Almighty painter

Chapter 964 Gu Weijing's Concert

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—squeak—"

A college couple picnicking in the woods, whispering sweet nothings to each other, looked over. The boy listened intently, then stood up and walked over.

"Brother, this instrument is pretty good."

He nodded to Gu Wei in greeting.

Gu Weijing returned the smile with a business smile, and said while playing the violin.

"Sorry, my German isn't very good."

This is the first "customer" attracted by his violin playing since he started coming to play. He has a discerning ear!

"Are you trying to raise money? Is it for a party, car repairs, or..."

The boy switched to English.

He looked at the empty plastic cup containing change that Gu Weijing had placed in front of him, and the "Thanks & Danke!" written by Miss Elena herself with a marker. Similar scenes could be seen in many parks.

The other person took out one or two coins from their pocket, held them in their hand, and then hesitated for a moment before putting them in.

"But the pitch is already quite accurate."

The boy couldn't help but ask, puzzled, "Why do you only tune the instrument and not play the piece?"

Gu Weijing immediately stopped laughing.

What kind of musical taste does this guy have?! He kept dragging his feet the whole time. Doesn't he understand "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"? It's a famous piece by Mozart, okay?

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are."

"Squeak, s ...

Listen carefully, prick up your ears, the one next to your face isn't for venting your anger.

That was a great pull! He's already tried his best.

Gu Weijing looked at the young boy opposite him, who was holding a coin and had a genuinely clear look of confusion on his face. He sincerely felt the devastating impact of this sincerity.

If the other person isn't genuinely asking a question, but instead comes to make sarcastic remarks about him.

Gu Weijing would feel a little better that way.

He kept a straight face, unwilling to answer this foolish question. Unlike the guitar, the violin doesn't have frets to control the vibration of the strings and position the fingers. If the fingertips deviate even slightly, the sound produced will immediately become very different.

The piano has a complex structure and a wide range.

Pressing a key produces a specific note; the notes correspond one-to-one with the black and white keys on the keyboard.

The sound is off because the sound engineer didn't tune it properly.

The structure of a violin is relatively simple.

But the timbre and tone... everything, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Si, are all controlled by the pianist's fingers.

This is also why it is relatively difficult for adults without prior knowledge to learn string instruments.

In the few seconds that Gu Weijing turned his head to look at the other person, he played several wrong notes in a row. He turned his head back, staring intently at the markings that Gabriel had put on the string board for him in the first position, and struggled with the violin on his shoulder.

The boy opposite waited for about ten seconds, but received no response and no response from Gu Weijing, who was supposed to "start" playing the violin.

suddenly.

He realized something, his pupils contracted, and a look of "horrification" appeared on his face. After listening intently to the indescribable things in his ears for a few seconds, he swayed unsteadily.

The essence of Cthulhu horror lies in—

You can live happily and leisurely when you don't understand what's happening in the world, and everything seems normal.

When you finally realize the truth about this world... everything collapses.

This boy, filled with pure passion for music, connected with the brainwaves and heard the indescribable truth behind the piano music in his ears. In that instant, he was also subjected to a mental magical attack.

He tossed the change in his hand into the cup.

He turned around, ran to the edge of the woods, pulled his still bewildered girlfriend along, grabbed the picnic mat they were on, and ran off with their belongings.

"Don't ask, don't listen, don't think. Hurry up, my dear. A terrifying creature lurks in the forest... It's a Cthulhu wielding musical tentacles!"
-
Gu Weijing was playing his violin in the shade of the trees.

He noticed that there were unusually few pedestrians passing through the woods today. The few pedestrians and tourists who used to be resting on the lawn nearby had all disappeared ten minutes after he started playing the violin.

He told himself to be strong.

This is like a "Muggle banishment curse," since he's a student of Gabriel, the first violinist of the grand orchestra (although Gabriel very politely, almost pleadingly, asked him not to say that outside).
Only intelligent people know how to listen to his music.

Muggles and Squibs have no chance of getting this.

Gu Weijing didn't necessarily need to be so self-comforting; he simply had no other choice.

Miss Elena always believed that in the art world, pressure leads to transformation, and adversity breeds greatness. She only gave Gu Weijing two choices—

Otherwise, you can play the violin in the school's activity area.

Alternatively, you could go to the nearby Hamburg City Park.

Gu Weijing once set his sights on the animals behind the ranch, suggesting, "I've heard from scientists that playing the violin for cows can help them produce milk."

Anna told him to shut up, then shoved the handwritten billboard into his arms.

Originally, this plaque also had a line that read, "Would you be willing to do something for the sake of fine art?"

Gu studied it for a moment.

He believed that Miss Elena was being sarcastic towards him, and with his insistence, the sign eventually only had the words "Thank you" in both German and English left.

The calves in the ranch weren't so lucky as to receive Master Gu's music.

Perhaps because I attended an art academy rather than a comprehensive art university, even though it is one of the top art institutions in Europe, it turns out that students with top-notch musical appreciation skills are still a very small minority.

At last.

The only audience members at Gu Weijing's first violin recital were the flowers and plants who had no way to escape.

There are advantages to not having anyone around.

As the initial tension subsided, Gu Weijing gradually became very calm and relaxed.

Whether you pull well or pull badly is one thing.

Gu Weijing was immersed in the music in his ears and felt the satisfaction that the music brought.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Do, do, so, so, la, la, so..."

When he is completely immersed in a challenging task, Gu Weijing feels satisfied and happy, as if the concept of time is being wasted, and he is completely absorbed in the work at hand.

Like diving.

It's like flying.

This sense of satisfaction and happiness does not vary much depending on the outcome of the task.

In theory, many aspects of art are common.

When Gu Weijing first activated Menzel's basic painting techniques in his life, he felt such joy, and at that time, he produced a delicate and outstanding painting.

He was in the woods at school, playing a Mozart arrangement of a nursery rhyme by himself. Judging from the result, his playing was probably rough; even the simplest piece, after removing all the difficult variations, was still played very crudely. Yet Gu Weijing still found joy in it.

Then.

Is the most essential meaning of art the pursuit of such satisfaction and happiness, or the creation of a work that is good enough in the eyes of outsiders?

This seems like a very simple question.

but--

Gu Weijing kept pondering Professor Kozens' question.

Perhaps this question can also be broken down into whether some works of art are essentially works of self-expression or works that satisfy outsiders.

Should you paint to satisfy the award judges, or to satisfy yourself?

Morally, the latter seems to be more relatively correct.

If a work of art lacks the artist's own dedication and spirit, it will inevitably become empty in many cases. This is why many people claim that AI works cannot replace human works.

Gu Weijing and Mr. Sloth said that in fairy tales, the dog's works have all the elements that other animals in the animal kingdom like, but not himself.

That's the problem.

but.

Is art merely a "self" thing?
Blindly pursuing the latter may lead to self-indulgence and self-imposed limitations.

Affirmation, recognition, and even admiration from others are by no means entirely without merit.

van gogh.

A maverick madman.

He showed such disdain for everything in the past art world; he challenged authority and scorned a life of comfort and stability. Yet, even someone as indifferent as Van Gogh to the understanding of others, without the attention of galleries or the olive branch of curators, didn't care.

But didn't he still fall into great pain because he disagreed with Gauguin and couldn't gain his approval?

Then.

What exactly is painting?

Gu Weijing opened the system panel, which had five main categories: oil painting, sketching, Chinese painting, watercolor, and printmaking.

Is this the answer provided by the system?

"Do not."

This is wrong.

Gu Weijing had never thought about these things before, but now he was starting to have doubts. The five items provided by the system might simply be the five items with the most people engaged in them in the world, and the ones that received the most attention and were the most commercialized.

He is one of the five most well-known figures.

But it is absolutely not the whole of art, and it should absolutely not be.

Art is diverse and multifaceted, embodying the crystallization of human wisdom and the expression of beauty.

Gu Weijing recalled what Cao Xuan said on his first day at the art project, telling stories about painters.

When the painters in Dunhuang were painting the murals, they certainly didn't think about how many painting styles there were, which ones would attract more attention, or which ones would be more valuable.

No, not in Bagan, not in Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and not on the pyramids in Egypt depicting pharaohs, the sun god, and the great cat god.

There are so many artistic techniques in the world.

Vietnam also produces excellent silk paintings influenced by its local style, abandoning lines and making extensive use of color blocks. Myanmar's traditional art also has a very long history, blending local styles with foreign elements in a harmonious and diverse way. If studied carefully, each of these numerous art forms might be no less valuable than an oil painting worth a hundred million dollars.

Picasso's works, each worth a hundred million US dollars, incorporated a large number of African painting elements, didn't they?
Even if it's just a traditional oil painting.

There are so many famous oil painters in Europe, but there are fewer famous oil painters in economically underdeveloped areas. He may not have even heard of the other party's name.

Gu Weijing once thought that this was a matter of technique.

Market competition is more intense in economically developed regions, resulting in a greater number of painters with excellent techniques.

vice versa.

But... is that really the case? Are people who truly possess excellent painting techniques strongly associated with these things? Can lines and brushstrokes represent the entirety of painting?

Gu Weijing had been told this before, and he used to believe it so much. But after actually coming to Germany for a year, the false romantic illusion gradually began to fade away.

One artwork can sell for one hundred million US dollars.

Essentially, is it because you draw exceptionally well, because your technique is outstanding, or because... you are particularly popular and "favored" by the capital market?

As Gu Weijing played the famous piece by Mozart, the child prodigy who was favored by the Austrian princess, he pondered these questions.

No wonder.

There are some problems.

Mr. Kozens, despite being a professor for so many years, still felt so confused.
-
A small, unidentified yellow flower that blooms in summer next to an ash tree was accidentally stepped on.

Half-fallen flowers and leaves bent into the soil, the grass blades rubbing against each other, seemingly emitting a barely perceptible sigh.

Oh.

My God.

Finally relieved.

Gu Weijing leaned against a tree and removed the plastic shoulder rest from the back of his viola. Some people believe that using a plastic shoulder rest will affect the violin's vibration and sound production, while others consider it pseudoscience. It's similar to the idea that listening to classical music requires water and electricity—a perennial debate in the violin industry.

Gabriel himself did not use a shoulder support.

He thought that considering Gu Weijing's playing level was ridiculous, and told him to do whatever made him comfortable.

Gu Weijing secured the instrument, turned one corner of the bow to loosen the taut string, and put everything away one by one.

Finally, he folded up the advertising board Miss Elena had written for him and put it into his schoolbag.

Gu Weijing raised his wrist and glanced at the time; it was almost time to go see Old Master Cao.

He took out his phone and sent Anna a social media message, reminding her that he had class that afternoon and would need to go to the repair shop to pick up his car after class.

Gu Weijing received a phone call.

His little Polo's cylinder problem is fixed, and after having the privilege of listening to his solo concert, the penguins of Antarctica and the polar bears of the Arctic can now line up to thank him.

So you'll need to arrive at the ranch or farm a little later.

Gu Weijing picked up a red plastic beer mug from the side.

Inside was a one-euro coin and a 50-cent coin. Oh, what a kind person! They've already paid, why didn't they listen a little longer?
Now we have baguettes.

Gu Weijing calculated that there were still about 30 weeks, or about 200 days, before the art exhibition started.

One coin a day, a thousand coins in a thousand days.

One yuan and fifty cents a day.

Two hundred days would cost more than three hundred euros. I wonder if the cost of living is high in Abu Dhabi. It seems like we're already having a luxurious meal.
(End of this chapter)