Almighty painter

Chapter 977 And so, the exhibition drew near amidst the sounds of the violin.

(Sorry, I'll see if we can reschedule the update for the morning.)
"The Midas Paradox of Art—"

Sarah said.

An artist's career path involves a series of choices.

She and Gu Weijing assumed that there was such a successful artist in the world, named "Midas".

It doesn't matter whether Midas is a painter, musician, sculptor, actor, or singer, or whether he is noticed for his talent, technique, creativity, aesthetic spirit, or for marketing, hype, market speculation, or financial bubbles.

We don't care about the process, we only discuss the result.

The result is that Midas is an incredibly lucky guy; he succeeded, and in the foreseeable future, he will become even more successful.

In the modern art market, generally speaking, the more successful you are, the richer you become.

They are becoming increasingly successful.

They became increasingly wealthy.

In the end, he became an alchemist of wealth.

This artist can get anything he wants; he can buy anything in the world that can be purchased with money. A house, a yacht, a private zoo… anything is possible, as long as he can touch it with his fingertips.

"But he can't buy anything either. Mr. Gu, do you know the alchemist Midas?"

That was the last thing Sarah said to him that day.

Then the art director casually gave him a score on his resume, waved her hand, and told Gu Weijing to get lost.

The old lady strolled back to her original room and continued the interview that had just been interrupted.

Yes.

The other judges didn't ask him a single question or say a single word. When he entered, Sarah also entered, gave him a dressing-down, told him a strange, nonsensical story, and then sent Gu Weijing away.

Do you know Midas, the alchemist?

Gu Weijing once asked this riddle-like question to the person who came to pick him up on his way back.

We lived up to expectations.

When he felt confused, the magical little conch... well, the magical Brother Yang always managed to give him an answer.

This master project is quite important. Williams brought his agent, and Yang Dekang also wanted to come and take a look. He didn't become Gu Weijing's agent, but he can still focus on creating an atmosphere and a sense of companionship.

Gu Weijing felt it was too formal and felt embarrassed.

Teacher Yang backed down, saying that everyone was on holiday for Christmas and even the bars were closed, so he was just killing time anyway. Therefore, when the project was over, Gu Weijing didn't bother taking a taxi back; he drove his own car to pick him up.

Wearing large sunglasses and driving a convertible with the song "Big City, Small Love" playing on the stereo, Yang Dekang was happily speeding along the straight highway, loudly criticizing Williams and saying, "Look, Brother Gu, this is your problem. If Brother Yang were there, would this kind of mess have happened?"
What about Cui Xiaoming and Williams? Let's see if Brother Yang doesn't piss them off! He'll make those guys so angry they won't be able to talk back, they'll choke to death, you get it?

Hearing Gu Weijing's question.

Yang Dekang slowed down the car, turned down the volume of the stereo, and casually asked him if he was referring to Ovid's mythological play "The Metamorphosis".

Miles is the protagonist of one of the short plays. Miles wishes to Dionysus, the god of wine, and is granted a powerful divine ability—the ability to turn everything he touches into gold.

Miles was overjoyed.

He thus became the richest man in the world, and also the one who lost everything.

Because all that remained in his life was gold itself, this was a form of torture in another sense.

"He wanted to drink water, but the water turned into liquid gold the moment it touched his lips. He wanted to eat meat, but the meat turned into heavy nuggets of gold the moment he picked it up."

It is said.

Miles opened his arms to embrace his daughter, and in an instant, she turned into a golden doll.

"Brother Gu, many ancient Greek mythology dramas are like this, and the logic isn't rigorous. I'm just thinking, they all have the same worldview. If Miles met Tantalus, and these two unlucky guys went to eat a sausage together, do you think the sausage would first turn into a phantom, leaving Miles with nothing to bite into? Or would it first turn into a gold nugget and knock out all of Tantalus's teeth? Maybe it would turn into a phantom first, then into gold... Hmm, no, no..."

Old Yang stretched his neck, facing the oncoming wind, and took several big bites, looking very immersed in the scene.

It's quite like an otaku seriously debating whether Superman or Batman is stronger.

Gu Weijing sat in the passenger seat of the 718 sports car, with a foundation check for "7000" euros in his lap.

If one day...

When an artist becomes Miles, it no longer matters whether he got there because of good luck, talent, or marketing and hype.

Because he is merely a gold-producing machine.

He could exchange his works for almost anything in the world, and all his creations—meat, water, or even his beloved daughter—would always shimmer with the same golden luster.

"Think about why your work exists, think about the self you want to pursue. It's more important than technique, a painting, or a violin piece performance itself."

Perhaps.

Perhaps that's incorrect.

This is what Sarah considers the more important and fundamental question about the art industry, and it's also the question that one must face if they want to become an "art master."

This is why, among the thirty-odd students present, whether they were the most outstanding and brilliant or the relatively "mediocre," no matter how hard Viktor tried or how well Williams played the violin, they were all given an "U" by Sarah, failing the exam.

correct.

There is one exception.

In this interview for "master artists," only one person received a different score from Sarah.

Gu Weijing.

Two extremes.

Williams took the longest time to enter the room during the entire interview process, while Gu Weijing took the shortest time.

He went in, greeted the judges, and then walked out awkwardly after being criticized by them.

The whole process takes less than ten minutes.

Gu Weijing actually got an "M" from Sarah.

Germany's scoring system.

The lower the score, the higher the evaluation.

U represents six points, and ungenugend means below expectations, implying "failing".

M stands for five, an abbreviation of mangelhaft in German, which is a level higher than six ("failing"). It means... sorry, still failing.

A score of 4 is required to pass.

Whether it's 5 or 6 points, it's the same as failing, roughly equivalent to the difference between scoring 25 and 45 points on a 100-point exam.

After a year in Germany, Gu Weijing discovered that professors here weren't as rigid and strict as he had imagined. Victor told Gu Weijing that if he just wanted to slack off and do nothing, then many European universities were paradise. Unless you encountered a professor like Samuel Kertzens, who clearly had a vengeful personality, professors would usually give you some leeway, and as long as you studied, your grades wouldn't be particularly bad.

Art, as a discipline, differs somewhat from advanced mathematics.

Unless you never hand in your homework or attend exams, and the teacher dislikes you and thinks you have a problem with your attitude towards learning, they might give you a "U".

Otherwise, basically, "M" is the worst grade a person can get. M is equivalent to, even if you really don't know how to do the question, and have no choice but to copy the question verbatim onto the answer sheet, the teacher pinches their nose, raises their hand, and slips a "hard work" mark between their fingers.

Gu Weijing was essentially Sarah frowning, pinching her nose, raising her hand, and the old lady giving him a small token of appreciation through her fingers.

Throughout his entire student life, he never felt honored to receive a failing grade from someone else.

Traditionally, this is a score that would make you cry after taking the exam.

This white-haired old lady did it.

Compared to Viktor, who might have genuinely cried, and Williams, whose hands were practically smoking from playing the violin, Gu Weijing's overall evaluation on the final Sunday was still slightly lower than Williams'. Williams was the student with the highest overall evaluation after considering all the judges' opinions; Gu Weijing came in second.

Gu Weijing actually felt quite honored.
-
Miss Elena was not at the ranch throughout the entire Christmas holiday.

Even though Anna is no longer the art director of "Painting," she still carries many other labels. She is a private shareholder of "Painting" and a patron of several art departments.

The Elena family as a whole has a very large industrial workforce and financial asset system.

It's a bit complicated to explain.

Anna rarely participates in the daily operations of these businesses; these matters are handled by a management team. Many of the shares and real estate holdings are "permanent."

According to their family tradition, heirs must follow two ironclad rules regarding property.

First and foremost, the land and titles must never be "divided," and each generation is allowed only one heir.

This is actually quite cruel.

Miss Elena's great-grandfather's generation had a total of four siblings.

In his will, Anna's great-grandfather inherited millions of acres of land, shares, and related financial assets, worth at least several billion dollars today. His two brothers and sister, on the other hand, received only a few horses, one or two hunting dogs, and a small garden.

A single hair from nine cows.

Theoretically speaking.

After the family split up, they didn't even have the right to continue living in the Elena Manor where they grew up. Those who were a little less capable might be rich and powerful yesterday, but tomorrow they might be starving on the streets.

Things are not usually done so decisively. Generally speaking, as someone who inherits 99.99% of the family property, the moral responsibility they bear includes supporting others, paying off siblings' bills, repaying debts, and maintaining daily living expenses, without asking any questions.

According to the "unwritten rules," at the very least, one must support one's sisters until they get married and pay them a regular annuity. In the 19th century, there were many stories of older brothers selling their estates to pay off their younger brothers' debts after they went bankrupt from stock speculation.

But this is "morality," not law.

In other words, you can only have what I'm willing to give you, and you can only live in the house if I'm willing to let you stay.

Or.

You only get what you say if you listen to me; if you don't, you get nothing. The family inheritance system is a winner-takes-all system.

Secondly, many of the family's real estate properties and land are not allowed to be sold.

This has no legal effect nowadays; it's more of a custom.

Anna herself, as the sole direct heir of the Elena family, actually practices an old-fashioned "annuity system," which means she rarely participates in the management of various funds and industries, and is only responsible for enjoying dividends and returns.

Normally I have a very leisurely life, but during holidays like Christmas and New Year's Day...

Miss Elena, on the contrary, was extremely busy, with all sorts of social occasions she had to attend, leaving her no time to rest.

Anna returned to her home in Austria three days ago. She will be on vacation, or rather, busy until mid-January. It's generally understood that Gu Weijing wouldn't be interested in such matters.

Just like last year, she did not invite Gu Weijing to the manor for Christmas. Gu Weijing also wanted to take this time to properly review his art exhibition.

Anna agreed that if Gu Weijing was free, they could go to Vienna together to listen to the New Year's Symphony Orchestra performance.

……

Anna is no longer by my side.

Gu Weijing's pace of life has also become less hectic.

There were no classes, no art exhibition preparations to worry about, all the school exams were over, and even the master project interviews had come to an end.

His pace of life slowed down instantly.

The Christmas holiday is the longest statutory holiday in Europe. Last year, he had only been in Hamburg for a few months and was unfamiliar with the city, so he just wandered around the surrounding attractions a few times and considered his holiday over.

My second year in Germany.

Gu Weijing first flew to London to visit his family, stayed for a few days, and then flew back.

Then life became much simpler.

Sleeping, eating, feeding the cat.

Painting, playing the violin.

Today is Christmas Eve.

Sleeping, eating, feeding the cat.

Painting, playing the violin.

Hamburg had a really big snowfall.

Sleep, eat, draw.

Because I forgot to feed the cat, Ah Wang jumped onto the table while I was drawing, which gave me a big fright.

Playing the violin.

Gu Weijing was finally able to play the violin for the cows in the pasture! The smell in the pasture was neither good nor particularly bad. It was a mixture of animal manure, corn stalks and carrots in the silage, and the not-so-white snow and mud, creating a vibrant natural atmosphere.

Gu Weijing gained his first audience of all – a complete stranger who wouldn't run away while listening to him play the violin.

Dutch dairy cows!
The big cow always stared at him with its big, cow-like eyes, looking at him with a confused and bewildered expression.

After careful research, Gu Weijing concluded that the milk production of dairy cows did not increase due to listening to music. On the contrary, it decreased by about 10% due to the temperature.

Ugh.

Another dud like Awang, who doesn't know how to appreciate art.

that's it.

The last day of 2018 has passed.

that's it.

The first day of 2019 arrived, and so, Gu Weijing's art exhibition gradually drew closer amidst the melodies of the violin.

……

2019 1 Month 1 Day.

Vienna.

Golden Hall —

(End of this chapter)