Almighty painter

Chapter 976 Sarah's Judgment

Sarah handed the folder on the table to Gu Weijing.

Inside were stacks of individual portfolios or corresponding materials from each student she had previously reviewed, with each paper file bearing a corresponding score.

U, U...U.

Gu Weijing quickly flipped through the document. Just as Sarah had said, he had initially thought that Viktor had been treated unfairly. Whether the judges liked him or not, appreciated him or not, was up to them. However, given Viktor's daily efforts and hard work, it was really too much to be given a "failing" grade.

After actually receiving these resumes...

Only then did he understand.

The problem isn't with him or Victor; the problem lies with Sarah.

This old lady is a ruthless grading machine, a heartless producer of failing grades. She didn't just give Viktor an U; she gave all the students an U.

This includes Williams, whose resume is quite impressive.

just now.

Gu Weijing then understood more deeply when Victor staggered out and told him that the "evil" of this art director of the "Painting" magazine was ten times more than Kertész had ever imagined.

No matter how harsh or strict Kezens was, he never treated everyone equally and simply expelled the entire class.
After reviewing these documents, Gu Weijing could only conclude that either Ms. Sarah had some degree of mental illness, or... she wasn't there for an interview; she was there to cause trouble.

"Feel sorry."

Gu Weijing shook his head. He couldn't understand Sarah's thought process, but he still apologized for his previous offensive remarks.

“Mr. Gu, apologize? Why should I apologize?” Sarah wasn’t going to let Gu Weijing off so easily. She asked sneer, “Why don’t you ask if my actions were fair to Williams? He’s an outstanding musical genius, yet I gave him a failing grade. That’s too much, isn’t it?”

"Oh. I forgot."

The old lady patted her head.

"Mr. Gu Weijing, with his strong sense of justice, wouldn't get angry over such injustice. Because Victor is your friend, and Williams? Based on my observation during the interview, he doesn't like you. Since Williams doesn't like you and isn't your friend, then... let him die."

Gu Weijing felt that he had not met another Cao Xuan, but Miss Elena, who was several times older. Her language lacked the youthful enthusiasm of Anna, but she was more sarcastic.

Gu Weijing and Anna could argue and insult each other, and in the end, Miss Elena would throw a document at them.

The old lady sat there calmly. He questioned her first, but Sarah retorted and left him speechless.

"Isn't it?"

Gu Weijing said.

“Shouldn’t we just let him die?” Sarah asked.

“No…no, what I mean is…judging from your tone…” Gu Weijing thought for a moment before carefully asking, “You gave Williams a failing grade, isn’t that unfair to him?”

“I saw you applauding his performance earlier in the hall.”

Gu Weijing truly didn't understand.

This is outrageous.

Does Sarah know how to play the violin? He guessed she probably did, but could she possibly know more about violin playing than the professional musicians in the room? Don't brag, Gu Weijing really didn't believe it.

People often say that music and art have a lot in common.

Cao Xuan's teacher quoted Liu Wendian's phrase "Guanyin Bodhisattva," where the "sound" refers to the rhythmic quality of art.

Western Romanticism, Impressionism, Neoclassical and Old Classical Aesthetics, Baroque Style—these art movements have corresponding counterparts in the fields of music and painting. In fact, a Baroque painter and a Baroque musician may very well be friends.

However, there's always a "but".

People always say that everyone has their own area of ​​expertise.

If you understand painting, you understand music, and Gu Weijing wouldn't need to be thinking about carrying a baguette to Abu Dhabi lately.

Even Sarah, the art director of "Painting" and a master of writing art reviews, only played the role of an "amateur" judge in this kind of setting, simply clapping on the sidelines and saying, "Well done, Sarah, thank you for your hard work."

That's fair.

"You are a critic in the field of painting, and I don't think you have enough ability to judge Williams' performance as unsatisfactory. If a conductor of a symphony orchestra gave my work a failing grade today, I would also disagree."

Gu Weijing said.

"Does one necessarily need a professional academic background to comment on Williams' violin playing?" the old lady retorted with a smile. "Can't I have my own likes and dislikes? No matter how well he plays, if I don't like it, am I wrong? If I have to conform to mainstream opinions, then where is my independent judgment?"

Gu Weijing was stumped again.

If it were the old him, he might have thought Sarah was right, after a whole year of intensive verbal training from Miss Elena. But after careful consideration, Gu Wei believed Sarah was being sophistical.

"correct."

Gu Weijing said, "If you are Sarah and are judging based solely on your personal likes and dislikes, then I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Liking or disliking an art style is very subjective. There's no reason why someone has to like a certain style. It's a terrible view that liking classical art makes you superior to liking popular art, or that liking modern art makes you superior to liking comics."

"No matter how well Williams plays, if you don't like it, that's perfectly fine."

"So what's the problem?" Sarah asked, trying to persuade her.

"The problem is... you're sitting here today as a highly respected art critic. And it's not just a ninety-year-old grandmother sitting here today. You represent an authoritative opinion; all your comments will affect the fate of every student in the master program. If the job of the so-called most authoritative art critic is to label everyone as failing without any reason, then..."

"So what then?"

"At the very least, I would feel very disappointed, and it would also have a significant impact on your authority."

Gu Weijing said sincerely.

Sarah stopped talking.

The woman stared at Gu Weijing, whose face was etched with the marks of time, and whose hair was as white as snow.

"That's the problem."

Sarah said softly.

……

It wasn't until several months later, on the eve of the official opening of the art exhibition, that Gu Weijing finally understood the true meaning of Sarah's words, "That's the problem," during the interview that day.

What she actually wanted to say was—

This is Miss Elena's problem. In Sarah's mind, Miss Elena was originally a very irresponsible person. After meeting her, her opinion of Anna changed; she thought Anna wasn't necessarily irresponsible, but she was a very self-centered person.

She only ever cares about the people she wants to care about.

She will only ever love the person she loves.

Her gaze, all her emotions, are only directed and poured out upon the people or things she cares about and likes. Jane Austen's world is divided into "heroines" and everyone else.

Miss Elena's world is the same.

Anna is willing to care about things, and... everything else.

When she criticized Van Dorn, she showed no mercy whatsoever. She didn't care who Van Dorn was at all. She mocked, ridiculed, and lashed out at him, stabbing him again and again with sharp words.

When it comes to things Anna cares about, Miss Elena can't stand even a critical glance or a sarcastic remark from someone. Sarah felt like she was an angry chicken flapping its wings and flying over, clucking and pecking at the other woman until feathers flew everywhere.

That's the problem.

It's not that Anna's anger was problematic, nor that her criticism of Vandoorne was wrong.

Sarah believed that Miss Elena could be a very good editor for the magazine "Painting" and a wonderful art critic, but she could not be a very, very competent art director for "Painting".

She might even become the chairman of the magazine's board of directors.

The only exception is the art director.

At least, not Anna Elena at this age. It has nothing to do with artistic background, awareness of issues, or experience... Sarah said she thinks the other person is a very good art critic.

This is only related to "mindset".

As the content manager of the oldest and most authoritative art review magazine in Europe, this position is very special, and to take on this role, she must have a sufficiently broad perspective.

Sarah and Miss Anna Elena actually have many, many similarities.

From career to life.

As directors of the magazine *Painting*, neither of them were successful painters, but they were both quite good at playing musical instruments. Anna had a piano in her office during her time at *Painting*. Sarah had a violin and was a founding member of several classical music clubs.

Even in their personal and professional lives, they are artists, yet they all share a peculiar fascination with science fiction.

In Miss Elena's office drawer, there is always a copy of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" that was given to her by a professor from the former Repin Academy of Fine Arts on the day she started working.

This book represents a kind of problem awareness.

This suggests that in the field of art criticism, "finding a good question" may be more important than "finding a correct answer."

And Sarah?
She encountered countless art collections throughout her life, and even Picasso himself once gave her a simple sketch. But the framed photograph on her office desk did not contain a Picasso work, but rather a famous photograph—"Pale Blue Dot."

Valentine's Day in 1990.

As Voyager 1 was about to pass the boundary of Pluto, it captured this family portrait of the solar system with its camera. It will then propel itself like an arrow into the vast and desolate expanse of space, and one day will reach the Proxima Centauri system, home to the closest star to our solar system.

At the current flight speed.

It will be about 16,700 years from now.

It took this photo from 64 billion kilometers away from Earth. If the entire voyage is likened to a marathon, then it had only taken a few steps when this photo was taken.

Just a few steps away, the Earth appears as small as a speck of dust.

This photo is Sarah telling herself, "Everything is just dust."

It's hard for an art critic to be without subjective bias, but as the director of "Oil Painting," she has to understand that on this tiny speck of dust, there are so many painters and so many schools of painting.

You must see as much of them as possible.

She couldn't live only in her own world, only care about the painters she wanted to care about, and only revolve around them.

She needs to have a grand perspective, to examine the entire industry as broadly and extensively as possible; this is the difference between the responsibilities of an art director and an art critic editor.

The significance of this perspective even surpasses personal feelings of like or dislike.

Sir Brown can be solely responsible for the interests of the shareholders.

An art critic can be held accountable solely for their own preferences and likes and dislikes.

The only difference is that, as the person in charge of the content of the magazine "Oil Painting", the art director focuses on the entire industry.

That day.

Sarah also explained to Gu Weijing why she gave Williams a "U"—because she wasn't a painting critic, she was an art critic.

She was invited here today to sit here, not to say "she plays well" or "she paints well".

What she offers is a holistic artistic judgment.

To give an imperfect example, if Williams positioned himself as a "musician" playing the violin in a restaurant to entertain the guests, then there would be no problem.

She had already clapped.

Williams played superbly; at her level, she simply couldn't find fault with the other person's performance.

If he positions himself as an "artist"?
I'm sorry.

He is simply unqualified.

This example is inappropriate because, in this analogy, the "artist" is clearly superior to the "restaurant musician."

In fact, being an artist and a restaurant musician are not inherently contradictory professions. There are genuine artists among restaurant musicians, and even among itinerant musicians. And among the great artists who are well-known and remembered, there may have been those who did jobs no different from restaurant musicians.

Sarah believes.

The core elements that distinguish whether a musician has sufficient depth and is moving enough do not lie in where they play—whether on the side of the road, in the woods, or in Vienna's Golden Hall—but in two things: the technique of the performance and the spirit of the performance, and whether the overall imagery of the performance is touching.

"What are you playing? What are you drawing? Is there any emotion you urgently want to express? Is there anything you want to depict, criticize, or praise?"

"And what is the reason for the existence of your work?"
-
Martin Heidegger argues that throughout history, all philosophers have wasted time on secondary questions, forgetting to ask the most important one—the question of being. What does it mean for something to exist? What does it mean for you to be yourself? Heidegger insists that if you don't ask yourself these questions, you will get nothing.

—From *The Existentialist Café*

(End of this chapter)