Reborn as a great painter, with a system, you can be willful

"Professor Kerry's office is at the end of the circular corridor on the fourth floor." Kelly, who led the way, shook her blonde hair, and the enamel earrings on her earlobes were a little dazzling.

Jiang Zhe had been to Professor Kerry's office, but the outgoing Kelly insisted on leading the way.

“Your last solo exhibition at Christie’s was very successful. Do you have any new plans this year?”

Wang Zhen responded on behalf of Jiang Zhe, saying that the solo exhibition needs to be discussed with Christie's and cannot be confirmed for the time being.

Seeing the office door, Jiang Zhe thanked Kelly, implying that she could avoid it.

However, Kelly said that she was very familiar with Professor Kerry and knocked on the heavy wooden door.

When you enter the office, you can see dust dancing in the oblique light beam. On the bookshelf that fills the entire wall, books and materials of different forms and types are stacked up.

Professor Kerry stood up from behind his desk. "Jiang, I was waiting for you when I received your call. Welcome to Columbia University."

Jiang Zhe greeted politely, and Wang Zhen followed suit.

Kelly used her ability as a social cow to explain her encounter with Jiang Zhe and portrayed herself as a good student who was willing to help others.

Jiang Zhe felt that Kerry should have understood Kelly's performance, but did not say it to her face.

While greeting him, he glanced at Professor Kerry's desk.

There were a lot of materials on the table, including a collection of papers on "Comparative Studies of Byzantine Patterns". Judging from the bookmarks and traces of flipping through the pages, these books had been used many times.

Jiang Zhe felt that his choice was right. This mentor was someone who could do solid research and keep up with the changes of the times.

He gave Professor Kerry a gift he brought from China.

Professor Kerry was very happy when he saw the handicrafts and gifts made by Jiang Zhe.

He prepared black tea to entertain Jiang Zhe and the other man.

Kelly rushed to serve several people.

Professor Kerry asked Jiang Zhe about his plans and arrangements for coming to school in advance.

When I heard that he was still living in a hotel, I gave him some advice on his daily life, for example, how to arrange accommodation and schedule so as to better coordinate study and life.

“Andy Warhol once said that true avant-garde art is always killing its yesterday self.”

When he heard that Jiang Zhe planned to report as soon as possible, he directly gave him a list of books and some information.

Jiang Zhe took the list and saw that there were more than a dozen books on it. The title of each book was quite long, such as "1968-2000 American Contemporary Art Archives".

As for the document, it reads “Columbia University’s Joint Master’s and Doctoral Program in Art History and Art Practice,” and the 2003 revised edition is marked in the lower right corner.

"You have to complete three core courses in the first year." Professor Kerry introduced Jiang Zhe to the courses and requirements he had to complete. For example, he needed to learn how to analyze literature, what the annual study tasks were, which professors to ask for advice, which specific projects to research, where to go to check materials, how many field trips he needed to complete, etc.

Jiang Zhe recorded quickly.

Wang Zhen took a look from the side and felt dizzy after seeing the list of requirements for the doctoral candidate qualification assessment: publish two papers in a certain journal, plan a theme joint exhibition, complete a theoretical construction of more than 50,000 words...

Kerry briefly explained the learning tasks that Jiang Zhe had to complete: "I will send the detailed arrangements to your email address so that you can arrange your time appropriately."

He took a sip of tea and continued, "Last year, a student dropped out in his third year. "While studying art, he was addicted to a virtual reality club for a whole month—a doctoral thesis at Columbia, not a plastic toy in a video game. Of course, I believe you won't be addicted to the virtual world. However, you are a painter who has already gained a certain reputation, so you must continue to create and participate in social activities. I hope you can manage your time well."

Jiang Zhe said that he would not miss the courses.

Professor Kerry stood up and took out several invitations from a brown paper bag: "This is a pass to the Curator's Club. The storeroom is open to graduate students every Thursday night. This is an invitation from a certain art museum. If you have a good relationship with them, you can borrow materials at a specific time in the name of research..."

Jiang Zhe looked at these avenues that were inaccessible in the past and confirmed once again that he had made the right choice.

Professor Kerry's guidance also includes finding the corresponding locations of certain valuable information.

Jiang Zhe felt that if these locations were marked on the map, it would create a densely packed visual effect.

When Professor Kerry finished speaking, Kelly reminded Jiang Zhe not to forget to attend the graduate student welcome party.

By the way, through chatting, Jiang Zhe learned that Kelly was an undergraduate student and would apply for graduate school next year.

"Come on, I'll take you to complete the registration process." Professor Kerry took Jiang Zhe to the management department.

Registrar Irene, wearing tortoise-shell glasses, found Jiang Zhe's information from the pile of documents and began to guide him to complete the registration.

Jiang Zhe started by signing the "International Student Art Practice Safety Agreement"...

"Sign here, here, and here you need to take fingerprints..."

"This is your campus card. It has been pre-loaded with 24-hour access to the Jerome Arts Center." Irene handed over a magnetic card with a gold-plated edge. "Last week, a film student had his access revoked for illegally copying rare books. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the regulations."

"Thank you."

In front of the payment window, the air was filled with a mixture of ink and anxiety.

Near noon, Jiang Zhe finally completed the tedious process.

"You can relax for a few days, and come back to me when you are fully prepared." Professor Kerry gave advice after he and Jiang Zhe agreed on the time for their next meeting.

Jiang Zhe and Wang Zhen said goodbye to Professor Kerry.

Kelly followed.

She whispered to Jiang Zhe that she could take him to see the real New York.

Jiang Zhe didn't know this beautiful woman yet, so he declined.

Wang Zhen said that next, the two of them would go meet their friends to thank Kelly for her help again.

Kelly was rejected, but she was not discouraged.

She watched Kang Cheol and Wang Jin-ah walk away, her tight tank top rippling.

Ever since learning about Jiang Zhe's experience, he has become one of his targets.

He came here to study and he has plenty of opportunities.

After walking for a while, Jiang Zhe and Wang Zhen felt that they had gotten rid of Kelly, so they stopped in front of the Gothic arch of the Hamilton Building and looked back at the building built in 1897, with its bronze beasts and abstract symbols graffitied with oil paint by students in the s on the porch columns.

"What, you still want to see that girl?" Wang Zhen teased.

Jiang Zhe said: "I'm not here to see her. I'm going to study here in the future. The experience of reporting here is worth remembering. Because of Kelly, I left in a hurry just now."

"It's okay now, you can walk slower." Wang Zhen was relieved when he saw that Jiang Zhe was not interested in Kelly.

When Jiang Zhe and Wang Zhen passed by the bronze statue of Athena in front of the philosophy department building, they decided to take a photo here as a souvenir.

After leaving Columbia University, the two returned to the hotel and had lunch.

The sound of the accordion is intercepted.

On the way back to the hotel, they passed a park and saw some unique urban culture, including a wandering artist playing the accordion, a few young people doing performance art, and protesters holding cardboard signs. These bizarre scenes appeared in the same scene, revealing the complex culture of this city.

After lunch, the two planned to take a rest and meet their friends in the afternoon.

After Jiang Zhe finished washing up, he sat on the sofa and closed his eyes to rest, but in fact he turned on the system.

A new prompt appears on the page.

You are enrolled and begin your studies at Columbia University. A long-term mission is triggered.

Task requirements: Please complete the scheduled master's and doctoral studies plan with hard-working spirit and reasonable arrangements.

The system will issue rewards based on your learning process and final results. If you complete the course successfully as planned, you will be considered qualified. If you obtain new honors during the completion period, the new achievements will increase your score. If you delay the completion, your score will be affected.

Jiang Zhe looked at the task requirements and recalled his communication with Professor Kerry.

He had anticipated the master's and doctoral programs.

After communicating, he found that these courses were more difficult than he expected. However, compared with many jobs, studying is much easier anyway. What's more, he has a system to support him. These seemingly difficult and complicated subjects actually aroused his fighting spirit.

The more achievements you get, the more rewards you get.

……

Jiang Zhe pulled at the collar that was stuck to the back of his neck and walked towards Christie's auction house side by side with Wang Zhen.

In front of the golden revolving door of Christie's auction house, a doorman in a pearl gray uniform was pouring ice water into the paws of a bronze lion statue.

Before Jiang Zhe entered the main entrance, three people with rosy faces came out to greet him.

A business manager, a consultant, and a vice president.

"Mr. Jiang! Welcome back to Christie's." Vice President Andrew, with his hair combed meticulously, opened his arms and hugged Jiang Zhe.

"Nice to see you again." Jiang Zhe has become accustomed to this understanding.

The two sides greeted each other and walked into the building.

The business manager introduced the new changes of Christie's while walking around

For example, the new display for the art exhibition for the summer auction.

"Your works performed far better than expected in the China Spring Auction," the vice president complimented him as we rode in the elevator, "and were 23.6% more expensive than the works of similar artists of the same period."

Walking into the reception room, the air conditioner lowers the room temperature to the most comfortable level.

Jiang Zhe suddenly felt refreshed.

"We have coffee, black tea, and desserts here. By the way, we have also prepared lychee smoothie based on the taste of a customer. What do you like?" The business manager asked after Jiang Zhe and the other person took their seats.

Jiang Zhe ordered a cup of black tea.

The vice president asked about Jiang Zhe's registration at Columbia University.

Jiang Zhe briefly described the process.

The vice president stated bluntly that they could help Jiang Zhe solve his worries in life, and if he needed help with his studies, he could also contact them.

Jiang Zhe would consider asking them to help solve some life problems, but he still has to solve academic problems by himself.

The topic gradually shifted from life to the art market.

The business manager showed Jiang Zhe the electronic version of the "White Paper on Global Art Market in the First Half of 2005".

"This is our latest statistics, and there are new collectors." The business manager slid through the computer, and the holographic projection displayed the data intuitively: "Many new collectors, the preference index for young artists in Asia, especially Chinese, has soared 87% year-on-year, especially you." She looked at Jiang Zhe, "A creative genius with an Ivy League academic background."

The air-conditioning vents made a slight hum, and there was a refreshing fragrance in the reception room.

Jiang Zhe listened carefully to several people from Christie's auction company as they took turns demonstrating the company's strength.

Wang Zhen also understood what they meant, so she didn't rush to express her opinion. After all, Sotheby's had contacted her and the conditions they promised were very good.

I believe that Christie's auction house is also aware of the trends of its peers, so it is very enthusiastic.

"In 2005, the market for contemporary oil paintings was extremely good." The business manager tapped on the keyboard to bring up a curve chart, and the red data line was savagely penetrating all the forecast models. "In the first half of the year alone, several million-level Chinese artists were born, far exceeding the whole of last year. More importantly,

He switched PPTs to show the market conditions in New York, London and Hong Kong: “We want to let the world see the potential of artists born in the 80s.”

After Christie's stated their new terms of cooperation, Jiang Zhe and Wang Zhen were not in a hurry to agree.

Although they were inclined to continue cooperating with Christie's, they still took their time to talk with the other party without being impatient.

In the end, I was very satisfied with the results.

"Deal." Jiang Zhe shook hands with the other party.

The conditions this time are better than before.

Christie's will also invest more energy in utilizing Jiang Zhe's works.

The waiter brought champagne.

In the reception room, the sound of champagne bottles being opened set off a joyful atmosphere, and amber ripples appeared in the crystal glasses.

Several people clinked their glasses: "Cheers to our future."

"We have found several good studios for you." The vice president told Jiang Zhe. "You can take your time to choose. If you are not satisfied, we will continue to help you look for one."

Having accomplished the purpose of this trip, Jiang Zhe and the other man said goodbye.

Passing through the lobby, I saw the Christie’s billboard, which originally had a huge poster of Picasso’s “Dora Maar” printed on it, was being removed.

When Jiang Zhe walked into the elevator, the brand new electronic screen just lit up.

He imagined that his works might appear on huge posters in the future.

After leaving Christie's, Wang Zhen told Jiang Zhe that several well-known galleries and art magazines were jointly selecting "influential young painters."

Jiang Zhe's name is also among them.

Christie’s played a role.

"Today's mission has been successfully completed. How about going to Chinatown to eat iced drunken shrimp?" Wang Zhen suggested. "I heard from a friend that there are several good hotels there."

Jiang Zhe said, "Forget it, don't run too far."

At this time, his cell phone rang.

After receiving a phone call, he told Wang Zhen.

"Miller called me and asked if I had completed the registration. He wanted to invite me to his home."

Wang Zhen's eyes lit up and he said, "You should go. Can I join?"

"Of course, I mentioned you specifically."

"When?" Wang Zhen said, "Miller has been of great help to you, no less than Christie's auction company."

Jiang Zhe called Miller and made an appointment to visit him tonight.

"Let's go back to the hotel and change clothes."

"There's still time."

It rained in the evening.

The rain took away the sultry heat.

In the twilight, Jiang Zhe and Wang Zhen stood at the entrance of the hotel and saw a Rolls-Royce Phantom slowly parked.

As the car drove past Canal Street, Jiang Zhe saw a new huge art poster covering the old advertisement.

(End of this chapter)