golden ear

Chapter 281 Unspoken rules?
"It's starting to quarrel again!"

Wu Tianyuan put down the newspaper helplessly, and sighed: "It is said that the entertainment industry is in chaos, but our collection circle is also non-stop!"

Hu Jianmin said with a smile: "There is no way, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Guo Qingxiang is also quick to speak, and he immediately uncovered the shady scenes of many modern artworks."

Guo Qingxiang, a well-known collector in Dalian, and Wen Wei Po were sued by the well-known domestic painter Fan Zengyizhi for writing an article criticizing the phenomenon of "assembly line painting" in the art circle, claiming 500 million yuan for reputation and mental damage.Later, the Changping District Court of BJ City ruled that Guo Qingxiang lost the lawsuit, requiring Guo Qingxiang to apologize to Fan Zeng in writing and compensate Fan Zeng with 7 yuan in compensation for mental damage.

At the press conference that day, Guo Qingxiang showed many media reporters the judgment of the No. [-] Intermediate Court of BJ City. However, it is believed that "in the name of evaluation, belittle and insult the personality of the author".

Guo Qingxiang took out a photo of Fan Zeng's "assembly line painting" and said to the reporter: "On a big white wall, there are 10 large rice papers hanging at the same time. Referring to the first finished product, I painted heads one by one, and then painted people and clothes in turn. This is what I saw with my own eyes. As you can see, the photos were also published by Fan Zeng’s student Cui Zimo on the website. I did not criticize by name in that article, because what I described was the impetuous phenomenon in the current art creation, which exists objectively, and it is about things and not people. "

Guo Qingxiang said angrily that the products produced by this assembly line are the painting products that Fan Zeng regarded himself as a "copier" and reproduced in batches according to the pattern and standardization. It is not an artistic creation at all, but a complete "pseudo-art".At the same time, these "industrial assembly line commodity paintings" are packaged as high-priced "artworks", which not only misleads art appreciation in the society, but also infringes on the interests of the majority of buyers. It is a deceptive act.

In contrast to Guo Qingxiang's high-profile controversy, Fan Zeng's self-assembly line painting photos were disclosed in the media, and he was extremely low-key and silent, almost disappearing from public view.The reporter contacted Fan Zeng in many ways, but all failed.

During the first instance and second instance, Fan expressed his acceptance of court mediation several times, but Guo Qingxiang refused.In this regard, Guo Qingxiang said: "Even if the lawsuit is lost, I think it is worth it, because I want to let the public understand the essence of assembly line painting, improve the public's aesthetics in the process of discussion in the whole society, and realize the bubble in the art market. My personal loss of more than 7 yuan has saved more people from greater losses, which is worth it."

Wu Tianyuan also just heard about this matter, and he is also very interested in this collector. Everyone in this unspoken rule industry knows it well, but no one exposes it.After all, they all rely on artworks for food. Chinese people like to care about face, and people with high status are lazy to talk about it.After all, it is only the behavior of a few people.

Ordinary people say that it is useless, and it will cause trouble, so it has been covered up all the time, and someone exposed it today.

Lao Ren continued: "This kind of thing happens all over the world. For example, the Indian artist Alexander has gained fame in recent years. His works are famous for adding imaginative designs to traditional Indian plates. He has been exhibited in Britain, the United States, and Canada. The price of a single work is close to 1 U.S. dollars, but these paintings signed by Gritsky's name are not from his handwriting!"

"He himself lives in New York, and these paintings are done by seven assistants far away in India. "I prefer not to paint by myself," Gritsky said in an interview recently, and it will take him 7 years to catch up The level of chief assistant Riaz Uddin, "I am relieved not to be burdened by technical difficulties. "

Wu Tianyuan was a little surprised, it was the first time he heard such shameless remarks, Lao Ren laughed and said: "The signed artist and the real creator are probably not the same person, and the contemporary art circle has long been familiar with such outrageous things. Some well-known artists, such as Damien in the United Kingdom and Jeff Koons in the United States, even openly recruited a large number of assistants to help them complete paintings and sculptures. According to people familiar with the matter, the rising art prices and the strong demand for contemporary art works It is the main reason for this strange phenomenon.”

“昆斯宣称他的工作室有150人，但他无须亲自执笔。昆斯的工作室平均每年推出10幅油画和10座雕塑，在过去4年中，有6件作品以1100万到2500万美元的价格被拍卖。”

For others, hiring assistants is a compromise.Earlier, Pace Gallery, one of the major galleries in New York, rejected several sculptures by master sculptor Chamberlain because they were completed by a Belgian creator under the guidance of Chamberlain.

The 84-year-old Chamberlain is highly respected in the industry, and his works often sell for more than $100 million.Disappointed, Chamberlain said that the assistants only completed the work under his guidance, and the main ideas were under his control.Finally Gagosian Gallery accepted him.

In fact, the practice of hiring assistants and apprentices has been common in the art world for centuries, with Michelangelo and Rembrandt relying heavily on assistants in their studios.However, with the rise of the Impressionists, the practice of hiring assistants gradually became a tool for them to maximize their interests, which aroused public resentment.

The traditional view is that the artist should pour his personal thoughts on the canvas, not instruct someone to do it. In the middle of the 20th century, popular art was all the rage, and Andy Warhol's silkscreen prints completed with the help of workers began to turn public opinion.

Opposition New York contemporary art collectors Michael and his wife, in their view, the subtle flaws between the brushstrokes make the work more precious, if everything is perfect, the painter is suspected of asking someone to catch him, and we regard the assistant's participation in the creation as a breach of contract .Once a certain painter invited us to a banquet. When we accidentally saw many of his assistants busy in the studio, we immediately put the painter into the collection blacklist.

Agree with the American collector Adam, who has a large collection of works by the Swiss installation artist Uss, and he is not opposed to hiring assistants in artistic creation. He believes that artists design rather than execute works, just like architects design buildings without laying them out. .

Centrist American contemporary art collector Beth, for a few reasons, I like to buy paintings that are done independently by the artist.I know that even young artists use assistants, and I understand that, but I actually value things that come from an artist more. "But when she buys art, she never actually asks if the creator has an assistant.

"Tell our people, we must be original! The quantity can be less, but the quality must be fine!"

Wu Tianyuan was very disgusted with this, what he wanted was a work of art that could really touch people's hearts, not a handicraft.Collectors spend a lot of money collecting to find resonance. Although the God-making project is very commercial, the essence is to recommend really good works for the public to appreciate and collect. This is the fundamental principle.

(End of this chapter)