Almighty painter

Chapter 969 Art Gathering and "Printmaking Class"

Gu Weijing carried his schoolbag and returned to the podium in the classroom.

Kozens, head down, tidied the documents on his desk and casually tossed a tiny spider into his briefcase. It had originally been a miniature replica of a complex multi-legged installation art piece by a French artist. Once, while lecturing to older students, Kozens, in a moment of glee, accidentally smashed it while making a fool of himself.

I thought about it.

He decided to use this eight-legged plastic spider instead.

“I’ve looked at your classwork this semester, and you’ve made great progress. In class today, you asked me how to better express the ‘graininess’ of scenery.”

It was as if the sun had risen in the west—not only did Kozens leave class on time, but his first words were a compliment.

Have you been experimenting with the dry brush technique lately?

The teacher asked.

"No."

Gu Weijing said.

“Then you can try it more. Remember to leave enough space for the paint…” Ke Cens casually chatted about Gu Weijing’s recent classwork, then took an invitation out of his briefcase and slapped it into Gu Weijing’s arms.

"This is for you, this Saturday night."

He said.

Gu Weijing opened the invitation and found that there were two copies, each containing a ticket for the resort hotel's buffet.

"It's kind of like an interview. The judges and several foundation leaders will periodically assess outstanding students in the Master Program. If they perform well enough, there will be scholarships or something. For this semester's recommended students, I've filled in your name, and Mr. Gunn, he's your roommate, right?" Kozens said.

Gunn is the surname of Victor, Gu Weijing's roommate. His full name is Victor Gunn.

"Thank you."

Gu Weijing expressed his gratitude.

"You're welcome. You're the student with the best drawing skills in the entire department, and he's the student who has taken the most credits. I heard that he stayed on campus during the summer to take four classes. I think, from a fair point of view, there wouldn't be a better choice."

Kozens maintained his calm and composed tone, with an air of arrogance as if to say, "Oh well, I didn't really have any favorites, so I just randomly filled in two names."

impression.

Kozens seamlessly switches between intermittent mania and intermittent depression every day, leading one to wonder if he suffers from bipolar disorder.

"Will there only be two of us students then?"

"No, it's a progress assessment for the Master Project. All the recommended outstanding students will be there. Also, students from the nearby Hamburg Conservatory of Music. Give the invitations to Gunn, and remember to wear formal attire."

The professor waved his hand dismissively, indicating that he had already notified Gu Weijing and that he should get lost.

……

Gu Weijing felt that he had taken another big step closer to the watch Anna had chosen.

This is one of the few pieces of good news after he realized he might be getting further and further away from Michelin-starred restaurants in Abu Dhabi.

On his first day playing the violin in the woods, Gu Weijing earned a total of 1.5 euros.

200 days is 300 euros, I'm so confident, this is nothing more than a lavish feast.

In his first week playing the violin in the woods, he earned a total of 1.5 euros. Over 30 weeks, at 1.5 euros per week, that's 45 euros.

Michelin?
Why go to a Michelin-starred restaurant? Locals don't eat at Michelin-starred restaurants every day. It's not that they can't earn the money, it's just that the price-performance ratio is too low. If you want to eat fine Western food, why not eat in Europe? Gu Weijing thought the escargots at that century-old restaurant were just so-so. Besides, where's the animal protection association? Old Master Gu is kind-hearted and thinks snails are adorable; he can't stand seeing them.

Without buying, there would be no killing.

Refuse to eat shark fin soup, starting with me.

Refuse to eat roasted snails, starting with Gu Weijing.

In his first month playing the violin in the forest, Gu Weijing earned a total of 1.5 euros.

1.5 euros multiplied by seven equals a little over 10 euros—the most important thing about art is its down-to-earth atmosphere. To understand the food of a place, you need to go out into the streets and eat the specialties in local "fly restaurants." You have to immerse yourself in life first, and then experience life. Gu Weijing carefully checked the food guides and thought that buying a chicken wrap from a food truck and pairing it with hummus would be quite nice.

It's roughly equivalent to a Middle Eastern-style jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe).

more importantly.

The deluxe version, with extra toppings, usually costs around 20 dirhams, which is about 5 euros. One serving is enough to fill two people up.

The problem is that Gu Weijing believes that if things continue like this... he will soon move from the stage of "we'll have a lavish meal" to the stage of "to be honest, I think baguettes are also delicious."

The bigger problem is—

A baguette that costs only 1.5 euros might not be available in Abu Dhabi. He might have to buy a baguette locally first and then fly over.

The situation was quite tricky. He was even prepared to discuss it with Awang, and if all else failed, he would take Awang to school every day, bring Awang along, and rely on Awang to attract customers and pay for feeding the cat.

On the surface, it appears to be playing the violin for Jing, but in reality, Awang is performing for money.

If Awang, who had just finished performing in London, understood Gu Weijing's plan, he might be speechless. What the hell? No wonder they're grandfather and grandson. Old Gu and young Gu are exactly the same. One strikes a painting pose, showing off by relying on King Awang. The other strikes a violin-playing pose, making money off King Awang.

"Ptooey, ptooey, meow meow meow, extra money required."

Gu Weijing himself worked very hard. Gabriel had a proper job and orchestra rehearsals, so he could only give Gu Weijing one lesson a week at most. Gu Weijing went to the public practice room of the Hamburg University of Music and Drama, which was not far away, and found a teacher to give him two more lessons a week.

All I can say is that music... really requires talent.

Investment is subjective.

Some beauty is objective: sunlight, sea of ​​clouds, the delicate textures in watercolor paintings, and the notes lingering in melodies.

There isn't enough skill.

It is impossible to imitate the sunset, nor can it accurately reproduce the beauty of the music.

Miss Elena can use her "magic" to find Gu Weijing a good violin teacher, but Gu Weijing cannot find a good printmaking teacher at the Hamburg Art Academy.

Gu Weijing is a man Yang Dekang can never have.

Mr. Niles, who teaches printmaking, is the man Gu Weijing could never have.

After leaving the watercolor classroom, Gu Weijing went to the administration building again. He made an appointment to visit Associate Professor Niles alone.

"Knock knock knock." The office door was knocked three times before it was opened, revealing a young teacher wearing a dark blue T-shirt.

Niles looked to be around 30 years old, with a youthful face, and his appearance was not much different from that of the more mature-looking college students at school.

"Please come in, Mr. Gu."

Niles opened the door and invited Gu Weijing to sit down on the sofa in his office, where two water glasses were placed.

Would you like some water?

The associate professor picked up the kettle on the table and said politely.

"No trouble."

Gu Weijing shook his head and deliberately spoke in German. He told Niles his purpose: he had come hoping that Niles would accept him as a student in the printmaking course next semester.

After a year and a half of intensive one-on-one training.

Gu Weijing's language skills have improved.

Gu Weijing knew that, according to Niles's usual practice, they typically only accepted students who had passed the German language proficiency exam. He hoped the professor could make an exception, since this year's language exams had already concluded.

If Niles allows him to take the classes.

He will try to submit a language proficiency test report in the first half of next year.

“I believe my German level is sufficient to handle the professional content in class. Moreover, I will carefully preview the lessons in advance,” Gu Weijing said slowly in German, proving that his words were true.

Niles scrutinized Gu Weijing for a moment, then gave a soft "hmm".

Neither affirming nor denying.

Instead of testing Gu Weijing's language skills with a few tricky technical terms, he changed the subject and talked to Gu Weijing in English about the style and history of printmaking, and invited Gu Weijing to visit his office.

Around the world, the development of printmaking often begins with woodblock and lithographs, progressing from simple lines to black and white prints, monochrome prints, and then to polychrome prints.

Exquisite woodblock prints have been unearthed from tombs dating back to the Sui and Tang dynasties in Asia.

Nils deliberately showed Gu Weijing his favorite piece from his collection: a 13th-century French print sealed in a frame. Unlike typical prints, paper wasn't widely available in Europe at that time. Therefore, this particular print was engraved on parchment, making it quite unique.

Like those famous European artists.

Dürer, Rembrandt, Menzel... all of them created prints.

After a pleasant forty-minute conversation, Niles rejected Gu Weijing... Yes, Gu Weijing was rejected by Niles again.

It wasn't a technical reason, Niles believed, that Gu Weijing lacked sufficient passion for printmaking itself.

Mr. Niles believes that Gu Weijing saw printmaking primarily in terms of its commercial aspects. Printmaking has achieved remarkable success in the European art market over the past century.

Picasso has a large collection of prints.

In this field, Andy Warhol is even more successful.

"I don't want you to criticize Andy Warhol or Pop Art. Perhaps this is an examination and reflection on the entire art industry. Andy Warhol can sell mass-produced industrial prints for $1000 million. What we should see more is that it reveals a certain aspect of consumer society, where everything can be a symbol of some kind of consumption, rather than a poster worth $1000 million."

Rather than that famous saying—that making money is the greatest art.

Niles also showed Gu Weijing a picture of Picasso's print, "A Frugal Meal." It was a very simple black and white sketch depicting a couple eating on a street in Paris, both emaciated from hunger.

Famous works from Picasso's early Blue Period.

"There are about 30 copies of it in existence today. The last time it appeared at auction, a German gallery owner bought it for a lot of money at Christie's. I happen to know him and have seen the painting before."

"Picasso's first print for non-commercial use was intended to convey a critique and challenge of Parisian society. Then, years later, hunger did not disappear from the world. And this work sold for an astronomical price."

"From the perspectives of gallery owners, Christie's, buyers, and sellers, none of them are wrong. The art market exists precisely for the purpose of transactions, so this is more like a multi-dimensional and multi-faceted irony."

Niles believes.

Every person, every artist, has a different attitude towards printmaking. As for him, he always only takes in a very small number of students in each of his printmaking classes.

Usually no more than five.

He scrutinizes every applicant for his printmaking course at art school, asking himself, "Why are you so determined to enroll in my class? Do you really need to study printmaking?"

His energy is very limited.

His criteria for recruiting students have nothing to do with their painting skills. Since it's a course and he's a student, he doesn't mind if they start from scratch.

He was willing to accept it—"I studied printmaking because I had heard of Andy Warhol, I really liked his prints, and I wanted to be like him."

But he refused to accept it—"I studied printmaking because I had heard of Andy Warhol, whose prints were incredibly expensive, and I wanted to be like him."

He believes this will cause consumerism to distort a person's life values, making him a link in a "buy-discard" chain.

Niles said he didn't quite understand why someone like Gu Weijing would want to study printmaking.

Is it profitable?
Of course, he wouldn't be too critical. Both Rembrandt and Picasso engaged in purely commercial creations. Commerce is an integral part of the functioning of modern society.

If it's not about making money, then take a look at Picasso's most influential prints in creative history.

From Blueism to Cubism, Surrealist color experiments, and the War and Peace series of prints.

Picasso produced thousands of prints throughout his life, but the most important ones were created out of a strong desire and a strong need for printmaking.

He believes that such a "need" is more important than brushstrokes or knife strokes.

Gu Weijing had not yet experienced such a "Picasso moment." He knew Professor Kozens of the watercolor department, a rather strict teacher, and Gu Weijing's daily academic pressure was very heavy. Considering the energy of both parties, Niles did not think Gu Weijing could learn printmaking well.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gu. If you insist on coming, that's fine, but I don't recommend you take my class because what you lack is not skills, nor a teacher to teach you skills."

Niles escorted Gu Weijing out of the office.

Gu Weijing thanked the other party for the suggestion and turned to leave.

Why do you want to learn printmaking? Is it just so you can make many copies of a painting and earn money?

Gu Weijing was asking himself a question when he heard Niles's words. He recalled that when he obtained the Zigan engraving method, he had witnessed the persistence and dedication of the ancients.

He knew that Niles was right; his attitude toward art and skill was still too frivolous.

(End of this chapter)