Almighty painter

Chapter 741 Six-eared Macaque

Everyone's eyes fell on the painter next to Swann, silently waiting for his answer.

"I, uh..."

This was probably the first time that the painter experienced the power of Anna's sharp comments.

He had not expected Miss Elena's words to be so blunt, and for a moment he was slightly speechless due to nervousness.

"Don't be nervous, just say whatever you want to say." Swan pinched his shoulder, signaling him not to speak in clichés.

CDX Gallery naturally has a complete set of speeches and promotional strategies for the media, similar to Singapore sinking below sea level and Bukit Timah Hill with only a small mound of earth left.

Such remarks would be a good way to liven up the atmosphere at a banquet.

It would be a bit of an overkill to try to get away with it by using it to answer the direct questions from the woman in the wheelchair.

Art, money, and power are the three magic weapons of the Elena family. They founded the Oil Painting magazine for more than a hundred years, and they have been sitting on gold coins and controlling the most powerful media mouthpiece in the art world for more than a hundred years. She is not someone who can be moved by just circling the rim of the incense handle with a finger.

But it was better than Swan had imagined.

Since Ms. Elena asked a question, it means that the painting "Bukit Timah" did not completely impress her, but she was at least willing to give it a chance.

Phin realized that his next answer might determine his success or failure in the Singapore Biennale, and success or failure in the Singapore Biennale would almost certainly mean the success or failure of his artistic career.

He became more nervous.

Is there anything that can impress her, is there any topic that can attract Miss Elena... He thought over and over again in his mind.

“By then…by then there may be many famous people present, some of whom are your friends, some are interesting scholars…” He mentioned several names in succession, staring at Anna’s face.

The painter noticed that Miss Elena's expression did not change at all.

He realized that he might not have answered well, so he immediately changed the topic and switched to another one that Anna would definitely be interested in: "Representatives from the Muse Project will also be here. You must know that their foundation is finalizing an annual list of artist sponsorships..."

"That's great, I wish you success."

Miss Elena nodded slightly and politely ended the topic. "It sounds interesting. If I have time, I will be there."

Elliot, the secretary who accompanied her to the dinner venue, spoke on behalf of Anna and the curator Tonks, diverting everyone's attention.

"Don't... I've always liked the Elena family." The painter's face was a little pale.

He didn't know why the woman lost interest so quickly. He was afraid that she would think that he was threatening her by mentioning the Muse Project. Looking at Anna's back as she walked to the other side, he explained, "I really like your performance at the European Art Conference..."

"All right."

Swann pulled him aside and brought his painter to the side.

"Don't be too disappointed. Just handle this cocktail party well. There are many targets that need public relations. As for the Elena family, we just wanted to give it a try. Miss Elena herself is not a voting judge." He comforted her.

The painter's face did not look comforted at all.

"But she is more important than all the voting judges."

He stared at Miss Anna who was standing next to the curator Tonks, looking as frustrated as a frustrated person who had been banished from the palace.

"She won't have time to come, will she? Oil Painting Magazine won't have time to come... I know she won't have time. You brought me to her, and I messed it up."

Swann just patted the painter's shoulder silently and said something similar to what Old Yang said: "Big people, they are always hard to figure out."
-
Anna was not angry.

She was just bored with Mr. PHIN's answer.

Phin needn't worry. Miss Elena thought that he was threatening by bringing up the Muse plan in advance. She understood that it was just a semantic disagreement between artists in a tense situation.

No matter how fiercely the struggle between the interest groups represented by the Irena family and Sir Brown at the shareholders' meeting of Oil Painting, they are far from being qualified to threaten a painter like PHIN who cannot even reach the second-tier international level by taking sides.

If Swann can make an official statement on behalf of the entire CDX Gallery, it remains to be seen whether he can impress Miss Anna.

Anyway.

That's not something the bearded artist has the authority to influence.

In this struggle for dominance in the international art market, which is valued at US$10 billion a year, it may be a bit offensive to say that a "small" painter whose work has a highest transaction record of only around US$40,000 is as light as air, but at most, he can only be regarded as a feather, a speck of dust on the scale.

Even if Kazunari Sakai rolled up, he would be at most just a slightly larger fat weight.

It would be ridiculous for him to jump out and threaten.

The woman understood what the other party wanted to say. The painter brought by Swann, when he mentioned the Muse Project, probably really wanted to grit his teeth and express his support for Elena's family in public, and he was willing to give up the sponsorship funds provided by the Muse Project for this.

Therefore.

She interrupted the other party.

There is no need for that.

She doesn't need the other party to do these things to please her, and she can't promise the other party what he wants in return.

He mentioned the famous people who would come to the lecture, the well-connected scholars and collectors, because these would be of interest to the Irina family, which was in the midst of a power struggle.

He mentioned the Muse Project and said that he liked the Elena family, because this should be what Miss Anna wanted to hear.

Every smile was meant to please her, and so were every word.

Therefore.

It's really boring.

PHIN said a lot of things that he thought Anna wanted to hear, and forced out a smile that he thought Anna wanted to see. But, he didn't say anything that he really wanted to say in his heart, anything related to art.

That's his work, that's his lecture.

Anna told him that his work was too formulaic. But he didn't even have the courage to look her in the eye or explain, or to say, "Miss Elena, I'm sorry, but I may have a different opinion." How could he even politely explain his experience in creating the work?
Or maybe he knows that the ideas expressed in his works are really formulaic.

Otherwise, he doesn't even know whether his work is formulaic or not.

It's hard to say which one is worse.

It’s not the other person’s fault, it’s just that the other person is really boring.

Such conversations are also boring.

If you yourself have no confidence in your own work and the content of your speech, why should she attend your lecture?

Just based on those celebrity names that are like naming dishes?
Since Oil Painting magazine came to Singapore, it has been packed with invitations for interviews, lectures and column recordings. Anna has received so many invitations to social gatherings that she has to split them in two and still cannot handle them all.

Each one is a gathering of celebrities, and each one is full of shining stars.

If there is nothing that can impress her and every party is highly homogeneous, then for Anna, it doesn't matter which one she goes to.

If the sound of every branch and leaf swaying in the forest was the same, one side was tall, one side was big, one side was flourishing in the spring and withering in the autumn.

So for sloths.

It would be exactly the same no matter which tree you climbed.

What really made Anna change her schedule was not "I really like the Elena family." but "If the thesis is false, it is a joint crime." but "Ms. Elena, you don't have to like me now."

She didn't like Katsuko Sakai's attitude.

Anna also realized that the other person's spirit was truly precious.

"Elliot?" The woman in the wheelchair turned her head to look over.

The female secretary turned sideways and lowered her head.

"I want an invitation letter for Phin's lecture. When the time comes, check the time - you can go there in person on my behalf." She ordered.

After all, the other party expressed support for Elena's family.

At this time, from the perspective of public influence, it is not good to be too arrogant.

Secretary Elliot's presence there on her behalf should be enough to gain the other party's surprise and gratitude.

It’s not that Anna has trouble dealing with people.

To do these things well, the heir of the Elena family, which has been famous for its expertise in court struggles throughout history, only needs to breathe subconsciously.

Breathing calmly.

Boring breathing.

The same breath.

Curator Tonks looked at Anna who was talking quietly with her secretary in front of her, and she couldn't help but feel eager to make a move.

I am not free in the afternoon, so now is a good opportunity to find a chance to talk about his exquisite PPT and get sponsorship for the exhibition?
The British uncle with a small belly took a sip of champagne, puffed out his cheeks, moved his apple muscles, and practiced a doggy smile showing twelve teeth. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that there was an Asian uncle with a small belly next to him who also took a sip of champagne, puffed out his cheeks, moved his apple muscles, and his teeth were shining when he smiled.

He glanced sideways.

It’s Yang Dekang, Cao Xuan’s personal assistant.

The two uncles looked at each other, their bellies trembled at the same time, and they immediately became alert.

They took a deep breath and almost simultaneously stepped forward, ready to speak.

"Ms. Elena, do you need it? I just got it." Someone took advantage of the brief gap when many people had their own thoughts but no one stepped forward after Anna and her secretary finished talking, and got in front of the two of them.

It turned out to be a young man who looked about the same age as Miss Elena.

A dark wool tuxedo with peaked lapels and patent leather oxford shoes.

The lapel is inlaid with flowers, the buttons are forged, and there is no tie, instead there is a classic black bow tie on the chest. The cuff of the left hand that handed over the champagne glass revealed a slim dial with a half-full full moon calendar. Judging from the model, it should be Jaeger-LeCoultre's ultra-thin Moon Phase Master, which is not very expensive among high-end men's formal watches, but it is a classic choice that can never go wrong in social occasions to show a man's elegant demeanor.

His beard was shaved to a dark blue, his eyebrows were long and thin, his hair and eyes were black, and his nose was very high, with a slightly Caucasian-style big nose, and he wore half-framed glasses on his nose.

A deep cleavage on the chin.

The young man's appearance was slightly feminine, but he made up for it by standing there confidently and openly under the gaze of everyone. His temperament was handsome and vigorous.

"Would you mind giving me a drink? I want to tell you about my paintings."

Miss Elena stared at the wine glass handed to her by the other party.

"Nobody." He looked directly at Miss Elena's face and took the initiative to introduce himself. "But it takes more courage for an unknown person to stand in front of you. At least I have checked it, and the champagne here is quite good."

Anna thought for a moment.

The woman accepted the other party's statement.

"Thank you." She held the base of the champagne with her hand, but didn't drink it, nor did she walk away. "I'll let you know in advance that I may not be a good listener."

"You are a picky listener, but you are a good listener," the young man said. "Only those who have fully understood can learn how to listen."

"This is what Heidegger said." Miss Elena looked at the other person and said, "I like Heidegger. Is this a coincidence?"

"That's wisdom." The young man smiled and said, "Knowing the judges' preferences is something that all contestants who want to win the prize need to do. Knowing Miss Elena's preferences is even more so. I've heard some rumors."

Still trying to please.

But at least it's flattery with substance.

Anna was not particularly offended by this frank and unconcealed statement.

at last.

After endless boring courtesies and small talk, the woman met the first slightly interesting person at the banquet.

Anna smiled faintly.

At least, this would attract Miss Elena's interest more than talking about celebrity gossip at lectures.

Cui Xuanyou, who was watching all this not far behind, was stunned at first, shocked, and then overjoyed.

Our son is so awesome!

Why did he need his useless father to help introduce her? He had already started talking to Miss Elena on his own. He looked at the envious or surprised eyes of the people around him, and his pride made his bald head shine like a light bulb.

Some people are born with a big heart and are born to be the best.

It seemed that Cui Xiaoming did very little.

But in front of so many celebrities and VIPs who were hesitant and wanted to talk but hadn't figured out how to approach them, he walked over and handed the head of the Elena family a champagne glass.

This kind of courage and composure is not something that ordinary people can possess.

Thinking of Gu Weijing who had shrunk to who knows where, Cui Xuanyou sneered in his heart.

“Nobody is probably not your name?” Anna asked.

"Xiao Ming, Cui Xiao Ming." The young man read out the name and stretched out his hand.

Cui Xiaoming is just an amateur in the art circle who officially "debuted" at this Biennale, but his demeanor and tone are as confident as a movie star reciting the classic self-introduction "Bond, James Bond" in front of the camera.

"Are you Cui Xiaoming?"

Anna was shaking hands with the other person, her expression expression uncertain, but she was stunned for a moment.

The hand also paused in the air.

“If there is no one with the same name in the exhibition, then I am Cui Xiaoming. You have heard of me, right? I guess it was the painting “New Three Bodies of Buddha” that caught your attention. I am really honored.”

Cui Xiaoming just thought that Anna paid special attention to his work at the exhibition.

Seeing that Miss Elena didn't pull his hand, he followed the words, jokingly lowered his head slightly, bent his knees, and pulled the non-existent "skirt" in the air with the hand that was not holding the champagne glass, performing an old European court ceremony. "But I'm not surprised. Beautiful works of art will speak for themselves. This is what Elena's family said. I hope that my work has said a lot of good things about me."

"I'll tell you a secret. What I'm most proud of is the composition of my work, the instability of its tilt. One day, I saw the work of Belgian art master René Magritte on Museum Island in Berlin, and the inspiration for the composition came to me in an instant. I adjusted the original equilateral triangle composition to an oblique triangle. Magritte believed that there was a kind of 'game'-like suggestion between artistic images and the real world. The so-called real world is nothing but a construction of the brain. There is no such thing in the real world that exists in a permanent state. Painting is a moment of stillness."

"Precisely because of this, how to pursue stable instability is the source of inspiration for me when I painted this work..."

Cui Xiaoming smiled and talked to Anna.

Plagiarism is part of the art world.

But on the surface, plagiarists are often despised by everyone. Therefore, many biennials require participating painters to submit various original records and draft ideas of their creative process to endorse the originality of their works.

Whether it works or not is another matter, but it represents an official attitude.

"New Three Bodies of Buddha", how did this painting come into being in my mind, how did the inspiration sprout, how did it gradually become a complete work on the canvas, and what improvements did I make during the painting process.

Cui Xiaoming and his parents already had a complete story, and when they talked about it, it seemed flawless.

What better way to prove your talent than to have the approval of the column manager of Oil Painting? It would be great if he appreciated your work, but it would also be great if he made criticisms.

If the Oil Painting magazine could mention a few words about how he created the New Three Bodies of Buddha, it would have the effect of making the final decision.

As long as there is discussion and "benign" criticism, it is an endorsement of the originality of his work.

Plagiarism is when one person copies another. The suspect copied the victim.

His work is original.

So even if there is a debate about plagiarism, he is definitely not the one who plagiarized.

Miss Elena frowned slightly.

She stared at Cui Xiaoming's smiling face.

"Cui Xiaoming, he is just a plagiarist. He plagiarized Gu Weijing's work." The woman seemed to hear the voice of Katsuko Sakai in her ears.

"New Three Bodies of Buddha" and "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sunshine".

Miss Elena has seen both works.

There is a little bit of similarity.

It's not the content that is similar. They both adopted a painting style that combines the East and the West, but the artistic ideas to achieve this temperament are completely different. Cui Xiaoming's works are closer to the Western oil painting style of Impressionism, while Gu Weijing's works, on the contrary, have a perspective relationship that is closer to the traditional Dongxia Chinese painting with a stronger sense of flatness.

Miss Elena has not seen the original version of "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun". In her eyes, the two works on display at the Lion City Biennale are completely different in terms of content, expression of ideas and even composition.

But Tonks could sense a vague similarity between the two works.

Anna can do it too.

This is a feeling of the same temperament, just like Giorgione and Titian, even if their works have different painting techniques and compositions, they and even many painters of the Venetian School that changed the entire history of Western art, if you trace them, you can find a little bit of the feeling of Bellini, the founder of the school, in their works.

This feeling is somewhere between plagiarism, reference, or even a simple coincidence of similarity.

Very subtle.

Of course, Miss Elena would not mention Katsuko Sakai at this moment. It was too rude and unfair.

In her capacity.

If she mentioned plagiarism in public, it would almost immediately sentence Cui Xiaoming's art exhibition to complete failure and even the death of his career.

even.

Even if we take a step back and say that there really is plagiarism, who plagiarized whom?
Cui Xiaoming spoke with confidence and did not look like a plagiarist. Gu Weijing's work was moved to a remote booth. Did the organizing committee learn some secret information that was not worth mentioning to outsiders?
Logically speaking, it might be more reasonable to assume that Gu Weijing is the plagiarist.

Even talking about painting techniques.

Cui Xiaoming has developed his own style of painting.

And Gu is the classic.

His painting style is more complete, but the underlying foundation is still just copying others.

however--

Miss Elena has a thorn in her heart.

In another occasion or under another circumstance, she might have really been interested in giving the young man in front of her a bottle of champagne, or even longer. After seeing the painting "New Three Bodies of Buddha", she wanted to meet Cui Xiaoming.

But now.

Anna felt uncomfortable.

Cui Xiaoming said, "Ms. Elena, let me tell you how to design the perspective relationship between the Buddha in the middle and the Goddess of Money next to it. It took me a lot of effort. In the end, it was -"

Katsuko Sakai whispered in her ear: "Cui Xiaoming, he is just a plagiarist. He plagiarized Gu Weijing's work."

Cui Xiaoming said: "Regarding the color, I referred to the color design of the original statues among the mountains in Afghanistan——"

Katsuko Sakai whispered in her ear: "Cui Xiaoming, he is just a plagiarist. He plagiarized Gu Weijing's work."

Cui Xiaoming raised his glass and said, "I have always believed that Afghanistan and Singapore are geographically very far apart, one is inland and the other is in the mountains. But they have some similar characteristics. The Silk Road on land and the Silk Road on the sea——"

Katsuko Sakai whispered in her ear: "Cui Xiaoming, he is just a plagiarist. He plagiarized Gu Weijing's work."

Cui Xiaoming.

He is just a plagiarist, he plagiarized Gu Weijing's work.

Was it because Katsuko Sakai's voice was too firm and lingering, or was it because in the deepest part of her heart, Anna instinctively couldn't believe that the painting "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun", the one that seemed to be telling her thousands of words, was the real plagiarist.

She wanted to listen attentively, but she just couldn't get into the mood and listen seriously.

"enough!"

Sudden.

Anna raised her hand.

(End of this chapter)