1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 172: The 'Talented' Ronan
A few days ago, on the way to Aix, Ronan asked Zoe why she came so many days in advance.

Zoe said she wanted to come early to set up the display case.

Ronan asked in return, the job of arranging the display cabinets should not fall on the shoulders of the participating designers, shouldn't that be the responsibility of the organizer?

Zoe replied that this was her first exhibition in her life and she hoped to show her own style. Coming early would allow her more time to prepare according to the layout of the venue.

As a result, she really decorated this place with a strong "Zoe style".

Next to the cups and plates on display, there are six small wooden animals about four or five centimeters high.

They either stand or lie beside the equipment, like "warriors" guarding them.

"Does this look like 'Huhu' to you?" Leah asked Louis, pointing at one of the small wooden carvings.

Louis bent down and looked carefully for a while:
"Like Huhu, who likes to stand at the door and watch people like this."

The sculpture of Zoe is not very delicate, even a little "rough", but her expression is vivid and has a unique beauty and charm.

"This is Bobo!" Leah recognized the second little animal, but she hesitated in front of the third sculpture, "This is——"

Ronan touched the wooden sculpture's head through the glass:
"It's Xiao Hei."

The sitting posture and body shape were exactly the same as when Xiao Hei was squatting at Zoe's feet.

"So is this Marseille?" Leah asked, pointing at a messy 'rag'.

"Yes." Ronan laughed out loud.

Marseille's 'Spirit' is so accurate.

"So these six wooden sculptures represent all the small animals from our two families?" Louis finally understood.

The more Ronan looked at these wood carvings, the more he liked them. He tapped the glass and said:
“When the exhibition is over, I will take them home and put them in my living room.”

The three of them spent the afternoon chatting and killing time in the open-air rest area and did not go anywhere else.

Ronan didn't want to go, and Louis and Leah couldn't understand.

"There used to be many artists in Lourmarin, famous and unknown. There were too many of them. When I was a kid, I often saw people digging soil and making pottery jars on the roadside, but now we don't see them anymore," Louis said with emotion.

Leah also said with emotion:
"I used to have several neighbors who could paint, but later they all moved away to Saint-Remy. When Zoe bought a kiln a few months ago, the workers said it was their first time to deliver goods in Lourmarin, and they looked very surprised."

"Artists like to 'gather' together for activities." Ronan shrugged.

"So we are very pleased that Zoe has persisted for so many years, and we are also proud of her," Leah said excitedly.

Ronan thought of something and asked them:
"Blanco said that Zoe is the only 'artist' left in Lourmarin. Is that true?"

Provence is the cradle of artists.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Henry James and Marcel Pagnol were all inspired by or wrote about Provence.

Provence also has a lot of traces left by artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paul Signac and Paul Cézanne.

Louis nodded with a complicated expression:
"Yes, I don't know when it started, but 'art' suddenly left the lives of Lourmarin residents. Leah and I were extremely surprised that we, who are art idiots, could give birth to a daughter who loves art."

Ronan looked somewhere in the distance.

The departure of 'art' is another manifestation of Lourmarin's backwardness.

In the village of Mena, a few kilometers away, there is not only a contemporary museum, but also galleries and art shops.

"But this situation will change soon." Ronan said to Louis and Leah, "Blanc has given Sylvie a death order, asking her to attract investment to open an art store on the commercial street. 'Art' will come to Lourmarin again in the near future."

Ronan could get the "core" information of Lourmarin. Even the well-informed Louis did not know that there was such a thing:

“Is it opened by villagers from this village or villagers from other villages?”

Ronan considered for a moment:
“It’s most likely a villager from another village.”

No one in Lourmarin would open an art shop except Zoe.

But Ronan asked Zoe, and Zoe said that her focus at this stage would be on creation and she would not consider opening her own store for the time being.

Louis' tone was obviously disappointed:
"Outsider"

"What's wrong?" Ronan looked at him puzzled.

This is a good thing. Why are you so depressed?
Louis said worriedly:

"The art shops opened by people from other villages will not be any different from those in Mena Village and Sorg Island. People who are not from our own village will still be very harsh on Zoe."

Zoe produces a huge amount of works every week, and it is impossible to sell them all in just two days of the market.

Every once in a while, she would send them to the art shop in Mena Village or Sorgue Island.

But the art shop's requirements for accepting works are very strict, and Zoe is often "harassed". They also keep making a fuss about the price.

Every time Zoe came home from the art store, she would be depressed for a while.

But if it is opened by a villager, it will be different. As the only "artist" in Lourmarin, they will always give Zoe some preferential treatment.

"The situation you described can't possibly happen in Lourmarin." Ronan's expression turned serious.

Leia patted Ronan's arm gratefully, telling him not to get too excited:
"We all hope that doesn't happen."

Ronan raised his index finger and said with a 'no doubt' gesture:
“No matter where the art store ends up being opened, it’s impossible for them to make things difficult for Zoe. I promise.”

Leah and Louis looked at each other with relief.

Their daughter has a powerful backer in Lourmarin.

Ronan is the 'great hero' of Lourmarin, and he wants to protect Zoe, so no one dares to make things difficult for her.

But after leaving Lourmarin and coming to Aix, Ronan was no longer useful.

At 2:40, a group of people appeared in Hall D - they were professors from the Royal College of Art, accompanied by the organizing committee and designers.

Ronan, Louis and Leah immediately went to Zoe's work, anxiously waiting for the professors' arrival.

"Will they review Zoe's work?" Leah asked nervously.

Louis was also a little nervous:
"Let's just pray that we don't get criticized. I just went to the bathroom and heard tourists coming out of other museums say that those professors would only comment on less-than-ideal works. I don't want them to say that about Zoe."

Ronan comforted them:

"We are here to cheer Zoe up. Zoe is still fighting hard. We can't lose confidence first!"

"Yes, yes, we are here to cheer for Zoe!" Leah held Louis' hand, "God bless you."

The organizing committee invited the professors mainly to "endorse" the exhibition.

In the absence of well-known designers, these celebrities in the French art world can take the reputation and scale of the exhibition to a higher level.

Since everyone knows it well, visiting the exhibition is just a formality, and the professors have no interest in commenting on these young designers.

"Today's new artists are very creative and their works are very good." Professor Goldman of the Royal College of Art, the most important guest of honor, praised with "sincere sincerity".

"They are the future of French art." Another professor named Alidai immediately agreed.

The staff of the organizing committee happily recorded these scenes as a strong basis for asking sponsors for money next time.

Professor Goldman suddenly stopped in front of a display case and said to the person next to him with a smile:

“Ariday, what does this work remind you of?”

Alidai stroked his neatly trimmed beard and said:
"I thought of a lot, and it can lead to endless reverie."

Professor Goldman left with a strange expression: "It reminds me of Claude Vilar."

In the crowd, the designer of this display cabinet lowered his head in embarrassment.

The other designers gave him sympathetic looks.

This is the 9th 'victim' today.

The staff of the organizing committee said to the cameraman with a serious expression:

"Cut the material here too."

Claude Vilar is known for his radical style and subversion of traditional painting forms.

His works are all single and meaningless graphics. He is a very controversial French artist.

"Professor Goodman, Professor Alidai, we have visited the last museum. Are there any works that impressed you throughout the visit?" The staff asked the questions they had prepared in advance.

As Professor Ali walked, he smiled and read out the standard answer given to him by the organizing committee:

"There are so many works that impressed me. I think you should hold more good exhibitions like this and give young artists more opportunities to show themselves. You see, they are doing very well."

The staff asked Professor Goldman again:
"and you?"

Professor Goldman has the usual "rebelliousness" of an artist. He did not want to "recite" the answer completely, otherwise he would not have used Claude Vilar to allude to his true evaluation of the work.

But unfortunately, he didn't look at too many works carefully, and these instruments seemed too "immature" to him.

"Are there any works that impressed you?" He looked around, hoping to find a work that he could comment on.

Suddenly, a cry of surprise appeared in the quiet exhibition hall:

"Huh? Isn't this a glassware exhibition? Why are there wood carvings?"

Everyone looked towards the location where the sound came from.

Zoe in the crowd widened her eyes nervously.

What is Ronan going to do?!

Professor Goldman was attracted by Ronan's voice and walked to Zoe's display case.

If it weren't for this exclamation, they would just be passing by.

Ronan seemed to have just noticed the large group of people and cameras in the exhibition hall, and said apologetically:
"I'm sorry, did I disturb you? I couldn't control myself just now."

"No, no!" The staff member thought that occasionally appearing some "plots" outside the script was a good thing, and enthusiastically explained to Ronan, "These wood carvings were strongly requested by the designer, saying that this is her "feature."

Professor Goldman looked at those 'abstract' animal wood carvings and said with a smile:
“What’s this feature?”

The staff looked for Zoe in the crowd:

"Is the designer here? Can you tell us about your work?"

Zoe walked out of the crowd generously:
“I am the designer of this display case.”

Tourists also gathered around.

"Wow, what a beautiful designer!"

Pretty girls will be treated better wherever they are. Professor Goldman softened his tone and asked Zoe:

“Why put a few wood carvings in there?”

Zoe's voice was flat and her emotions were extremely calm. It seemed that Professor Goldman's previous "troublemaking" for the designer had not had any impact on her:
"I am a designer who specializes in animals, but unfortunately the works I am participating in this exhibition cannot reflect animals, so I made a few temporary wooden sculptures as decorations."

"Why don't you reflect your style in your work?" Professor Goldman asked in confusion.

Zoe didn't answer and looked at the staff.

why?
Because the organizing committee did not accept any works that included animals.

The organizing committee staff tried hard to find a good explanation:
"Putting some small decorations will make it more impressive, right? Without these embellishments, it won't attract your attention."

She rounded things up by referring to the previous problem.

Professor Goldman smiled and shrugged his shoulders, then said to Zoe:
"You still have a lot of room for improvement in making utensils, but the animals you make are quite unique. You can continue this style in your works in the future. Keep up the good work."

The designers whispered to each other in surprise.

This is the first time today that the famous Professor Goldman has made comments with actual content!
"Thank you, Professor Goodman." Zoe said gratefully.

Leah, who was standing by, was almost scratching Louis' arm until it turned red. She kept muttering:
"Oh no no no, God, this professor 'criticized' Zoe's work."

Ronan whispered to comfort her:
"No, that's not a criticism at all, maybe it's a good thing."

Professor Goldman, who had already left, looked back at the wood carvings and asked Zoe:

"Five dogs and one sheep, what do they mean?"

What a strange combination
Zoe looked in a certain direction, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised:
"These are all my pets, and I hope they can accompany me to participate in this event."

Ronan's dog is also her dog. Well, not yet, but definitely in the future.

Don't favor one over the other.

Leia forgot about her nervousness and looked at Ronan in shock.

Is there something you and Zoe forgot to tell us about?

Half an hour later, Zoe ran over happily to reunite with her parents and Ronan.

Along with her came some great news.

"Someone from the cultural exchange center just came to me and said he wanted to see my animal-related works. I was invited!" Zoe hugged her mother excitedly.

"Great, great!" Leah finally felt relieved.

Zoe looked at Ronan with a complicated expression:

“You, you—”

Ronan thought Zoe was going to 'blame' him for his bold move, so he raised his hands to show his innocence:
"I know you won't be influenced by other people's comments, but if the result is good, I will make a fortune. It turns out that my bet was right."

Zoe said in a 'blaming' tone:
"It's a pity that you don't become an actor. Why didn't I realize you have such talent before?"

Ronan said with a bright smile:

"I'll take it as a compliment from you."

After the exhibition, Zoe handed the wood sculptures of Blackie and Marseille to Ronan.

"I thought about what gift to give you for a long time, but you have everything you need, and I didn't find anything you are particularly interested in. I know you really like Xiao Hei and Ma Sai, so they are my two return gifts to you." Zoe said with a smile on her face, "I finally paid it back!"

The first gift was the ochre plate, the second was today’s hat.

Ronan carefully packed up the plates and raised his eyebrows at Roy with a wicked smile:
"Pay it back? Of course not. I prepared another gift for you, and now you still owe me a return gift."

"Any more gifts?" Zoe's voice rose unconsciously.

Ronan urged her anxiously:

"Pack up quickly and go home to you."

(End of this chapter)