Almighty painter

Chapter 972 Gu Weijing's Interview
Jasmine is a very well-behaved child.

She almost never asks for anything. If, at some point in the past year, when Gu Weijing was overwhelmed by art exhibitions and system tasks, it was Jasmine who asked herself.

"Can I make porcelain with you?"

Will Gu Weijing agree to the other party's request?
Gu Weijing believed he would, probably. After all, Jasmine was so well-behaved, but... in his most irritable moments, in a fleeting instant within his heart, would he ever find Jasmine annoying?

What does she know?
Play?
Kids just want to play all day long.

Does she understand what she's doing? Does she understand how serious this work is? Does she understand what she's expected to gain from this work? Does she understand the significance of a painter's first art exhibition?
The little girl doesn't understand anything.

Gu Weijing is an artist!

Gu Weijing placed himself on one side of the scale, working day after day in the hope of raising enough capital to "buy back" Impressionist painting techniques. As for her… she only wanted to play with porcelain.

Will he feel that he has wasted a lot of unnecessary time, or even that his failure to complete the task on time is all because Jasmine is being unreasonable?

Anyway, Gu Weijing is right.

He might not say these words aloud; similar thoughts might only flash through his mind for a moment, and he might only feel secretly angry inside.

Anger... His anger, to some extent, represented his powerlessness in the face of life.

A helpless person, tormented by stress and fear, stares at the sluggish progress bar of a task and then vents their anger and fear on those around them, on those who are willing to accommodate them.

Jasmine doesn't understand anything.

But Jasmine understands Gu Weijing, and Jasmine is very, very obedient... Therefore, Jasmine has never once spoken to bother Gu Weijing.

Gu Weijing didn't care about Jasmine and ignored her feelings.

Jasmine cares about Gu Weijing.

Jasmine only goes to play with the cat by herself.

"The art of living is the art of living." Cao Xuan once told Gu Weijing this principle in the hospital room. In the process of completing tasks for the sake of completing tasks, learning to paint for the sake of learning to paint, and holding exhibitions for the sake of holding exhibitions, he gradually forgot the weight of life itself.

Gu Weijing put down his paintbrush, gently picked up Awang, and stroked its ear.

"sorry."

Gu Weijing said to Jasmine.

The art teacher praised Gu Weijing, saying that his love for porcelain art was unmatched. This was completely wrong. He had only painted a lot of pictures. But when Jasmine heard that Gu Weijing was going to take her out to play with clay, the gleam in her eyes was something Gu Weijing could never achieve.

This... is true love for life.

"What's wrong?" the little girl asked curiously from the side.

"It's nothing. I just feel that sometimes I'm not as smart as Ah Wang."

The tabby cat, feeling comfortable after being rubbed, raised its chin.

Meow.

Little Gu is not as smart as this Great King. It's like the rules of the game of Animal Chess. The pieces are elephant, lion, tiger, leopard, wolf, dog, cat, and mouse. The elephant eats the lion, the lion eats the tiger, the tiger eats the leopard, and the cat eats the elephant, lion, tiger, and leopard. Yes, the cat can not only eat anything, but it can also chase a stupid dog like August all over the place. Isn't that all natural and reasonable?

That day.

Gu Weijing played with Awang with Jasmine, sculpted clay, made a strangely shaped cat litter box, and then picked up a paintbrush to paint 17 pieces of heartfelt sentiments and 5 porcelain cups, representing his painstaking efforts.

There was another little incident.

When Niles, an associate professor in the Department of Graphics/Typography/Photography, returned to work after the Christmas holidays in 2018, he found a gift box in his office on New Year's Day.

The gift box had no labels, no sender information, no greeting card, only a mailing note with the sender's name and office address.

He opened the gift box.

It turned out to be a modern art porcelain vase, with Pablo Picasso's "The Hungry Meal" sketched in blue lines on its surface.
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"Throughout my life, I've always been surrounded by many, many teachers—respected elders, renowned artists, a little girl who hadn't even started junior high, and even a cat. My teacher, Cao Xuan, told me that teachers are those who make you a better person. And of all these people, I have a particularly deep impression of Mr. Niles. He was an associate professor at the art academy, and we only crossed paths a few times during my time at the Hamburg Art Academy. But I will always remember with great respect the day I knocked on his office door. The door was quickly opened, and Mr. Niles invited me in. I can still recall that it was an office crammed full of things, with framed Picasso reproductions crammed onto the desk..."

—From "A Collection of Interviews with Gu Weijing"
-
At this moment, Victor was standing in front of a sunflower in the hotel, studying the full bloom before him, wondering whether it was a real sunflower or merely a piece of modern art.

Music was playing from the other side of the hall; the sound was melodious and gentle.

"fake?"

"Really?"

"I think it's fake."

“I think it’s true.” Victor walked over, stretched out his finger, and gently scraped the yellow petals with his fingertip. He shrugged regretfully and shook his head.

"Okay, you win, it's fake. Number 5 is mine, number 12 is yours."

Viktor casually picked up a note with numbers written on it from the table.

“I’ll go to the room on the left first. If the interviewer there is too malicious, you can go to the one on the right.” He shrugged.

Today is the day for the master plan's phased inspection.

The visit lasted two days.

The judges will have one-on-one conversations with outstanding students in the school-based arts program who are receiving attention from teachers. If they perform well enough, they may also receive attention from agents and sponsorships from arts foundations.

This is what is known as an "art audition".

For those who are a bit laid-back, this could be seen as a free weekend getaway to the countryside. The evaluation was held at a resort hotel on the outskirts of Hamburg, primarily to cater to the discerning judges, and also as a reward for outstanding students.

But for a Scroll King like Victor, this is the place where battles are fought.

From the moment he received the invitation, he did not feel relieved by Kozens' recognition and affirmation of his achievements; on the contrary, his nerves immediately tightened.

Different art-in-residence programs have different operating models.

Some institutions examine the applicant's portfolio, others examine the applicant's academic performance in various subjects, and still others examine the depth of the applicant's "letters of recommendation."

The "Menzel Turner Master of Excellence Program" that Victor and his classmates participated in during their university years is a watercolor category within the large-scale "Master of Excellence Program" selection system, which is a collaboration among multiple universities.

The entire art project adopted a scoring system by the jury, much like a large-scale art exhibition.

The exhibits were not artworks, but rather these "future artists".

Viktor glanced at the crowd and knew just how fierce the competition was. There were students from many schools present today, each one of the best in their school; there were at least 30 people in total.

Starting from sophomore year.

After a year of study and selection, only five students receive the "Master" Arts Fund sponsorship each year. The sponsorship fee is divided into several tiers, with the highest tier not being incredibly high, and the lowest tier not low either, around 5000 euros.

At the end of the graduation project, one outstanding graduate will be selected from all the students to receive the "Great Master" award. Breguet will then present him with a custom-designed watch co-branded with him.

That's secondary; the more important thing is the lifetime sponsorship.

Art academies offer a wide variety of art funds and competitions, with prizes typically consisting of a series of sponsorship contracts. The longest-standing sponsorship in the past was a cultural prize from a German private bank. A recent graduate of the Hamburg University of Music and Performing Arts received a 35-year long-term sponsorship contract, along with the opportunity to publish his own portfolio.

The "Master of Excellence" program offers lifetime sponsorship.

Viktor's biggest dream in life is to obtain a tenured professorship. If he can get this award, he will have already achieved more than half of his goal right after graduating from university.

"This is the Colosseum in ancient Rome."

Viktor whispered to his classmate, "Thirty people are competing against each other, and in the end only five can win applause, and only one can get..."

"What will you gain?"

Gu Weijing was flipping through a collection of Picasso's works.

“Freedom?” Viktor thought for a moment and said.

"free."

Gu Weijing repeated.

“You can do whatever you want for the rest of your life, you’ll never starve, and you’ll never be homeless.” Viktor thought for a moment. “That’s probably the life that people like Van Gogh dream of. That’s what true freedom is.”

“Van Gogh? He wasn’t exactly wealthy,” Gu Weijing said.

To live a free life, you don't necessarily need a lot of money or to win awards.

"But he had his brother Theo, who provided almost all the money Van Gogh needed for his entire life's work."

Victor said.

Gu Weijing was persuaded.

"So, who were the spectators at the Colosseum? And who were the citizens of ancient Rome?" Gu Weijing asked himself, answering, "Probably the judges of the competition."

"Yes."

Victor gestured to one side with his mouth.

"It seems we have had an exceptionally good week. Well, Caesar himself is in the mood to grace us with his presence."

He patted Gu Weijing on the shoulder.

"come on."

"Go for it, Spartacus." Gu Weijing smiled back, his gaze following the direction Viktor was looking.

A familiar old friend.

Sarah, the new art director of the magazine "Painting," was speaking quietly in a corner of the cafeteria with an independent director of a private bank, one of the major sponsors of the Masters Project.

There was no one around her, and further out, in that direction, many people were watching, but it was extremely quiet. Everyone unconsciously lowered their voices, afraid of disturbing the conversation. The space over there seemed to be frozen by a strange force.

The flow of time is different from that of the outside world.

If you hold a fork in the air and then let go, an outsider would think it would freeze in mid-air instead of falling due to gravity.

Further out.

That is the flowing world within the entire self-service restaurant.

The authority of the magazine "Oil Painting" and its power to judge artworks can sometimes be expressed in a very, very concrete way.

Gu Weijing was no stranger to scenes where two seemingly incompatible atmospheres—noise and tranquility, flow and stillness—were organically blended together.

Gu Weijing had felt a similar feeling before, at another artists' party, on another person.

That person's name is Anna.

Victor's metaphor was absolutely accurate.

The judges' time was precious, and some students from colleges outside Hamburg had to fly home on Sunday night to celebrate Christmas. To speed things up, the interviews were conducted in two separate meeting rooms.

Victor and Gu Weijing just went to draw lots.

According to the interview order, one is number five and the other is number twelve. Victor, who lost the bet, goes first. If he finds the interviewer inside difficult to deal with, Gu Weijing can try to switch to another room.

Even if it doesn't work.

You can also prepare in advance.

"Just tell me whether Ms. Sarah is in that room or not."

“Let me ask you a question,” Victor asked. “Would you rather run into Sarah, or not run into Sarah?”

“Good question.” Gu Weijing thought for a moment.

“My question is very good. Let me tell you a story,” Victor said. “There was an emperor in ancient Rome who loved gladiatorial combat, Commodus. Gladiators faced a dilemma… Did you want the emperor to appear in the arena, or did you not?”

What's the difference?

"The difference is that if the emperor is not in a good mood that day and only watches from the arena, then that's fine, because the presence of the emperor will make the Roman nobles more enthusiastic, and the winner will often easily receive more prizes and rewards than before."

What if you're really excited?

“That would be terrible,” Victor said. “He’s very interested, and the emperor himself might even put on his armor and go into the gladiatorial arena. I don’t know how good Commodus was at gladiatorial combat. But I do know that, according to historical records, he fought more than a thousand gladiatorial matches in his lifetime and never lost a single one.”

Gu Weijing stared in Sarah's direction; they had just met once more than two weeks ago.

Gu Weijing always had a vague feeling that the appearance of this nearly ninety-year-old grandmother at today's resort was probably not so simple.

Did you come for yourself?
If so.

Although the melodious violin music was playing in their ears, Gu Weijing was willing to bet that this old lady Sarah wasn't so easily captivated by his violin playing in the ranch in Hamburg that day, feeling like she was hearing heavenly music and feeling restless if she didn't hear it for a few days, that she would come over and beg the great artist Mr. Gu to play another piece.

Perhaps Gu Weijing was looking over there for too long.

Sarah turned her head and nodded slightly at him.

Gu Weijing nodded slightly.

"Did you notice, brother?"

(End of this chapter)