Almighty painter

Chapter 625 Valuation
Salma sat on the statue and said nothing.

Jane Arnold just stood there calmly and said nothing more.

Kazunari Sakai continued to work silently on the hamburger in his hand, his expression so focused that it was almost affectionate.

Salma looked at the two people's attitude.

I felt a little unhappy.

During this meeting, she specifically requested that there be no assistant or agent, and that both parties should have a sincere "face to face" conversation like ordinary people.

Salma is a little cautious.

I want to reach the top in the art industry.

What is the decisive factor?
Technique? Thought? Aesthetic attainment? No, these are all important, but if you want to make a lot of money, there is only one decisive key factor: good luck.

Especially in the field of avant-garde art which requires relatively low painting techniques.

A Venice Golden Lion Award winner once confessed to a reporter that there are more than 1000 people doing the same thing in galleries of all sizes throughout Manhattan's art district.

The reason why he stands here today, and not anyone else, is simply because he is the luckiest one to gain the favor of critics and thus enter the field of vision of collectors, that's all.

"So among these one thousand people, I was the only one who came out."

A painter's career can be made or died by a handful of critics and collectors; their favor may not be the only way to greatness, but it is the only way to wealth.

therefore.

No matter how pure, noble, and untainted the artist's work is.

But if the artist himself wants to live a life of wealth and honor, he still has to be like the concubine in the sheep cart waiting for favor, standing in the mud of the palace, with his head tilted and looking into the distance, waiting for the nobleman in the sheep cart to stop in front of him, so that he can fly onto the tree and become a phoenix.

This industry has been like this since ancient times.

The scenery is very beautiful.

Cruelty is also cruel.

The only change between the 19th and 21st centuries is that now people no longer need to study how to "apply salt water" on the roots and leaves of the grass in front of the door, or how to tell jokes in salons to make those rich old men or ladies happy to become patrons. Nor do they need to concentrate on studying the skills of hooking up with rich women like Balzac... Of course, these old methods are still useful.

It’s just that now among the options available to artists, there is the Biennale, which is a more formal and mature stage for showcasing themselves.

despite this.

A large number of avant-garde or experimental artists who want to stand out in the Biennale, or simply want to have a chance to be included in the Biennale, still need a certain amount of luck.

Classical painters have a relatively greater advantage in this regard.

Whether one's insight into society is profound or not, and whether one's thoughts are good or profound, are difficult to quantify directly with specific standards.

If no one can understand an installation art after it is created, it may mean that it is just a pile of garbage made by a madman after getting high. It may also mean that it is an excellent masterpiece, but the ideas contained in the work are too advanced.

So mortals cannot keep up with the prophets.

It will take another fifty years for everyone to realize its greatness.

And if classical art is well painted, then it is well painted.

Lines, colors, structures, these things all have a very clear evaluation standard. The greatness of those great painters who possess great techniques is easier for the public to understand and perceive, and therefore easier to be discovered.

But whether it is a classical painter or a pioneer painter.

Good luck can only give you a chance to be discovered if you work hard.

Can you seize the opportunity?

Ultimately, it all comes down to personal level.

It's like the hooves of a lucky lamb pulling a cart have stopped clattering in front of your door.

Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, was twisting his waist to steal the beauty inside.

Then I heard a loud shout from inside.

"Tsk! What are you still doing there? You're so unhappy! Why don't you come in? If you don't come in, I'm going to leave!"

I saw a blurry figure walking out, biting garlic and shaking his arms.

Sima Yan should have either carried the sheep cart and ran away, or turned around and ran away.

unless……

This shadow looked so beautiful that it made him ignore the unpleasantness in communication.

Beyond luck.

Beautiful work, beautiful EQ.

Outstanding painting skills and outstanding self-marketing ability.

At least one of these two things is required.

Either the work is excellent enough, or the emotional intelligence is high enough.

Otherwise, even if you are given the opportunity, you will be useless.

Artists who are very good at dealing with people can get things in social occasions that they cannot get at art exhibitions.

And for artists who are very good at painting, their works will speak for themselves.

Even if they have social disorders and are unable to take care of themselves, you can hire an agent or assistant to take care of them and prevent them from being sold out by being deceived by others... Of course, if you don't hire the right person, you may be deceived by your own agent and sold out.

Kazunari Sakai and Jane Arnold are both the type of people who produce very excellent works.

Salma secretly hoped that maybe they were also the type of silly, giant babies.

Artists tend to be very emotional creatures.

Coaxing them is like coaxing a child.

At this moment, she has no assistant or agent. She is a businesswoman, and the two people opposite her are artists.

Businessmen to artists.

From any perspective, she feels that she should be the one who can occupy the high ground of emotional intelligence.

The advantage is mine.

Salma's passionate and inspiring speech was like giving children lollipops. She drew a big picture of a beautiful vision and shoved the lollipops into their mouths.

When the other person is happy and excited, his blood vessels begin to boil.

The old baby Jian Arnold and the fat baby Uncle Sakai who weighed over 200 pounds were crying and screaming as they were put in big sacks and taken away to work. After they returned, no matter how the assistants and agents tried to persuade them, they couldn't stop.

Instilling free business ideas and investment visions is what her business promotion company is best at.

She also worked with a Republican congressman's campaign office to help with his election campaign publicity.

It is a pity.

The current situation is a little different from what she expected.

This old guy Jane Arnold is like an old goblin in Norse mythology.

He looks kind and easy to communicate with. He is a semi-retired old man.

In fact, he was shrewd and cunning, and he counted the gold coins clearly.

This Sakai Kazunari is not easy to deal with either.

At times, he seemed to be enthusiastic about the proposal.

At other times, it seemed that his expectations for the blueprint and vision she had described were not as great as the hamburger in his hand.

Whenever Salma set her eyes on Kazunari Sakai, she couldn't help but murmur in her heart.

"Come on? Burgers are really that delicious? Seriously?"

Salma felt that she had experienced ups and downs in the business world and had seen all kinds of people.

But how can a person eat a hamburger with such lingering, reluctant, tortuous, and ecstatic expression?

This was the first time I had ever seen a woman like that in my life.

This is really a bit magical.

She believed it even when they said drugs were added to the burgers.

Salma has strict requirements on her body management.

Overcoming desires and human nature, and letting rationality override instincts in the mind, is the first element for a person to succeed in business.

"Junk" foods like hamburgers are high in carbohydrates and high in grilled fat.

She hadn't touched it in years.

Today Salma couldn't help it. She decided that no matter what the outcome of the negotiations was, on the way back to the hotel, she would buy a burger of the same kind as the one in Kazunari Sakai's hand and take a few bites to try it.

If Jane Arnold is a skinny old goblin.

In her mind, Kazunari Sakai is the clam spirit "Shirley Cote" who lives in a shell in the Scottish legend.

The traveler met Shirley Cote by the stream. No matter what questions he asked it, the clam spirit would only make the clicking sound of its shell opening and closing with "Aba Aba".

When the traveler could no longer bear it, he tried to cross the river but ended up drowning in the river.

The clam spirit will hold up the shell, move into the water, put the gold, silver and jewelry on the opponent's body into the shell, and reap the benefits.

This guy Kazunari Sakai kept shouting "Yoshi, Yoshi" for a long time, but he didn't really show any reaction for a long time.

It was as if she was waiting for the outcome of the fight between Jane Arnold and her, and then she would bite the hamburger in her mouth depending on the situation. She opened her mouth wide, took a bite, and then bit into it.

After two minutes of silent confrontation.

at last.

Salma couldn't help herself and broke the stalemate first: "You mean the detective cat, right?"

"You should have seen the invitation I sent her for cooperation at the awards ceremony," Jane Arnold said calmly, "The musical Cats in London's West End was the first project I worked on with her."

"There are two famous horses in one stable, so I am entitled to double the price."

"According to the EU policy, large multinational companies with paid-in capital of more than 2000 million US dollars can receive some preferential policies and low-interest loans. You originally hoped that the company's paid-in capital would be 2200 million US dollars. You will invest 1200 million US dollars, accounting for 40% of the shares, and Mr. Sakai and I will put in 1000 million, each investing 500 million US dollars, accounting for 30% of the shares."

"For an illustration studio, $500 million is not a small amount. It is a very large sum of money. I am different from Mr. Sakai. There are not many illustrators in the illustration industry who can earn $500 million in their lifetime—"

Kazunari Sakai glanced at them.

“Well, $500 million is a lot of money for me! Even though the works are selling well, there is still a profit margin for investors, and the gallery takes a cut, so there is not much money left for me. It’s just a superficial glimpse. Just like Ms. Salma said, there is not much money in the traditional art circle!”

He looked at the burger in front of him and curled his lips. "Now I have to clock in and out to my wife for even my three meals a day."

The woman looked speechlessly at the two bastards who were pretending to be poor.

The traditional art circle has no money, which is relative.

The scale of hundreds of billions of dollars, if distributed among the top hundred or so people, is enough to make them fat and bloated.

She had heard that Kazunari Sakai was now being pursued by many super galleries.

Never mind $500 million.

Take this fat guy away to get fat.

Maybe we can squeeze out 5000 million US dollars.

It is precisely because Kazunari Sakai is currently in a contract gap that Salma wants to seize this opportunity and quickly finalize the company, otherwise the other party's gallery may also come to interfere.

As for Jane Arnold, he is the best among the older generation of illustrations.

Salma believed that she couldn't come up with $5000 million, but if she had trouble even coming up with $500 million, she could only laugh.

"That means there's no way to continue the conversation..." Salma shook her head in disappointment.

"Hear me out. Although $500 million is a lot, I am willing to show my sincerity in the cooperation, and I can pay this money. But I can't split the profits. My studio is about to have the hottest new star in the art world join. 30% + 30% is 60%. I don't want that much. I am willing to take a step back and only want 50%, a fair price."

Salma was so angry that she laughed. She said it was a step back.

But he asked for half as soon as he opened his mouth. If I don’t give in, wouldn’t it mean that I’m working for him for nothing?

A trendy brand company founded with tens of millions of dollars of investment.

What does this old guy think this is?

When buying second-hand goods at a flea market, do you still bargain?

She opened her mouth and wanted to say, then I will not cooperate with your illustration studio, I will just sign with you, and we will follow our original terms.

The words come to your lips.

Salma couldn't say it.

she……

I'm really reluctant to do so.

When Salma saw Jane Arnold invite Detective Cat to join her studio at the awards ceremony, she felt an irrepressible joy in her heart.

Businessmen are always profit-seeking and greedy.

Once you have one, you want two. Once you have two, you want three.

It is hard to say whether the joining of Detective Cat has improved the status of Jane Arnold Illustration Studio in the art circle.

But the level of discussion on this topic in society has obviously increased significantly.

Stand at different angles.

The way of looking at the problem is different.

Salma didn't care at all about who was right, Miss Elena, Sir Brown or Van Dorn.

Does Detective Cat have enough artistic attainments?

Miss Elena was willing to spend 5 billion for this matter.

But she wasn't even interested in paying a penny.

same.

Big galleries care about the pressure from Sir Brown and Oil Painting magazine and are afraid of affecting the overall brand image in the minds of critics, so they are hesitant to sign Detective Cat.

Salma really didn't care at all.

He opposes consumerism from the standpoint of consumerism and brainwashes young people; he blindly pursues commercial success but neglects breakthroughs and innovations in creative concepts; he lacks deep thinking about society; he has no aesthetic value; he should be classified as a trendy celebrity rather than an "artist"... The criticisms of KAWS from the critics are so numerous that they could be pulled down by a truck.

This does not prevent KAWS from achieving unparalleled commercial success.

To put it bluntly.

For trendy brands, traffic and exposure are far more important than the so-called "artistic value".

She even believes that all "artistic value" is just a cornerstone to support traffic and exposure.

Dark clouds and white clouds are all clouds.

Black, red, fiery red, they are all red.

We are not in the same circle and are not on the same track.

She was someone who would raise her middle finger and say "Fuck you!" to both Miss Elena and Sir Brown, and she had no such concerns.

In terms of traffic.

After experiencing the video of Mr. Hyperion, a big internet celebrity, the explosion of "The Little Prince", the rumors of treating depression, the shocking reversal at the European Art Conference, and the award at the Scholastic Centennial Ceremony.

According to the traditional art world's system of seniority and status.

Detective Cat is still just a small figure ranked several hundred places away.

But in terms of exposure and online discussion, Detective Cat is the most popular topic in the first half of this year.

In the field of trendy brands, traffic is money.

KAWS, the Kardashian sisters, and Kanye West have all proven this time and again... Before the last one got himself into trouble, the public still liked big-mouthed types like Kanye West.

What Salma is best at is quantifying and valuing everything.

If Kanye West had ruined himself, the Coconut brand he and Adidas founded would have been worth $100 billion at its peak.

Jordan and Nike's collaboration is also worth 100 billion.

KAWS's classic doll shape is worth $10 billion.

She is evaluating.

After Kazunari Sakai and Arnold Jane empowered the brand with their IP, becoming the biggest shark in the industry and eating everyone up can only be regarded as a beautiful pie in the sky vision.

It’s too far away now.

More realistic is——

She thinks that as long as it is done properly.

Each person can bring at least the equivalent of 3000 million US dollars in revenue to the brand, and there will be no problem in quickly pushing the entire company into the profitability stage.

And what about Detective Cat?
It is difficult to estimate the worth of this kind of traffic influencer.

In Salma's mind, the value of Detective Cat is between $0 and $1 million.

Yes, the lower limit is 0, even negative numbers.

In fact, just based on the topics surrounding her now.

The exposure she brings is worth at least several million dollars.

but.

This may not be a good thing.

The brand value she brings and the brand value brought by Kazunari Sakai may be conflicting in nature.

Salma doesn't care what Lord Brown thinks.

But her target customer group might care.

This is just like the rich people who wear those niche colorful designer brands, listen to rock music, and drink in electronic music bars, and the people who go to Salve Street to find a handmade brand to tailor a suit. Their styles are completely different.

The former looks down on the latter.

The latter also looks down on the former.

The IP image that Sakai Kazuo brought to this brand, which is worth 3000 million US dollars, is "elegant, classical, literary, and ideological".

So far, the IP image of Detective Cat has little to do with "elegance and serious thought".

Although he has won an illustration award, in the eyes of the public, Detective Cat is more of a "traffic internet celebrity" rather than a "serious artist."

The best companies sell culture.

If Detective Cat joins, what kind of "culture" does their company want to sell?
The brand identity will become uncertain.

Salma has her own solution to this.

"Diversification" - this is how she defines the brand.

There is no need to have one thing that is all.

She originally planned to create a set of exclusive artist-limited product lines for Kazunari Sakai and Jane Arnold respectively.

The "Issei Sakai Series" is positioned against high-end luxury brands such as Hermès, Gucci, Takashi Murakami*LV, Williams*Richard Miller...

The "Jane Arnold Series" is positioned to compete with popular trendy consumer products such as KAWS* Uniqlo, Coconut, Surpreme, etc.

if you can.

It’s not impossible to launch another “Detective Cats Limited Series”.

The prerequisite is to see how long she can be popular and how long she can be a internet celebrity.

To successfully monetize traffic, a series of complex operations are required.

If her products haven't even been put on the shelves yet, the detective cat will be rotting in the gutter over there.

Then, for her, it is a burden, and may even bring negative benefits.

But her ceiling is also amazing.

Perhaps Jane Arnold, who threw out Detective Cat as a bargaining chip to gain more shares, did not realize this.

Kazunari Sakai, who was watching the fire from the other side, had not yet realized this.

But as a "Lady Boss" who started out as a commercial promoter in Manhattan, Salma may be the only one present who truly realizes the most valuable part of the Detective Cats IP.

In Western history, there has long been a custom of naming museums and art galleries after people.

The names are basically the sponsors or donors of the venue.

All of them are super wealthy families.

The Medici Museum in Florence, the Getty Center owned by the J. Paul Getty family in New York, the Rockefeller Museum owned by the John Rockefeller family, and the Taylor Gallery in London are also named after the British sugar tycoon Henry Taylor.

Small memorial halls with only a few rooms are not counted.

If a very large art gallery could be named after a painter.

People like this usually.

Art students can simply call them "Gods of Art".

Picasso Museum.

Monet Museum.

Andy Warhol Museum.

……

If each of the surviving works of these painters were taken individually, the market value would be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

of course.

Basically, all living painters have little chance of receiving this honor.

Usually it is just like when a high-ranking official in ancient feudal dynasties died, he would be given the title of Taifu, posthumously named "Wenzheng", and enshrined in the Taimiao. It was a super honor after his status reached the peak.

No matter how powerful Hirst and KAWS are now, it is very difficult, almost impossible, for them to have a large art museum named after themselves after their death.

What’s even more impressive than seeing his works displayed in the Louvre during his lifetime is that there is a magnificent palace-like building behind him named after him.

It is the ultimate honor an artist could wish for.

just now.

There’s a “Detective Cat Art Museum” in the works, although everyone knows where this is going.

This museum was supposed to be called the Elena Family Art Gallery.

The little girl was just angry with Sir Brown.

There aren't even any of Detective Cat's own works on display here, so it can only be considered a "borderline" effort.

But what happened to the edge ball?
The border ball is also a border ball worth 50 billion US dollars, and it is a border ball hung on the palace of the former residence of the royal family of Hanover.

As long as Detective Cat's name is on the multi-billion dollar gold mountain for one day.

Salma must believe that she has endless value to be tapped, and she must also believe that Detective Cats has the potential to be tapped worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

(End of this chapter)