might indeed bring Robert endless imagination that is both magnificent and majestic.

But this place is just a small pasture that can be found anywhere in the vast rural areas outside Germany.

Just a few years ago, this place was used as a bed and breakfast, with prices similar to youth hostels. You could stay for a night for very little money. It only had a three-star rating on Airbnb and looked like it could go out of business at any time due to poor management.

The house was an ordinary house, and the rooms were ordinary rooms.

The litter box was an ordinary litter box, and—Robert admitted that perhaps because he didn't understand art well enough—he honestly thought it looked a bit ugly.

Please!

Please, can someone tell me why this shape looks like some kind of weird creature?

Is it a unique surrealist style of form?

Dogs and cows should all be just ordinary dogs and cows, no different from any other dog or cow in the world.

What was unremarkable was the young woman standing in the sunlight, leaning on a cane in front of him.

Robert met with Deckard Anlen and Gu Weijing—he went to each of them with the mindset of meeting a "super genius" or a "super artist".

He also didn't know what a super genius or super artist should be like in normal life.

He imagined he would meet a Superman who wore his underwear on the outside, a domineering CEO with sunglasses, a trench coat, and the air of Keats, Byron, and Hegel, a melancholy poet, or a madman with one ear cut off.

Obviously.

Neither Deckard Anlen nor Gu Weijing were as cool or domineering. Therefore, they were all different, but when they met, Robert felt a similar sense of disappointment.

Before meeting Anna Elena, Robert hoped to meet the No. 1 on the list of powerful figures in the art world, a person who was both beautiful and imposing.

then.

Robert Kent did indeed meet such a magnificent and dignified person.

It was even more intense than he had ever imagined. Like a gem formed from blood and spirit, its luster was so profound that it bathed everything around it in the sunlight.

Robert stood there, completely bewildered.

He racked his brains, trying to come up with a compelling question to start the meeting. He went through all the questions he had prepared, and finally decided that he should just go straight to the formality of apologizing.

After a full three seconds of silence.

Somehow.

Robert tried to continue what had just been said.

"You said...you hate all art critics and journalists."

He swallowed hard. "Yes."

Anna held August's paw, observing how dry the Springer Spaniel's paw pads were in the winter.

"Most of the time, their observations are incredibly annoying; whether it's sarcasm, praise, or simple commentary, it's all filled with affectation. You said you wanted to write a—'a tree-like biography'?"

"Yes Yes."

Robert nodded.

“Take your analogy for example. Artists are trees, and their artworks are the leaves that adorn the branches. When they are on the branches, they are often fresh and green. Some leaves may be eaten by insects, some may turn yellow, and some may curl up due to poor development. But at least, this is still the original posture of a tree’s branches and leaves, the original posture of nature.”

“But after being relayed and interpreted by art critics, it’s like picking all the leaves, drying them, and then artificially spreading them on the road.” Miss Elena looked at the bare branches in the pasture. “The whole piece is full of words like brushstrokes, colors, composition, color relationships, space and depth, and contrast of light and shadow.”

"At first, you might find it fun to walk on it, but after walking on this path for a long time, you will find that in the end, whether it is praise or criticism, it all sounds exactly the same."

"But they always have this arrogant attitude that makes them annoying."

Anna said.

"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose."

This is a poem by American poet Gertrude Stein. The meaning is slightly obscure and difficult to understand. Perhaps it can be roughly translated as: "A rose is a rose, a rose is just a rose."

"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose, once more for Miss Elena (Note)"—this thought crossed Robert's mind.

"A rose is a rose, once again written for Miss Elena."

This line of poetry would make a great title for this interview article.

"It may be an interesting point of view, but..."

Robert blinked. "You yourself are an art critic, an art theorist, a journalist who writes art reviews, aren't you? Just three years ago, you were the art director of one of the world's most important art review publications. Don't you think your assessment just now was a little contradictory?"

The reporter suddenly launched an attack.

He had heard that Miss Elena and her predecessor and successor, Ms. Sarah, did not get along well, and he knew very well that the woman's sarcastic remark was directed at old lady Sarah.

Yet he was still pleased with the little verbal trap he had set.

"Well, this should be considered an excellent question, right?"

Anna raised her face, stroking the big dog's head in her arms while glancing at Robert beside her.

The Springer Spaniel with its large ears immediately bared its teeth at him.

Robert felt a chill run down his spine, as if the other party might smash the big dog's head at any moment... Oh well, maybe he should just apologize directly.

"It's not contradictory."

suddenly.

The woman smiled.

"Because I myself have always been the kind of person who is very self-important, annoying, and likes to offend others."

Anna threw the tennis ball in her hand toward the distant field.

Swish!
The dog next to her immediately stuck out its tongue and rushed out as well.
-
Robert Kent stuck out his tongue and gulped down the bottled water in his backpack.

In yesterday's interview, Mr. Robert asked the young painter why he was so determined to win the "Gold Award" in the Master Project.

Is it because of "honor"?

Is it because—

“Since you entered the art industry, you have never lost a single game. You are always the center of attention, and you always get whatever you want.”

Gu Weijing simply shook his head, letting Robert guess.

just now.

This question was once again placed before Robert, and before he even asked it, he had already received an indisputable affirmative answer.

correct!
Robert is not yet certain whether Anna is the kind of person who is "very pretentious, annoying, and likes to offend others."

But towards the end of the interview, Robert had already confirmed it.

Anna Elena is the one who has never lost a single competition since entering the art world, always shines brightly and attracts everyone's attention, and always gets whatever she wants.

This is almost beyond doubt.

It's not just the arts industry.

In Robert's eyes, Miss Elena had been able to get anything she wanted since birth.

In any contest, the opponent is invincible. Arabs like to say that no one can be an enemy of a lucky person; even if he falls into the sea, a dolphin will lift him up.

She won every battle in her life.

Even when she was kidnapped, bullets seemed to avoid her; even if she fell into the sea, she could come back to life.

"Not to mention it's just a small interview."

Miss Elena won every interview, leaving her opponents utterly helpless and never able to turn the tables.

Even though my identity has changed, the situation is exactly the same.

Normally, the interviewee is the more nervous one in an interview, but in this ranch outside Hamburg, the situation was completely reversed. Miss Elena had no need to worry about whether the interview content would satisfy her, because... Robert was just like a dog that had been ordered to run wildly.

All that was left was to breathe.

The conversation between Robert and Gu Weijing was very relaxed; Robert asked questions, and Gu Weijing answered them.

Anna, on the other hand, firmly controlled the rhythm of the conversation, saying what she wanted to say.

Robert's question—or rather, his struggle—was less about becoming a worthy opponent in the game and more about slowing down the pace of the game, slowing down the rate at which the Queen rampages across the board, swallowing up all his pieces one by one.

Robert reviewed the entire interview he had just finished.

At first, he thought he was the one who had set the trap.

Now he feels that the reason he was able to use that clever language in the first place was simply because Miss Elena allowed him to use that little trick.

The entire conversation, including my own reactions, was planned by the other party.

even--

The same goes for the title he smugly imagined in his mind, "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose, once more for Miss Elena."

(End of this chapter)