Almighty painter

Chapter 583 Award Results and Cooperation Invitation

The moment you see your work on the big screen.

Wehrlein felt as if a huge stone had fallen to the ground and his heart, which had been hanging in the air, had finally died.

All right.

The examination report of the small lump is out. Don't worry, it is a tumor.

He always knew that the other party was strong.

But I still didn't expect it to be so strong, especially the exquisite control of the concept that the work should convey, which must have really tickled the sore spot of the organizing committee.

This gave Wehrlein a strange sense of relief.

This is the exact opposite of Gina, who was feeling complacent and thought she was safe.

Wehrlein discovered one thing very clearly: "From the perspective of the work, the technique, the conception, and the degree to which the judges liked it, I am definitely not as good as her."

The only thing left is connections.

But when it comes to connections, can I really compare to others?

Gina is a relative newcomer in the industry, not as new as Detective Cat, but it is also her first time to be shortlisted for a ceremony of this level.

Not so with Wehrlein.

He has been in this industry all his life.

He had even won the Writing and Art Master Awards once before, so he had some channels to hear some of the rumors within the organizing committee.

Moreover.

So what if you have worked for a lifetime? So what if you have connections?

A museum worth five billion dollars is said to be named after you?
If Wehrlein was so arrogant, he wouldn't have come here waiting eagerly to win the award.

He will organize a "Wehrlein" Award next year, and give it to whoever he wants and however he wants.

"What's the point of arguing with such a person? Forget it."

No expectations, no disappointments.

Weinlein also turned his head, smiled lightly at Gina, leaned his head back and said, "Fight if you want, I'm going to lie down."

……

Because he wasn't wearing formal clothes, he was worried that the camera would accidentally sweep over him and give him a few close-ups, which would be bad if his sharp-eyed wife saw the donuts under the seat.

So Kazunari Sakai was very smart and sat at the back of the theater.

Uncle Sakai really doesn't care about the results of this award ceremony.

He is a man who paints neoclassical young ladies.

No matter who wins the award present, they will not have much competitive interest with him. If he has to say, he really hopes that the organizing committee can give Jane Arnold another Lifetime Achievement Award.

After all, the more important the person is who may debut in a group with you, the more at ease you will feel.

Although it doesn't matter.

Kazunari Sakai is also a person who emerged from the art festival, and he is very clear about the importance of this award in the illustration industry.

If an artist wants to avoid starvation and become successful, he cannot escape the words fame and fortune.

Every small award has weight.

I have it and you don’t, but I just want to be more powerful than you, have a higher net worth and be more famous.

For directors, this means being able to attract more investment to make movies. For artists, this means being able to hire better curators, get bigger investments from galleries, and hold bigger art exhibitions in more impressive venues.

One prize, two prizes, three prizes...

Eventually these awards slowly accumulate and make a world of difference in your career.

It can bring you unlimited glory, and artists with many honors will be allowed more room for error when facing possible failures in the future.

Mr. Coppola, who is dubbed by the media as "the director of the New Hollywood generation who has never succeeded since 1975", has repeatedly failed at the box office. However, half a century after his peak, he can still easily find rich people to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to make art films for him. He is simply pursuing his dream, and is supported by the awards from art festivals. In today's sluggish personal market, Hirst's net worth is still ranked in the top three, and he never lacks funds for super exhibitions. This is also because of his great fame.

Important principles in the art world.

If you really look down on a certain award or competition, just don't come.

This is allowed.

Some artists would rather submit their works to the secondary unit, the non-competitive unit, of Venice than to the main competition unit of Cannes. In terms of fame and commercial promotion effect, the latter may be a little stronger.

It all depends on personal preference.

But just come and participate.

You just have to give it your all and make sure you get what you want when you go home.

Otherwise, the media will label you as "the loser under so-and-so."

Then again.

No matter how strict the standards of the "Writing and Art Award" are, it can't be considered a small award with no reputation.

It’s really not small at all.

Its position in art awards is like Kazunari Sakai's weight in the sumo world. Compared with those top yokozuna heavyweights who weigh more than 300 kilograms, it is still slightly thinner, but it is also at an upper-middle level.

Compared to an average fat person, it is quite round and substantial.

Even if an award in the illustration industry is placed in the serious art world, it may not be as prestigious as awards of the same size.

It's awards night.

At the very least, it is equivalent to the main competition unit of an international biennial at the top of the second-tier and at the end of the first-tier. If it were in Japan, its level of attention would be somewhere between the Setouchi Triennale and the Tokyo Biennale.

He told Osborne that if he could vote for art itself without considering other factors, he would vote for "The Little Prince."

But we can only listen to this.

If it were the greenest and most astringent fruit in the world.

The real crux of the matter often lies in the words "if" and "suppose".

For a grand prize of this magnitude, Kazunari Sakai is well aware of the twists and turns involved.

Apart from art, there are too many factors that can influence the judges' judgment.

Detective Cat debuted too recently and has a thin resume.

Uncle Sakai was not pessimistic about her artistic level, but he was indeed not optimistic that she could conquer the judges with a well-written children's fairy tale like "The Little Prince" and make their love for the work overwhelm the spider threads that tied the judges behind them and guided their actions.

"——In this increasingly rational and cold world, people always suppress their emotions. Artists like Van Gogh are becoming fewer and fewer. Therefore, if there is a chance to vote for artists, I think I will vote for burning emotions like everyone else."

At this moment.

Uncle Sakai stared at the words on the projection screen, combining them with the works he had just seen.

As if his heart was slightly touched, he let out an almost imperceptible breathing sound.

The butt also twisted slightly.

The theater seats, bearing a weight of 230 kilograms, immediately made loud squeaks and twists in protest.

“It’s quite interesting!”

Kazunari Sakai was unmoved. He picked up the bottle of mineral water from the ground without any mercy, gulped down two big gulps of water to add dozens of grams of weight to the chair under his butt, then nodded seriously, shook his big belly, and commented.

……

The introduction of the candidates was quickly completed, and the official announcement of the final list of winners began.

The lights on the stage dimmed.

The host took out a rose-colored envelope and opened its wax seal in public, and soon the name of the first winner was announced.

He is an author who publishes articles in the literary magazine Poetry and is called the next father of American poetry, Philip Freneau, by the editor.

These are lonely times for poetry.

Americans don't even read Philip Freneau's poems anymore, so this award can only be regarded as some kind of spiritual comfort. Then came the award for investigative journalists, and the result was no surprise either, and the winners didn't have any extra excitement.

He already won this year's Pulitzer Prize last month, which is the biggest award in the field of journalism. Winning an art award would only be icing on the cake for him.

"Then, let's move on to the next candidate. I can tell you that I have two remaining winners. One is an illustrator and the other is a photographer. Wow, we have finally come to the category of Andy Warhol, a modern artist in the true sense. After all, Google says that he is the only artist who has sold hundreds of millions of dollars of prints made from photographs at painting exhibitions."

The host said humorously.

"Then, let's announce the last two winners at the same time. This year's winner of the "Master Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing and Art" is——"

Rhythmic drum beats began to play in the theater.

The directors were divided into two groups, projecting the real-time footage of the candidates at that moment onto the screen.

On one side are two photographers.

On the other side are the two painters, plus Dyson.

Everyone was trying their best to remain calm, but they all seemed to be more or less uncontrollably nervous; even Wehrlein's lips were pursed.

Who says that an old skeleton who chooses to lie down doesn't have the right to hope that his corpse will explode?
"Detective Cat and Bain McCourt, congratulations to them, please invite them to the stage to receive the award."

"Ooo...ch."

This result was obviously beyond Gina's expectations. She waved her fist in disappointment and muttered something.

Wehrlein also curled his lips, with an expression of "I knew it would be like this" on his face.

but.

He clapped out of courtesy.

"As you wish. Your vision is as good as ever."

While Brother Dyson and another winner went on stage to receive the award, Osborne took out his cell phone and sent a message to Miss Elena who was far away in Grize.

drop.

Mobile phone vibration.

"Give art a little breathing space, and it will give its prizes to the most appropriate people."

Just a few seconds later, Anna's reply came through the phone.

"You have a good eye. That's amazing." Osborne put the phone back into his pants and casually flattered Kazunari Sakai who was standing next to him.

They are not in the same circle and their professional status cannot be told who is higher.

There is no need for him to lick Kazunari Sakai. The great painters who have cooperated with the publishing house have to lick Osborne in return.

Osborne is simply very good at building relationships.

Nice words don't cost any money, so I just flattered him casually.

Miss Elena’s predictions are accurate, amazing.

Kazunari Sakai has a sharp eye and is very boastful.

He had gone against all odds and given Detective Cat a nomination, which was great and impressive. He was so happy that he wanted to hum a song.

"Yeah, yeah, ahhh."

The award ceremony lasted into the evening.

Kazunari Sakai finally couldn't bear it anymore, he took out a donut from under the seat, tore off the wrapping and took a bite of half of it in one bite.

His eyes were fixed on the stage. He did not relax after the list was announced. Instead, he sat up straighter.

The winning speeches of the last two candidates were very brief.

The photographer simply thanked his friend, and Detective Cat's personal assistant went to the stage to receive an award without saying a word and then came down.

He looked as if he was determined to maintain the mystery to the end.

At this moment, Jane Arnold has also come on stage.

The host gave the stage to him. As the head of the organizing committee, he will present the last and most important Outstanding Contribution Master Award tonight and give a speech.

“…This is the tenth year since I became the Honorary Chairman of the Writing and Art Awards Organizing Committee. When I was 31, I won the Outstanding Contribution Award for the first time. When I was 42, I won the Outstanding Contribution Master Award for the first time. It seems like it happened yesterday, but it was already 20 years ago. Many people at this age would start to hold retrospective exhibitions and entertain their children and grandchildren at home, but I can still stand here and let so many people listen to me. I feel deeply honored for this.”

“This year’s award competition was very fierce, and in the end, everyone was just a hair’s breadth away from the final vote. Before the final winners are announced, I hope that all the children and artists who didn’t win the awards will not leave with regrets. Everyone’s work represents the way everyone understands the world. None of you is a loser, so please give them a round of applause.”

The theater burst into applause.

"In addition, I would like to congratulate all the winners again, especially Detective Cat. The world of painting is always full of difficulties, and choosing to be an anonymous illustrator is even more so. I see the past, present, and future of the art world in you. Her works remind us to always maintain a humble and enterprising heart. I am not shy about saying that among this year's candidates, I personally prefer her a little bit, even though we have never met."

“When a person gets older, becomes lonely, and becomes desolate, works that burn like fire always touch his soul more.”

"Many people say that the voting judges should remain neutral and objective enough."

"But unfortunately, this is unrealistic. Voting for a work is an act of expressing one's position. Unless I am schizophrenic, I cannot love every work equally with an open mind and at the same time cast my vote. When I was invited to participate in the final vote this year, I explained this to the publisher. I thank the publisher for respecting me and thank everyone for understanding me, but I still feel it is my responsibility to explain this situation to everyone."

"In addition, regarding myself and Ms. Detective Cat, I have a very important decision to announce at the end of the annual awards ceremony tonight."

"But now, without taking the spotlight away, let's hand the stage over to Roald Henry and his Vegas Boxer, who, as the recipient of the Master Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing and the Arts, which is the 100th anniversary of the award, has more to say than I do."

Jane Arnold held out her hand.

The stage lights dimmed.

The spotlight projects a beam of light onto the center of the front row.

Not surprisingly, the final winner of the Outstanding Contribution Master Award was Roald Henry, the author of "Vegas Boxer".

The only recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Master Award.

It is obviously much bigger than when the previous four people received the awards.

The radio broadcast passionate music and the beating of snare drums created an atmosphere as if Spartacus walked into the ancient Roman Colosseum.

This is the promotional music for the TV adaptation of his film Vegas Boxer. On the screen behind him, the publisher also made a retrospective video of his personal career.

The candidate for this year's Outstanding Contribution Award is no secret, and many people present have already guessed it.

Roald Henry's acceptance speech was sincere and interesting. He talked about his interesting experiences in creating his works and shared the impressive story of his interview with an underground boxer in Las Vegas.

Everyone's curious attention was still focused on the "important decision" that Jane Arnold had just mentioned.

Wait until the awards ceremony is over.

When Jane Arnold walked back to the podium, he could see hundreds of pairs of eyes in the theater staring at him.

The old man first slowly read the closing remarks on the cue card, and then changed the subject.

“…I will return to my illustration work. Thank you for the support from my fans over the years. You make me feel that I am not that old yet and I can still draw. But I am indeed very old. I hope to see fresher and more passionate elements in my works, so—”

Jane Arnold looked at the camera and paused: "I don't know if I have the honor. I hope to invite this year's winner of the Master Award for Outstanding Contribution to Writing and Art, Ms. Detective Cat, to join my personal studio."

"thank you all."

Huh?
Oh?
Wow?
For a moment, many in the theater were unclear about what this meant.

But the painters responded differently.

Wehrlein stood up suddenly, as if he had finally managed to come back to life from the burning pain of jealousy.

Osborn looked surprised.

Uncle Sakai couldn't help twisting his butt on the seat, causing the seat frame to groan like a scream.
-
The time difference is ten and a half hours.

While New York was holding its awards ceremony in the bright night, Yangon was in the early morning when the sun was just rising.

Gu Weijing knew that today was the day when the publishing house would announce the award results.

Whether he can win the award means whether his identity as a detective cat can be truly accepted by the illustration industry, rather than becoming a so-called "Internet celebrity" artist.

Gu Weijing reminded himself to go with the flow and keep a normal mind.

“The organizing committee will give the award to the work that deserves the award the most, not to the person who wants the award the most.”

This is true for the Singapore Biennale, and it should be true for writing and art awards as well.

(End of this chapter)