Almighty painter

Chapter 695 Coincidence (Two in One)

Every time Lao Yang appears on various occasions, he always has a sense of being the first to make a splash.

Before the people arrive, the sound comes first.

When Liu Ziming heard Yang Dekang's greasy voice calling him "brother", he turned around and saw Yang's even greasy face.

Liu Ziming is also a well-informed person.

He had seen people who dressed fashionably at gatherings of young artists, and he could treat a truly noble person like Miss Elena with ease.

But when he saw Lao Yang, he couldn't help but take a small step back.

Teacher Yang is dressed very elegantly today!

He had obviously just gotten off a long-haul flight and was dressed casually.

Sneakers, baseball cap, brown leather belt.

But the combination is not ambiguous at all.

The knitted black and white spotted gown was only loosely fastened with one button in the middle. It swayed along with the golden shield emblem of the Porsche key on the belt buckle as Lao Yang walked.

A small strand of hair appeared from under the hat, forming unruly little curls.

"Brother Liu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. What a coincidence, what a coincidence, Miss Elena, you're here too!"

He strolled over.

Lao Yang put the magazine in his arms on the coffee table in the lounge area, licked his face and shook hands with Miss Anna.

Then he opened his arms and gave Liu Ziming a warm hug.

"What are you..."

Liu Ziming loosened his arms and looked at Lao Yang, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What? Is it weird? Versace's men's perfume is said to have the scent of sage. I spent a long time shopping for it. Could it be that it smells a little too strong? Don't scare me. I'm also going to wear this when I attend the artist party."

Old Yang withdrew his arm and noticed Liu Ziming's eyes, so he sniffed and sniffed his clothes hard.

"It's okay. It really shows off my masculine power." He secretly glanced at Miss Elena next to him and commented in a low voice.

"What do you say?"

"This is called the smart-casual dressing style. It's about getting rid of constraints and being very stylish." Lao Yang patted the hem of his clothes.

Old Yang was still a little worried.

In the art world, if an assistant like him wants to make a lot of money, he mainly relies on his connections.

It would be fine if Mr. Liu, one of our own, was the only one here today.

But I was pleasantly surprised to meet an important figure like the head of the Elena family.

Lao Yang still pays great attention to the construction of his personal image. He wants to show his best and most elegant side and leave a good impression in front of the Countess.

The opportunity is rare.

Lao Yang is the smartest.

He has a clear mind, what does he rely on to survive in the art circle? People like him don't have any personal works, so he can't let his works speak for him.

It definitely depends on personal image!

An assistant's personal image is his or her "art work".

Don’t even mention building connections in the art circle.

Even the elegant and graceful empress dowager in the ancient palace liked to choose handsome and smart eunuchs when choosing their personal eunuchs!

It’s the same principle inside.

In front of Miss Elena, Lao Yang always felt that his best joke-telling skills were gone by 90%.

Then personal image becomes more important.

He pulled Liu Ziming, walked over with small steps, and twisted his body in front of the dressing mirror next to the sofa, then expressed his satisfaction.

"What about the hair?"

Liu Ziming's eyes fell on the curly bangs under Lao Yang's baseball cap. He didn't remember that Mr. Cao's assistant had such big natural curls in his hair.

"I just permed it. At my age, I will look old if I don't style it up. I designed my own style. Do you know Jamie Dornan? He is the sexy and domineering male president in the movie. His style is exactly the same as mine. It's so trendy!"

Liu Ziming opened his mouth.

He originally wanted to say that he could introduce Lao Yang to a stylist he had worked with before.

But when he looked at it carefully, he had to admit...

"This is really not a question of clothing taste."

It is obvious that Lao Yang has put a lot of effort into this outfit, which is designed from head to toe, but it looks casual. When he took out the clothes, each one was really decent and elegant.

This is probably really just some kind of personal talent, right?

Miss Elena is in a wheelchair. She just got off the plane. She is wearing the simplest casual clothes, but she looks like she is going to walk on the red carpet.

But Lao Yang, who was standing next to him, was able to make the trendy outfits of celebrities walking on the red carpet look like they had just rolled over twenty times in joy on the lawn.

This kind of thing is really unreasonable.

Generally speaking.

If you don't know what to wear, it's a good choice for men to wear clothes with simpler colors, which are not dazzling, and are more solemn and simple.

But Lao Yang.

Liu Ziming recalled the image of Lao Yang walking on the street wearing various kinds of clothes.

then.

In his mind appeared the vivid images of many small animals, including the simple-colored tiger-striped doll, the solemn and simple Sichuan hound, the brown short-haired Chihuahua, the sleek lion dog, and so on.

Suddenly, Liu Ziming believed it.

This outfit now has really been carefully designed.

He swallowed the words on the tip of his throat again and gave a thumbs up instead.

"Yeah, tide."

Master Liu nodded.

Forget it.

I have a pretty good relationship with that stylist and we have been working together for so many years. Why shouldn't I leave him some room and destroy his reputation?

"What about the old man? How is he doing there?"

Liu Ziming changed the subject.

Compared to Lao Yang's trendy outfits, he cares more about his teacher.

"Old man? Him? He's at the back. Mr. Cao's legs are a little slower, so Miss Zhou is accompanying him. Mr. Cao asked me to come out first and meet you here. Don't worry."

"No... that's not what I'm talking about."

Liu Ziming shook his head slightly.

"What I'm asking is—"

The square-faced man's voice suddenly became very low, "Old Yang, in your opinion, has the old man made up his mind? Is there no other possibility?"

Old Yang was stunned for a moment.

He knew what the other party wanted to ask.

Old Yang's little eyes rolled around several times, and in an instant, several thoughts flashed through his mind.

But in the end.

The assistant could only shrug.

"Just call me Brother Yang."

Among Mr. Cao's disciples, Old Yang is only a few months older than Tang Ning.

He is a few years younger than Liu Ziming.

"You want to ask this -" Old Yang curled his lips, "How can I be sure of the old man's thoughts? But we are brothers. Brother Liu, I won't say anything polite to you. If you really want to ask my opinion, then I have to say what's in my heart. I think... this matter is reliable."

“How reliable is it?”

Liu Ziming's face showed no emotion, he just smiled gently.

"Very reliable, very reliable."

Old Yang let out a light breath, ran over, took out a copy of "Asian Art" magazine from the table and handed it to Liu Ziming.

"Even before, there were still some doubts about this matter. But now that this paper has come out at the right time, I think this matter has become a sure thing."

"Brother Liu, you were not around at the time, so you don't know how happy Mr. Cao was when he saw this paper a few days ago! He really looked like a child who had found a treasure."

"He also asked me to call him, but at that time... for some reason, the call didn't go through."

Liu Ziming took the magazine handed to him by Lao Yang.

At about the same time as Mr. Cao.

He already knew the contents of the magazine, but after staring at the color-printed cover of "Asian Art" for a moment, he couldn't help but open it.

He opened the first page of the paper.

In the notes in the paper column on the cover, Liu Ziming saw the title of the paper and the author's name - "The Female Artists Carol Forgotten by Time: The Color Entanglement and Visual Dimension of Dark Tone Impressionist Works".

"Authors of the paper: Gu Weijing and Sakai Katsuko."

Lao Yang licked his lips and pouted. Looking at the paper, he felt a little envious and a little jealous.

Establish virtue, establish words, and establish achievements.

These three are the three immortalities in Confucian culture, and are also one of the highest pursuits in the scholar-official system.

Publishing a "big" paper, in a sense, even if it is a bit exaggerated and shameless, can be said to have reached the level of "establishing one's own opinion".

Traditional Eastern artists are quite different from traditional Western artists.

Europe in the past eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Painters, creators of art and critics, critics, researchers of art theory are two very distinct groups of people.

Although some outstanding art scholars can also paint.

Some outstanding artists also write articles in newspapers to criticize others.

But overall speaking.

These are two quite different independent groups.

The academic world does not require someone who studies art theory to be a really good painter.

Society would not require Picasso to publish a certain number of papers or volumes every year to clearly summarize his painting style and artistic philosophy.

These jobs are often independent specialized areas.

In other words.

There are painters who hum Impressionist paintings facing the sunset by the Seine, and researchers who hum papers under the desk lamp in the university library.

They are most likely two completely unrelated groups of people and two completely unrelated professions.

Even though they all lived in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the white-bearded theorist who wrote articles in the journal Aesthetics and Art Criticism at New York University and conducted Impressionist research never met in person, nor exchanged letters or chatted with painters like Monet or Renoir, who painted Impression, Sunrise and Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, in their entire lives.

This kind of thing is also possible under certain circumstances.

But the artist society in the East is somewhat different.

Especially for many people of the Southern School of Painting, they may spend their days doing performance art, but their profession is not artist.

Wang Xizhi was not a professional calligrapher. He had been a prefect and also a right general.

The Ma in the Jin Dynasty proverb "Wang and Ma share the world" refers to the Sima family, and the "Wang" that ranks before the emperor's family Sima, the Langya Wang family, refers to Wang Xizhi's family.

When Sima Rui, the founding emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, ascended the throne, he repeatedly requested his uncle Wang Dao to sit with him on the imperial bed and accept the worship of all officials.

Otherwise, why would his son do nothing all day, squat on the ground and watch the clouds, and still be a high-ranking official there?

If it were an ordinary person, you would see Huan Chong jump up and slap you hard with his big ears.

Dong Qichang was not a professional painter. He was the prince’s teacher and the Minister of Rites in Nanjing.

Their main jobs are to be literati, celebrities, and scholar-officials.

Everyone has different living conditions, different life ideals, and different social division of labor and responsibilities.

Even the classic route to fame of "My lady sister fell in love with me" is loved and admired by artists from both the East and the West.

The goals of the two are also different.

Boucher, a representative of the Rococo style, went out to please Madame Pompadour and painted for her. His goal was only to become the chief painter of the royal family, or at most rely on nepotism to get the position of president of the French Academy of Fine Arts, and he would be satisfied.

And similar to the founder of the Southern School of Painting, the first generation leader Wang Wei.

He went to visit Princess Yuzhen, wrote poems for her and played the piano for her. His purpose was not to go to the palace and be an "artist worshipper".

If Princess Yuzhen asked Wang Wei to stay, he would be by her side every day, specializing in painting, with a monthly salary of 20 taels of silver.

Just see if little boy Wang Wei will burst into tears on the spot.

He came here to become the top scholar, to become a noble official, to be the most beautiful flower and the best in the world.

His goal was not to paint, but to cultivate himself, manage his family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world.

The calligraphy and paintings of ancient Dongxia literati all have a strong philosophical temperament of freehand and ethereal expression of the gods.

Aesthetics has always been a branch of philosophy.

Painting and calligraphy are a means for literati to convey their own character, philosophy, and integrity.

This is especially true when writing books.

European painters often just need to paint good paintings throughout their lives.

Eastern artists often also value things beyond the drawing paper, other forms of philosophical expression and inheritance of ideas.

That's the reason.

Dong Qichang wrote "On Calligraphy", Xie He of the Liang and Qi dynasties wrote "Catalogue of Ancient Paintings" and mentioned the "Six Principles of Painting", and even Wang Wei, the founder of the painting school, personally wrote special painting theory books such as "On Landscape" and "Secrets of Landscape".

Their significance is equivalent to the academic papers published by the ancients!

It is also for this reason that Mr. Cao Xuan, who is nearly a hundred years old, still came out of retirement and went to a foreign country to serve as the director of the Department of Oriental Art.

At this critical time, Gu Weijing was not only preparing for his new body painting works for the Singapore Biennale, but he also secretly produced such a heavyweight paper. Old Yang knew.

This really hit the nail on the head for Mr. Cao.

This paper might make the other party more satisfied than the painting of Wisteria Flowers, which made Mr. Cao couldn't help but write the four words "a unique flower" as a gift.

There was no apprenticeship ceremony that could make Cao Xuan happier than this.

People around him like Lao Yang can tell that what the old man shows is truly a crystal clear, innocent, pure happiness without any impurities, like that of a child.

"If this paper was written by our Old Brother Yang, oh, if it was written by our Old Brother Yang. Hum, it would save me so much trouble in my career and save me so many years of detours!"

Every time I see Mr. Cao looking at Gu Weijing's paper, I feel really proud.

Yang Dekang couldn't help thinking about it.

If he could also make a treasure like this, maybe Mr. Cao would be happy and take him in as well!

One is also a collection, two is also a collection.

Buy one get one free.

Isn't he cute?
Ok.

It is probably impossible to accept a disciple.

He has a clear self-awareness of his own level, and this kind of thing can only be done in dreams at most.

But...if Lao Yang could publish one or two heavyweight research papers, he would save many years of detours in his career and be able to live a wonderful life applying sunscreen to blonde ladies on the Italian beaches sooner. There is truth in this.

The European art world may not require artists to be able to write papers.

Artists' career directions and creative approaches may be closer to "observing society", "expressing themselves" and "raising questions".

What they need to do may be to “find problems” rather than “answer questions”.

But without exception.

Anyone who can draw well and write good papers is both a good artist and a good art researcher.

He is not only a person who can discover problems by himself, but also a person who can answer questions by himself, thus achieving an independent closed loop.

So no matter whether it is Chinese or Western.

Whether in the Asian market or the European market.

People like this are super scary and super awesome, and they are also super, super, super popular.

It’s not as simple as “1+1=2”.

Scarcity makes things valuable, and the art industry has proven this truth time and again.

There are many people who can do well in painting, which is "1", and there are also many people who can do well in writing commentary articles, which is "1".

But he mastered both skills at the same time.

It would be like two atomic nuclei colliding with each other at high speed, creating a certain energy release effect.

1+1等于3，等于5，等于10，甚至可以等于100。

Such a person - the combination of artistic expression and ideological expression, the combination of practice and theory. He alone may be able to form the prototype of a new art school.

Founding a new school of thought.

This is one of the greatest achievements that painters can achieve in the field of art. It can directly make a person's value soar into the sky like a rocket.

For example, the watercolorist and Pre-Raphaelite oil painter John Larkins.

Among the many masters of the Pre-Raphaelite School, John Larkins may not be considered an outstanding one in terms of the artistic level of his works, and it is even controversial whether he can be considered a "master".

But John Larkins also wrote many academic theoretical books, including "Pre-Raphaelites", "Stones of Venice", "Architecture and Painting", "Modern Painters", and "Principles of Painting".

Especially the last book, "Principles of Painting", is almost the most important one among the many introductory theoretical books in the English field that explain painting issues.

His personal painting level may only remain at the level of "craftsman".

And such a craftsman.

However, he became the most important representative figure in the history of art in the entire Victorian era, and became the "messenger of beauty" and the pioneer of the industrial art movement.

Some people would even put him on par with Turner.

They are all symbols of British aesthetics.

of course.

Another representative of this kind is Kandinsky, who is even more powerful and famous than Larkins. Kandinsky is like an enhanced version of Larkins. He is no longer just an ordinary founder of a school of thought.

He is almost the founder of modern abstract art both in theory and practice.

The bragging is beyond words.

Old Yang, who is so boastful, feels dry mouth and his heart is beating wildly when he thinks of such a name.

"It's really awesome."

Old Yang nodded at Liu Ziming, who was reading a paper, like a chick pecking at rice. His unruly curled hair under the baseball cap trembled with his movements, looking very... uh, naughty.

It's just like a local dog that is drooling at the sight of meat buns.

I'm jealous.

Even this kind of paper is a long way from Kandinsky's super-excellent article that can lay the foundation for an art school.

It can only be regarded as a normal AHCI-level paper.

But Lao Yang is still envious!
Of course, personal connections are the most important thing for assistants and agents.

But Lao Yang is already the working king among the assistants, with an annual salary of over a million, and the keys to his Porsche sports car are already dangling from his belt.

Having made it this far, with assistants and agents at his level, it’s no wonder that everyone has connections.

Everyone has his or her own unique network of contacts and his or her own “resource pool”.

When it comes to connections, everyone is pretty much the same and no one is weak.

At this time, if Lao Yang wants to upgrade from a working emperor to a boss-type agent in the future, he will change the car key on his belt from a $10 Porsche 718 to a $100 million Porsche 918.

It’s time to start learning your unique talent!
Just like a young eunuch who was chosen to be a nobleman's attendant because of his good looks and cleverness, he may not be able to become the chief steward of the palace or the eunuch in charge of the seal in the future.

You have to put in some internal effort.

It's a competition of who is smarter, who knows how to behave, and even who has the best skill at making tea.

Lao Yang knew that he had to have work to do!

The most powerful agents, the ones who make hundreds of millions a year from painters' contracts and fly around on private jets, all have advantages that others cannot replicate.

He can't just rely on his tough guy temperament and his "masculine energy" to conquer the world, right?

Lao Yang’s current core competitiveness is telling jokes.

You can’t become a master just by telling jokes.

Just like you can’t cook with only gutter oil, it requires technology and hard work.

If he could publish one or two AHCI papers, his career would at least become much brighter.

Relying on his current connections.

Not only can he be an assistant and an agent, he can also mingle with the curator circle.

this era.

Curators are a mixed bunch, both human and ghost, and they all like to use the title of curator to wander around.

But curators who truly have resources, connections, artistic insights and are recognized by people in the industry are still super awesome, super respected, and can make a lot of money.

How could Lao Yang not be jealous!
"Have you read this article?"

Liu Ziming turned his head and asked in an ambiguous tone.

"Yes, I have read it. Mr. Cao asked me to bring a few more copies. I will distribute them to everyone and let everyone read them."

Some times.

There really aren’t that many fancy tricks.

When an elder likes and appreciates a younger person from the bottom of his heart.

The way they express what they like is often very simple.

The blonde aunt assigned a KPI task to Uncle Sakai. She ordered dozens of copies of "Asian Art" and brought them home. She packed them in a suitcase and brought them to Singapore. During the exhibition, she asked Kazunari Sakai to pose with the magazine every day, acting as a human bookshelf.

When I get the chance, I can have a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or a barbecue with the judges.

Just distribute these journals to the judges one by one, show off your own children, cheer for them, and whisper in their ears.

She kicked out Master Sakai, one of Japan's top painters, and used him as a real estate salesperson who handed out agency flyers to everyone he met on the street.

Although Cao Xuan is not as exaggerated as Mrs. Sakai.

But when Lao Yang got off the plane, he also had a lot of "Asian Art" in his arms.

His thoughts are in some ways quite similar to those of Shengzi's mother.

This is probably the result of some kind of pure, undisguised love, leading to the same destination?
There's no particular reason.

It's just pure love.

It is true that the old man scolded Yang Dekang and did not close the door to let the assistant go, so Old Yang barked and bit Cui Xiaoming's family's buttocks.

But his undisguised happiness about Gu Weijing's ability to paint such an unconventional painting as "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun" and to publish a cover article in "Asian Art" was also real.

This is also the reason why Lao Yang said, "Even if it may not have been settled before, now that this article is published, he feels that this matter is almost certain."

He didn't think the fondness on Mr. Cao's face was fake.

Mr. Cao’s identity, status and age.

We have already reached the point mentioned in The Analects of Confucius where one can do whatever one wants without breaking the rules.

Who is he pretending for?

“It’s well written. It’s really well written.”

After all, Mr. Liu is a man of culture, and he was born into a wealthy family. He has a natural noble aura that is a bit similar to Miss Elena.

Just an AHCI paper.

Great.

It’s not that serious.

He has dealt with so many well-known scholars that he is far from showing the kind of tacky envy that Lao Yang has.

But here and now.

When this paper appears so "just right" in front of me.

Liu Ziming knew very well that what he had in his hands now was more than just an AHCI paper.

and so.

He just continued to laugh, and his laugh was a little playful.

It's like the smile on a fisherman's face when he suddenly sees a kid nearby pull out a seven-pound carp from the lake.

"Oh my, congratulations, it's a really big fish, but... I've seen big carps weighing dozens of kilograms before. Congratulations, but it's a carp... The carp in this lake have an earthy smell and are not delicious. Congratulations... Oh, there's no need to be so happy, it's just a fish! It can't jump over the dragon gate and grow dragon claws, right? Listen to my advice, why not let it go? I heard that releasing animals can accumulate virtue—"

The kind of smile that makes your eyes itch without making your heart itch.

"Not bad, the kid is quite interesting, I really want to meet him." The smile on Liu Ziming's face did not change.

"He is so lucky. At this time, he got a painting like that and wrote a paper like that. It was neither too early nor too late. The right time, place and people were all gathered together. Some things are really destined to be his. It's really enviable." He just paused and said softly.

"It's just that maybe...don't you think it's a little too coincidental?"

What a coincidence.

What a clever guy Lao Yang is!
When it comes to human affairs, he has a keen sense of smell like a dog's nose.

The moment these words were spoken, Lao Yang understood the unspoken meaning in Liu Ziming's words.

But he pretended not to understand and didn't touch on this sensitive topic.

"Brother Liu, you are joking. What you said means that there is no way for people like me to survive. It's too Versailles. In terms of the blessings born, who can compare with you, Brother Liu?"

Old Yang laughed.

Seeing that Lao Yang was very tactful and didn't respond, Liu Ziming didn't press the issue.

He looked up at the other person, then lowered his head again and stopped talking.

As the son of a shipping magnate.

Liu Ziming has his own pride. If you don't accept the words he gives you, then you are not blessed. Similarly, it is because he has this pride.

Therefore, he disdained to make things difficult for a "little assistant" like Yang Dekang.

Liu Ziming simply turned the paper back to the very beginning of the journal and looked at the note in the signature column that read "Gu Weijing and Sakai Katsuko" were co-authors and co-correspondents.

"Gu Weijing."

He was repeating in his mind the name of this person whom he had never met before but whose ears were almost callused from hearing it so often during this period of time.

He was imagining in his mind what kind of young man it was that would make Old Cao have such a "shocking" idea of ​​taking him in as a disciple after a long time.

Liu Ziming and Tang Ning, both because of their family background, became the old man's disciples at a very young age.

Now count.

The last time the old man accepted a disciple was half a century ago.

Thirty years.

It is enough to bring about a drastic change in a person's mentality.

When Liu Ziming learned from his fellow disciples that Master Cao might accept a new disciple, a true last disciple, at this year's Singapore Biennale.

He was shocked and even more confused.

When it comes to Gu Weijing, it's hard to say whether Liu Ziming likes him or dislikes him. In short, it's very complicated, so complicated that he himself can't quite figure out what attitude he should have to be considered normal.

He is not like Lin Tao, who is calm and at ease as long as the old man is happy as long as the hat doesn't fall on my head.

It's not like Tang Ning has such a vested interest in the relationship. The relationship between him and Gu Weijing may be a real fight, a zero-sum game with no easing zone.

Tang Ning might feel that Gu Weijing was like a rat that had entered his own rice warehouse.

Every bite she took from the resources represented by Cao Xuan, every extra piece of the cake she got, was stealing what belonged to her.

(End of this chapter)