fringe artist

Chapter 265 263. The Decentness of the Middle Class

The winter in Xiangjiang is really comfortable, there is no raging cold wind, and there is no need to wear heavy coats or down jackets.

Chen Li'an really wanted to spend the winter here, but now he had to go back to the capital.

He was also accompanied by Ji Fa, and the two of them were going back to the capital to bring the artists that Chen Li'an communicated with to Xiangjiang.

By the way, they brought their works to Xiangjiang, and the art space will open in advance.

Chen Li'an felt that this was quite hasty. The original plan was to wait until [-] to start, but now something happened and the timing was better.

On the plane back to Beijing from Shencheng, Chen Li'an flipped through the plan written by Ji Fa and Cheng Shufen overnight.

These two women are really suitable to work together. The plan is perfect, but whether it can be successful or not depends on the actual implementation.

Chen Li'an and Ji Fa returned to the capital to contact artists in the mainland, while Cheng Shufen started to build momentum in Xiangjiang.

Together with Cheng Shufen is Wang Zuxian, who can only speculate in real estate. She is quite worried about whether Cheng Shufen's publicity plan will be effective.

"Sister Shufen, are you really taking the initiative to break the news? Will people deny it?" Wang Zuxian asked with some concern.

Cheng Shufen said with a smile: "It's a fact that Liu wants to collect Chen Li'an's works, and it's also a fact that he has invested in so many works of art and made more than ten times the profit. Why doesn't he admit it."

After Cheng Shufen finished speaking, she stopped explaining so much to Wang Zuxian, and directly contacted the media to hype art investment.

Both financial magazines and gossip magazines were carried out simultaneously, and Chen Li'an was introduced in detail in the gossip magazines.

The highlight is that Chen Li'an's art has risen from $300 to $[-] million in two years!

Six hundred times increase!What an exaggeration!
More serious financial magazines are bragging about the thriving art investment market. Many rich people abroad are investing in art. The most topical tycoon in Hong Kong, Liu, also made hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars in profits through art investment.

Some celebrity magazines also began to brag about which wealthy families would take the initiative to collect art. Art is also a must-learn and threshold for socializing in the upper class.

Most of these examples are special cases among special cases, but they are enough of a gimmick, and under the overwhelming publicity, they are still very effective.

At the very least, many middle-class people who are eager to join the upper class are very excited. Most of the middle-class people themselves are highly educated elite talents and are no strangers to art.

The most important thing is that the middle class may be the most confident group of people in society. Most of them rely on themselves to become middle class, and they have a kind of pretentiousness in them.

Such people are very interested in art investment. One is to distinguish themselves from ordinary people, and the other is to demonstrate their class character through certain forms and means.

The cost of buying a house and a car is too high, and deposits cannot be used as talking points every day. There are not many choices for things that can be used as daily flaunts except luxury goods.

But the moment luxury goods do not hold their value or even buy them back, they start to depreciate, and if you talk too much, you will be misunderstood as an upstart.

Compared with works of art, it is much better, the price is not very expensive, it has investment attributes, and it will also have style and connotation when used as a talking point.

For such an elite class, the last point is important.

In the words of the British, this is middle-class decency.

At a certain stage, people will use various things to maintain the dignity of their class.

This kind of publicity is persistent, appearing silently in various places where the middle class can reach it.

The words art investment will continue to appear in the TV programs and magazines that the middle class likes to read, and places they frequent.

There will also be a lot of people who will deliberately start talking about this topic in the circle.

Chen Li'an didn't know if this kind of publicity would be effective, but he thought it should be able to attract some people.

After getting off the plane in the capital, Chen Li'an and Ji Fa got busy. Ji Fa was in charge of collecting artworks, and Chen Li'an was in charge of talking with these artists about art and artists' survival.

Artists who are struggling on the line of food and clothing say that they don’t love money but art, but who would refuse to improve their lives.

No one wants to live in a dilapidated courtyard all the time and eat the last meal without the next meal.

They are happy to accept that someone is willing to pay for their art, and the price is not low.

The price of several thousand yuan is not low to buy a painting, and it is already the income of most people in the mainland for a whole year.

Of course, Ji Fa and Chen Li'an will not be stingy with those who are already somewhat famous or whose works are relatively good, and will always give the highest price.

They are not capitalists, but artists in essence, so they will naturally help them within their ability.

In Chen Li'an's studio, he had just sent away a few painters who had just graduated from university. He turned around and saw Bai Qing sitting in the yard basking in the sun. He walked over to sit next to her and sighed wearily.

Bai Qing glanced at him and said, "You are doing a good deed. If I had encountered such a thing, maybe I wouldn't be able to afford a new canvas."

Chen Li'an smiled and said, "Then you won't be able to meet me."

"Now that I think about it, it's better not to have met you." Bai Qing's eyes fell on Chen Li'an's fair and slender fingers, and he suddenly smiled and said: "If we hadn't met back then, you might still be an actor now, not great artist."

"What a great artist, I have always felt that I was a fluke." Chen Li'an looked at the clear sky, and really felt that his current achievements were due to luck.

God gave me a chance to do it all over again, and even missed a little opportunity for myself through the cracks of my fingers.

"Excessive modesty is not a good thing." Bai Qing said with a smile.

Chen Li'an laughed and stood up and said, "Then I'll be more narcissistic, I'm a great artist!"

Looking at the radiant Chen Li'an, Bai Qing had a bright smile on his face. She liked him like this, just like when he was teaching him to draw, he was only a novice but he could always give himself so many surprises.

It's just that those memories feel far away, and the only thing that is alive is the man with a charming smile in front of him.

Chen Li'an stretched his waist, turned his head to look at Bai Qing and said, "I will take your painting with me too, and exhibit it in Xiangjiang."

"Whatever you want, just don't sell it to me."

"Ordinary people can't afford it. You didn't sell it for more than 100 million yuan in the United States. Ji Fa still feels sorry for the share she didn't get."

Bai Qing and Chen Li'an couldn't help laughing when they said this.

"Are you speaking ill of me? I received fifteen pieces of art today, and it is conservatively estimated that I can earn more than $[-]!"

Suddenly Ji Fa's voice came from the yard. Both Chen Li'an and Bai Qing turned their heads to look at Ji Fa, who was in a hurry, and then looked at each other. They couldn't help laughing out loud.

"What are you laughing at?" Ji Fa looked at Chen Li'an and Bai Qing confusedly.

Chen Li'an stopped smiling and shook his head and said, "It's nothing, I praise you for your ability!"

"You lied to me!" Ji Fa approached Chen Li'an and looked him in the eyes and said, "You must have spoken ill of me! Confess quickly!"

Ji Fa started fighting with Chen Li'an as he said that, walking around in the yard like two children who hadn't grown up. Bai Qing sat next to him and watched the play with a smile, but Ji Fa accurately attacked him after he didn't laugh for a while. .

Bai Qing immediately blushed and looked at Ji Fa's hand that was taken away, then turned to look at Chen Li'an and said, "Ji Fa ate my tofu! You avenge me!"

Chen Li'an rubbed his nose and said, "This is not suitable for me."

"That's right!" Ji Fa smiled and hugged Bai Qing and said, "Stinky man, don't even try to touch me!"

Chen Li'an: "???" That's not what you said in Xiangjiang two days ago!
Why do you have two faces, woman!
After Chen Li'an and Ji Fa returned to Xiangjiang with many works of art, Ji Fa's face changed again. As soon as they arrived at the hotel, they dragged Chen Li'an into the room and couldn't come out.

Chen Li'an, who was dragged and pushed down on the sofa, looked at Ji Fa and asked, "Didn't you say I'm a stinky man?"

Ji Fa, who had just sat on Chen Li'an's lap, looked at him for a moment and said, "Do you want Bai Qing to know about our relationship?"

"Okay, but I'm still very angry, you can figure it out." Chen Li'an said with his hands behind his head.

"Stingy man!"

Chen Li'an and Ji Fa returned to Xiangjiang at three o'clock in the afternoon, and it was not until six o'clock in the evening that they were urged to come down to the art space by the call of the logistics driver to receive the artworks brought from the mainland.

More than 400 works of art, one by one acceptance, was busy until after eight o'clock. Looking at the works of art in the room, Chen Li'an felt as if he was swimming in the ocean of art.

Ji Fa looked at the receipt in his hand wearily, and said with a sigh of relief: "When everything is arranged tomorrow, we can start the next step of the plan."

"How do you plan to promote it?" Chen Li'an looked at Ji Fa and asked curiously.

Ji Fa put away the list and said, "Please invite celebrities to join us. Bernard is planning to go to Japan recently, and I plan to invite him to come and have a look."

"There are also some art collectors who are interested in you. In addition, some wealthy celebrities and stars in Xiangjiang will also be invited."

Ji Fa sighed and said, "It's a pity that the time is a bit rushed this time, I don't know how many people can be invited here."

"Do your best and obey the destiny. It's going to cost tens of millions before it even starts. Be careful of losing money."

Chen Li'an felt that the momentum was a bit too big, and the initial investment was a bit too much.

Ji Fa shook his head and said, "Most of the tens of millions are fixed assets. Even if they fail, they won't lose money. At most, they won't be able to earn back the promotional fees."

Chen Li'an shrugged his shoulders and said, "Okay, I hope it will succeed. This combination of punches should have a good effect."

"Of course not!" Ji Fa said confidently.

In the next few days, Ji Fa and Cheng Shufen began to invite people from all walks of life through their contacts.

Chen Li'an just arranges those artworks in the art space, it can't really be like a supermarket and just find a shelf to put those artworks on.

Those who sell pork know how to turn on a red light.

Chen Li'an has carefully arranged the works according to the characteristics of each artwork, and also conforms to the positioning and style of the art space.

There are certain defects in some works of art themselves, which require certain arrangements to make up for them.

Just like an art exhibition needs a curator, works of art also need later installations to embellish.

Chen Li'an has been working for several days in a row, and he can't come out of the art space almost every day, just like a decoration worker, he is disheartened every day.

Wang Zuxian, who was busy coordinating with Cheng Shufen and Ji Fa to prepare for the opening, would come over to deliver food to Chen Li'an whenever he had time, but he didn't have much time, so he could only spare more than an hour a day to visit him.

Compared with the busy Wang Zuxian, the princess has a lot of time. Apart from playing mahjong every day, she sneaks over to find Chen Li'an.

She seemed to enjoy this sneaky feeling, and Chen Li'an also liked this feeling, but she didn't dare to indulge too much, otherwise, if the inspiration was drained, there would be no way to arrange so many works of art.

Chen Li'an, who had been busy for several days, finally breathed a sigh of relief after putting the last work in the right place.

It can be regarded as a good rest.

After Chen Li'an looked around for a week, he took out his camera and took photos of each work. These must be recorded, and the photos must be taken back to the authors of these works.

After using up more than a dozen film stocks, Chen Li'an was about to go out to buy film, when he met Li Lizhen who came over with a painting at the door.

Chen Li'an looked at the tightly wrapped painting in Li Lizhen's hand, stopped and asked, "Have you finished the painting?"

"Well, I'll show you here." Li Li was really a little apprehensive, she raised her hand holding the painting a few times and then put it down again.

Seeing her anxious look, Chen Li'an was not in a hurry, raised the camera in his hand and said: "Then you wait for me inside first, I am in a hurry to buy film, I want to take pictures of the newly arranged space, and I will come back later Admire your paintings."

"Okay." As soon as Li Lizhen replied, Chen Li'an ran away, leaving her with no chance to say the next thing.

"I still want to be with you." Li Lizhen looked at Chen Li'an who was running away, and couldn't help muttering.

But that's good too, Li Lizhen really has no idea about her works, she doesn't know what kind of evaluation her paintings will be in the eyes of professional people.

Li Lizhen walked into the art space with her painting in her arms. It was different from the last time she came here.

The light suddenly dimmed as soon as we entered, and the light in the hundreds-square-meter front hall was unusually dim, with only a few small spotlights able to illuminate it.

Oil paintings of different sizes are hung on the dark blue walls, and there are several extremely weird installation art in the corner of the front hall.
The styles of these works of art are all very different. The installation art looks a little inexplicable, and the overall tone of the oil paintings is also very depressing, with brilliant colors but with a touch of weirdness.

Most of the themes of these works have a primitive and rough aesthetic feeling, resembling the totems and sacrifices of primitive tribes.

Li Lizhen looked at those artworks, and for a moment couldn't tell whether it was the environment that made her feel, or the artworks made her feel depressed and weird.

However, when she passed through the front hall and turned a corner, she instantly felt that her vision was broadened. The lights in the long corridor were bright and full of sense of technology. The oil paintings and photographs are like the windows of a spaceship.

Li Li really felt very strange, as if she suddenly came from the primitive society to the future world, there was no excessiveness at all, she felt like a monkey who was suddenly caught on an alien spaceship.

This strong abruptness and contrast made Li Li's heart beat faster, and her brain's thinking became active.

Passing through the corridor, she glanced at each artwork, and before she had time to remember those paintings, the scene in front of her suddenly changed again. This time, the visual impact on her was even stronger, and she stood there in a daze for several seconds.

"These are arranged by Chen Li'an. How did he think of it?"

Li Lizhen suddenly clenched the oil painting in her hand, feeling like she wanted to run away, she better not show it to Chen Li'an at her level.

It's really embarrassing.
(End of this chapter)