Almighty painter

Chapter 546 Photos
A hero always has to kill the boss, and a prince also needs a clown to act as a foil.

In the past, during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, when Nian Gengyao, a proud and arrogant man, went to war with the Fourteenth Prince, as a Han minister, he had to appropriately raise some minor and not-so-minor erroneous opinions.

Let the nominal commander of the army, General Wang Shisi, give some advice and criticism.

Only then can they stage some scenes of love between the monarch and his subjects, which will be praised by historians.

There has to be a plot twist.

The supporting character's sudden repentance sets off the protagonist's great and wise image, which can be said to have all the elements of a good and fulfilling play.

Don’t be fooled by Yangon’s remote location.

Director Ruan, who has worked here for many years and has been able to stand out from the crowd, considers himself to be very politically wise.

Miao Aung Win is still a high school student at the age of eighteen.

In just half a year, it has undergone a complete transformation.

He has become an official member of the country's highest-level art association. What's more, he will be arranged to participate in the Venice Biennale next year - that is the highlight of the highlight.

If this kind of thing is discussed during the membership meeting, there will be no controversy.

Everyone was having a great time and they all raised their hands and feet in approval, saying that it was a genius like Picasso who was still alive.

It's still a bit too outrageous.

Even if a super prodigy like Lao Bi, who grew up from a young age, really jumped out of the coffin.

It's not really possible.

At the age of seventeen, Lao Bi became famous in Barcelona and was specially recruited by the Royal Academy of Arts.

But by the time he became a full member of the Royal Spanish Society of Arts, the difference between the two words was the result of many, many years of polishing.

It is not clear whether Director Ruan has the power to push for such a result.

Even if he has.

This kind of meeting minutes need to be archived, and there is also a filming team nearby.

It's really not convincing enough.

You can't really treat all the TV viewers as fools, right?
Ordinary audiences no longer like to watch the scenes of rich second-generation young men, glittering with gold, flying directly into the clouds on colorful clouds.

They like civilian heroes.

It is a drama with ups and downs, doubts, breaking of rules, fighting monsters and upgrading.

This is the only way to give them a sufficient sense of involvement.

Therefore, appropriate opposition voices are necessary.

Whether real or imaginary, such voices will make them feel that it is themselves who are oppressed, allowing them to enter Miao Angwen's "body" and stand together to share the same hatred for the enemy.

So this conflict.

It was completely arranged by Chairman Ruan in advance - the dialogue between the protagonist and the antagonist that had been rehearsed and written in advance on the stage.

It seems intense, yet absolutely controllable.

It seems to reveal a corner of the gray area of ​​personal connections and power negotiations within the art industry, which is what people talk about the most, and it is very much in line with the public's imagination.

But it's not too much.

By the way, the opposition in the hearts of those colleagues in the senior management of the Artists Association who disagreed with Miao Angwin's final decision to join the association was also expressed through this rhythmic guidance of confrontation and then eliminated.

It's just perfect.

He smiled silently with pride in his heart and looked at the production team operating the camera in the open space behind the meeting room.

Director Ruan felt that even if he didn't want to be a painter, he could become a director.

Maybe I can still get into the national association and be sent to the Venice Film Festival to participate in an exhibition or something.

His mind was full of thoughts.

Director Ruan's expression did not reveal the slightest bit of emotion.

He stared at his opponents at the conference table with righteousness, his scorching eyes like two bright searchlights.

"Don't say that there is no retribution for yin and yang. There is a god above our heads. Before we make a decision, we should ask our conscience more. Lao Sang is a good painter and a painter worthy of attention. I believe that maybe in a few years, he will sit in this conference room and become one of us, but this time——"

He stretched out the syllables and said slowly: "This is not his moment."

"I'm not just saying this to you. Even if I meet Old Sang during festivals or when visiting relatives and friends, I'll say this to him in front of him. He is just not as good as Miao Angwen. Miao Angwen is indeed less experienced, but what are we all?"

He rapped the table with his knuckles.

"Are we politicians? No, we are all artists. When did the art industry start judging the level of art by seniority? This is an outdated and decadent way of thinking. If you are not as skilled as others, you should give way to the young. The young are like fresh blood, and fresh blood means new strength and new vitality. In my opinion, being young is Miao Aung Win's biggest advantage."

"He has only one qualification. He is a formally contracted painter of the Korean 3D Universe Contemporary Art Center. He is the youngest of the current contracted painters. But I think this one qualification is enough, because it is much better than many old people who have reached the threshold of membership by relying on seniority, age, and writing papers. It's not just me who thinks so. The list of items for membership review and approval clearly states -"

"Officially contracted painters on the following 'High-level Gallery Qualification List' automatically meet the qualifications to apply for the National Art Association - you see, it's clearly written in black and white."

"When the rules and regulations of the National Artists Association were first established, wasn't this situation already taken into consideration? President Li, I remember that you joined the National Artists Association as an official contracted painter of the "Gobel Gallery and Handicraft Workshop in the East District of Paris"? "

While Director Ruan was speaking, he turned his gaze to Vice President Li next to him.

"Now that I've joined the association, I have to block the way for young people. I'm afraid that's not appropriate, right?" He teased the fat old man.

"Haha, I don't mean to stop little Miao from joining the association." Vice President Li continued to try to smooth things over and laughed it off.

"So you also think that choosing Miao Aung Win to join the club is the best choice this year, right?"

"Well, we can discuss it..."

Director Ruan didn't even give the old man a chance to continue making trouble.

He turned his head to look at the opponent he had arranged and pushed the stack of information in his hand over to him.

“Come, look at these drawings, and ask yourself, ask the artist’s soul in your heart that constantly forces us to embark on this path and bring love and beauty to the world, if it is still alive.”

"The Koreans, the artistic pioneers of a developed country, have the courage and vision to see the unique brilliance of Miao Aung Win. Can it be that we old guys are not as decisive as foreigners in our love and cultivation of our younger generations?"

Director Ruan waved his arms, as if he was playing the role of an elderly leading actor on the Broadway stage, about to push a tragicomedy drama to its climax.

"Looking at these paintings, if you can tell me loudly that this taxi driver's son is not qualified to join the Art Association! Then, we will not mention this matter again."

The other party looked at the printed manuscript sliding across the conference table, and his double chin trembled slightly.

Director Ruan took a quick, secret glance at the back of the meeting room.

The young director over there was gesticulating silently, excitedly directing the photographer to focus.

He nodded with satisfaction.

If you don’t shoot such a wonderful shot, what else should you shoot?

That’s right, right now, push the camera, use a telephoto lens, and take a close-up of the face…

His tall and majestic frontal image is completely highlighted!
Director Ruan was quite satisfied with the performance of the younger opponent he had chosen.

I didn't realize that the other party's performance was quite dramatic.

Come on, tremble your chin a little, yes, tremble it a little more.

The veins on the temples should be stretched, the lips should be half open and half closed, there should be drama, to show the inner devotion to art and the affair with the college classmate - the feeling of the angel and the devil quarreling with each other in the mind.

Yes, yes, yes...that's it, I've already entered the play, the character has been established.

Struggle, struggle!
Director Ruan used his eyes behind his reading glasses to linger, seduce, and tease the other party, luring him to the climax of this drama, waiting for him to stare at the work on the document for a long time - and utter the final line "Old Ruan, you are right, I can't say anything bad about such a work, it's him."

Cut!
At that moment, the curtain fell, and after all the twists and turns, Miao Angwen's admission into the organization became a foregone conclusion.

Even ordinary viewers in front of the TV would think that such a result is natural.

Such a great painter certainly deserves special promotion.

At least those drawings are really good or not.

Don’t be ridiculous. How many ordinary audiences understand what modern art is, what avant-garde art is, and what trendy art is?

Do you know how to appreciate the paintings of Picasso and Matisse, or the architecture of Zaha Hadid?
They don't understand.

However, each person's attitude changes and body language are very easy to understand.

He was a young man who could move two great painters of the National Artists Association so much that they broke the old rules, forgot their personal feelings, and accepted him into the association.

Needless to say, it is naturally super awesome.

"Old Ruan, actually, I still have something else to say. You know what I mean... I think that if some things are left vague, it will be very ugly in the end."

Director Ruan's eyes were looking seductively at her when someone suddenly spoke in a low voice at the end of the meeting room.

Boom!
The opponent's words just now were so sharp, but they didn't do anything to him.

Hearing this voice, Director Ruan's heart sank.

Every leader doesn't like his subordinates to have strong orders.

Most old bureaucrats usually hate troublemakers.

But.

Organizations such as art associations often have their own particularities.

There are many weirdos among artists, and if one or two eccentric troublemakers get in, it will be a real headache.

Director Ruan is having a headache now.

Someone suddenly popped up here to interrupt, but this was not planned in advance.

"Don't let anything go wrong, don't let anything go wrong, please don't let anything go wrong..." Director Ruan prayed quietly in his heart.

As for matters like joining a club, based on his experience, it would either go smoothly all the way to the end and the matter would be resolved smoothly.

otherwise.

When a troublemaker pops up, there is often a series of unexpected problems associated with it.

"Okay, if you have any questions, let's talk about it after the meeting—" Director Ruan waved his hand, "—Let's talk about this first..."

"No, we have to bring it up now. We have to come to an end with the matter of Gu Weijing. I think he is more qualified than Miao Angwen."

But that person seemed to be deaf to the words, lowered his head, and spoke to himself in a low voice.

Gu Weijing. It was as if a special switch had been turned on.

When this name was thrown onto the conference table bluntly and without any concealment, the atmosphere in the entire conference room changed.

It's not the kind of arranged stiffness when I said "everyone is a monkey" just now, but a very weird atmosphere.

Some had blank expressions on their faces, while others kept shaking their heads.

Some people frowned, as if they felt a natural aversion and disgust towards the name.

But there were also people who nodded slightly, as if agreeing with that voice.

For two seconds.

Everyone had a different expression.

But there was not even a sound of someone speaking in the room.

The photographer's lens was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and the only sound that could be heard was the wind outside the window blowing the willow trees swaying slightly.

"stop."

Director Ruan suddenly said.

The photographer was stunned for a moment before realizing that these words were actually spoken to him.

"Pause, stop filming, now."

“But—” The photographer hesitated.

In such an intense scene just now, the other party ignored the recording team.

He didn't know what was happening and why they suddenly stopped allowing filming.

"Do as Mr. Ruan tells you."

The director of the documentary seemed to have been informed in advance before coming to the scene today. He patted the photographer on the shoulder.

"Turn off the machine, then go out and wait."

Director Ruan waved his hand at the director and said, "You, come with me. I need to hold a five-minute internal discussion with my colleagues."

He gave the order in a straightforward tone that brooked no room for argument.
-
When the door of the internal conference room was closed again.

Director Ruan's expression has changed.

He ignored him and just now he was on edge and arguing with his "opponents" so fiercely that sparks were about to fly.

He fixed his eyes on the skinny, dark and thin old man sitting at the innermost side of the conference table.

One side raises one person.

One of the laws in the world is that the more remote and impoverished a place is, the less developed the economy is, or the more chaotic, socially collapsed, and shrouded in war, the more likely it is that some very powerful people will emerge.

This kind of "fierce" can be understood in two ways.

A man like Viktor Butt, who was born in a small mountain village in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. It is said that there are more antelopes than people within a hundred kilometers of his home. He learned several languages ​​by listening to a box of old rock tapes.

Western media said that during his heyday, 70% of the entire Soviet underground arms smuggling passed through his hands.

Legend has it that the money he earns from selling arms in a year is higher than the entire GDP of Kyrgyzstan.

The Hollywood movie "Lord of War" was adapted from his experience.

The representative figure of this type in Yangon is undoubtedly Brother Hao.

There is another kind of fierceness. For example, in 37, when facing the Japanese spy chief who came to his door in Beijing, he smiled and said, "Qi Huang is Chinese and will not go to Japan. If you insist on Qi Huang, you can take Qi Huang's head." Xuan Tiewu, the once powerful commander of the Beijing puppet police, came to his door and asked for a birthday painting. Qi Baishi painted a crab with a flourish and wrote on it, "Let's see how long you can run rampant."

The most representative figure in Yangon who is fierce in this sense is Lin Miao Aung.

He was in his fifties, looked like he was seventy, and was a photographer.

The only photographer present.

It’s hard to say how advanced Mr. Lin’s photography skills are.

of course.

It is definitely much better than Gu Tongxiang who wears a 5D2 around his neck and strolls to the park to show off and accompany an old lady in a flowery skirt to hunt birds.

But when looking at his works as a professional photographer or even a photo artist, it always seems that something is missing.

The portraits chosen aren't unique enough, the composition isn't tricky enough, and the lighting doesn't have the effect of magic light.

The ability to tell stories with photos and capture key emotions is far behind that of the masters of Magnum Photos.

What happens here is not taken seriously by major photo agencies internationally.

Even some photos.

Even the three most basic elements of photography are not done well. Either the picture is overexposed or out of focus.

Maybe Mr. Lin has done only one thing well in his photography all his life——

reality.

How authentic are his works?

You don't need to look at the photos to understand his shocking appearance. On his arms, which were exposed by the shirt, there were large patches of rashes that had lasted for years, and the skin tissue on his entire forearm was proliferating as if a very thick leather sleeve was covered with it.

This was the result of his field research in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam in his early years.

That is where the front and air force bases established by the United States in Vietnam are located.

On August 10, 1961, Kennedy signed an order to launch a chemical warfare operation in Vietnam while carrying out conventional operations, implementing the "Operation Ranch Hand".

Over the next decade, approximately 80 million liters of triiodobenzoic acid and dioxin were systematically released into the dense jungles and countryside of the battlefield.

There was a bullet hole on the right side of his abdomen where a drug dealer shot him from the opposite hill 200 meters away. Fortunately, the bullet was fired with a Type 38 rifle left by the Japanese occupation army, also known as the so-called Type 38 rifle. The bullet passed through between his stomach and intestines without rolling, so he saved his life.

One of his shoulders was high while the other was low. It was said that he was locked up in a water dungeon when he followed an informant to investigate the kidnapping park...

……

all in all.

Lin Miaoang's life is actually not perfect at all.

His wife divorced him a long time ago, and he understood that in a situation like this where someone was poisoned by chemical weapons, it would be impossible to have children, if nothing else.

He is irresponsible to his wife and his children.

It is also far from being successful in the general secular sense.

He is not famous internationally, and this kind of photographer or photojournalist is different from commercial photographers who earn hundreds of thousands or millions for an advertising project.

If you are not at the level of Magnum Photos and cannot sell a master VIP class for $10,000, you are generally very poor.

But he seemed to be more successful than many people in the conference room.

For example, in 2012, when a senior US government official paid a state visit to Vietnam, the US government finally announced that it would decontaminate the toxic land around Bien Hoa Airport within the next years. It is said that the photos he took were behind this decision.

Another example.

Although Lin Miaoang was as poor as a beggar among the artists of the National Artists Association, he did use the most luxurious and expensive photographic equipment in the world.

A compact full-frame Leica camera set that costs as much as a carload of money, yet is free.

Because his "not so professional" photos once impressed Leica's Southeast Asia art director, he is one of the few officially contracted Leica photographers in Asia.

Every year around Christmas, Leica would mail their new cameras or brand new lens sets to his home.

The existence of the dark-skinned old man who doesn't fit in with the people around him seems to be a symbol, silently reminding everyone that besides flowers, supermodels, fine wine and BMWs, there is another possibility for an artist's success.

And the value of artists in society.

In addition to the sound of hammers falling at auctions, where the prices seem to rise like astronomical figures, there is also another way things unfold.

Andy Warhol's $100 million photo of Elvis Triplet is a piece of art.

Someone took a picture of a drug dealer shooting a bullet at him. Doesn't that count as art?
For such a person, perhaps some people among the people sitting at the conference table would privately laugh at him for being stupid and incomprehensible.

but.

When such a person sits next to you, he or she is naturally weighty.

In the deepest part of their hearts, everyone also has a hint of admiration that they may not express out loud.

Even Director Ruan's voice didn't sound too angry.

Instead, it sounds very helpless.

"Mr. Lin, I respect you very much, but you know that Miao Angwen's joining the club is not negotiable. He has also met the qualifications for joining the club."

“I’m not saying Myo Aung Win is not eligible to join.”

Lin Miaoang lowered his head and stared at the table in front of him.

Director Ruan breathed a sigh of relief.

"That--"

"I'm just saying that maybe Gu Weijing is more qualified."

Lin Miaoang's voice was not as fierce as his actions.

On the contrary, some are soft and a bit strangely crisp, and the first impression they make is that they are not firm and seem full of hesitation.

Like the sound of birds singing in the woods in the afternoon.

But no matter how you shake the trunk, the sound is still there, and it makes you feel that it cannot be shaken.

Director Ruan's blood pressure, which had just dropped a little, rose to its highest point again due to the teasing.

"You said nothing. There is only one quota for joining this year. Well, it's either A or B. Gu Weijing, how could you mention this name?"

Director Ruan rubbed his forehead vigorously: "Before the meeting, didn't we mention that we should cool down the process?"

Lin Miaoang didn't say anything.

Still with his head lowered.

He recalled that a few days ago, he saw some photos from this year's anti-drug special topic from a friend at the Mirror newspaper.

(End of this chapter)