The Versatile Master Artist

”Thinking back now, it’s quite embarrassing. Saying such things in front of an elder like that, back then I was so naive and fearless, truly childish to death.”

Koizumi Katsuko sent a shy emoji.

”Quite cute, then what happened? What did Takashi Murakami say?”

Even though Gu Weijing still hadn’t figured out what this had to do with the ”afterlife of a painting” they were discussing.

But such precious stories around great artists are only known to people like Koizumi Katsuko who grew up in high-end art circles.

So he was still listening attentively with great interest.

When Miss Sakai spoke of around 2010, it was precisely when Takashi Murakami was at the peak of his fame.

The Palais Royal and Versailles Palace held special exhibitions for him, and the New York Times wrote personal columns about him.

When it came to fashion crossover,

Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, every top luxury brand desired to collaborate with Takashi Murakami. Works signed with the name Takashi Murakami represented artistic assurance, a model of elegance and wit.

While Louis Vuitton’s collaborative bags and shopping bags with Takashi Murakami were selling massively among socialites worldwide, Van Doorn was still playing with mud.

Even when Time Magazine was selecting the 100 most influential people of the contemporary era, Takashi Murakami was on the list, surpassing Taylor Swift, Buffett, Murdoch, and other celebrities, and he was the only visual artist on the list.

Unexpectedly, Koizumi Katsuko had the fortune to meet Takashi Murakami face to face at that time.

Imagine,

At such an exhibition by a master, a young girl loudly proclaiming that she wants to become a greater artist than Takashi Murakami is indeed quite amusing.

”Were you laughed at by everyone?” Gu Weijing asked curiously.

”Not really, a great artist wouldn’t lower themselves to the level of a little girl like me. The elder just paused for a few seconds, then asked me in return, what, in my mind, constitutes truly great work.”

”I thought for a long time, but couldn’t come up with an answer.”

Miss Sakai typed, ”The elder Takashi Murakami seemed to know my name, so he stepped out from the crowd, squatted down, and touched my hair.”

”He told me, Miss Sakai, it doesn’t matter whether you become a so-called great artist or the next me. Worldly success doesn’t matter; what matters is creating work that can conquer death.”

”Work that conquers death?”

Gu Weijing savored this expression.

”He told me, the truly great masters’ works have an ’afterlife’. Their works never disappear, only reincarnating in the long river of time. Each time someone speaks their names in this timeless flow, the artists’ souls are reborn from the ashes of the past.”

”To traverse time, to become eternal and unperishable, is to be truly great.”

Miss Sakai slowly explained to Gu Weijing the art philosophy she had received.

When evaluating any artist’s works, they can be divided into ’present life’ and ’afterlife’ stages.

When an artist’s artistic life ends, the ’present life’ of their work also ends.

No new similar works appear, leaving only the long ’afterlife’.

Art is a strange cycle,

Picasso, who became successful and famous before death and left his name in art history after, remains a rarity.

Some people’s works shine brilliantly in the present life, only to be ignored after death.

Others’ works go unnoticed during their lifetime, yet light up art history after their death.

The Paris Salon professors who denigrated Impressionism, who dined with high officials and nobility, adorned their works with frames of gold and silver inlay.

Their paintings were sought after during their lifetimes, yet their names are now forgotten, buried by time.

Van Gogh only sold one cheap painting in his lifetime, but now it is considered a treasure by major museums, even becoming a cultural symbol, remembered more than the Dutch royal surname.

Chinese painting master Huang Binhong once said, people will understand me fifty years after my death.

In 2003, Christie’s auctioned a Chinese painting by this once-overlooked master for 370 million, exactly fifty years after the old master’s death.

Success does not equal greatness, and greatness does not equal success.

Before the modern gallery system and art market capital push formed a mature system, this was the portrayal of generations of painting masters in recent history.

”I can imagine that in the future, I should easily become a successful and wealthy artist.”

It was no exaggeration for Koizumi Katsuko to say this.

”But I don’t know if my work will stand the test of time, whether it’s excellent enough, whether my ’afterlife’ will leave echoes in art history time and time again. Compared to the challenging circumstances of those past masters, I even feel a guilty unease.”

”I’ve always believed that having the courage to be an unnoticed Van Gogh is more precious than the ambition to be a great artist in the secular sense.”

”So, when we write papers, I always feel a sense of pilgrimage towards that female painter named Carol, especially after our small dispute about the identity of female painters, this feeling has become even more pronounced.” Koizumi Katsuko wrote softly.

”This is despite the fact that associating with famous people is an ancient and widely accepted practice in art circles and was my father’s suggestion. However, your persistence about Carol’s true identity still persuaded me in the end and earned my admiration, although it perhaps only increased the probability by one percent or one-tenth of a percent.”

”Her brushwork is brilliant and dazzling, yet her name is unknown. Such an outstanding female painter’s name should not fade into time. If we can find her story together and restore her dark-toned Impressionist style to the world, this female painter could be reborn through our writing. This is the most meaningful thing I can think of.”

”Mr. Gu, I wish to share this hope with you through the long future,”

Koizumi Katsuko slowly typed.

Perhaps it was the poor sea wireless signal, or perhaps the girl was being pulled by Mrs. Sakai to choose jade jewelry again.

After sending this line.

Miss Sakai said nothing further and appeared offline.

Gu Weijing stared at the screen, lost in thought for a long time.

He closed the WhatsApp chat app and switched back to the INS photo wall, to that picture Shengzi posted in the morning standing on a seashell.

Gu Weijing looked at the elegant and noble appearance of Koizumi Katsuko in the photo and couldn’t help but sincerely admire.

Miss Shengzi really is the kind of girl with an overwhelming artistic aura.

Like a blooming lotus flower.

He remembered,

He once saw a dating advice video on YouTube by a rich second generation, with over a million views.

In it, a guy dressed in true playboy style categorized his ex-girlfriends into several major types.

The easiest to win over are gold-digger girls, just a limited edition Dior perfume and a candlelit dinner at a Michelin restaurant, and the probability of a successful confession is nine out of ten.

The hardest to win, with the most sincere emotions, are these artistic girls.

What money can’t buy is the most valuable.

To enter the heart of such a girl,

It’s not about luxury handbags or Porsche car keys.

What they want is emotional communication, a perfectly synchronized glance, a heart-thumping brainwave connection, a shared ideal and ambition.

She could leap into the sea with you because of a kiss under the stars, or casually toss the $5,000 custom 999 blue roses you gave her into the trash bin downstairs without a second thought.

The guy once volunteered with such a beautiful girl in a Syrian refugee camp affiliated with an NGO in Jordan for over half a year, almost dying from dysentery caused by malaria in the Middle East.

A girl like Koizumi Katsuko lacks nothing by nature.

Her heart towards art is sincere and literary, and her emotions towards people and things are very pure.

Probably, it’s just like that,

Koizumi Katsuko is so persistent in copying Carol’s paintings.

Even Gu Weijing, who has copied many ”Old Church on a Stormy Day”, is motivated more by the utilitarian desire to obtain a system treasure box than by the emotional expectations of Miss Shengzi.

”The present and afterlife of a work of art.”

Gu Weijing’s mind pondered this thought-provoking expression.