The Versatile Master Artist

The harsh reality directly slapped Gu Weijing with a loud smack.

When he was previously removed from "Oil Painting," Gu Weijing didn’t hold much resentment in his heart.

After all, the process of being rated as a "two and a half stars" painter felt like a dream.

He was just an online painter without any legitimate illustration representative work.

Lucky to have it, fate to lose it.

Gu Weijing was willing to hold onto a beautiful and naive expectation, believing that the magazine was more caught up in hesitation, wondering if he’s truly a formal artist.

As long as his genuinely excellent serious work is seen by the higher-ups of "Oil Painting," having his page restored would be just a matter of course.

At this moment, watching Sir Brown in the video speaking so whimsically and carelessly, Gu Weijing felt a sense of idol-destruction.

"Turns out the shareholders of the esteemed Oil Painting Magazine are just a bunch of ordinary people."

He felt helpless, even somewhat amused.

In essence, the profession of a great critic is not much different from the authority of academic dictators. Under a magnifying glass, you will always see a plethora of human flaws.

Especially when it rises to a debate of aesthetic positions.

Their behavior wouldn’t be more moral than Lysenko, who suppressed genetics, or Edison, who defamed AC power.

The only difference is that the artistic component is difficult to quantitatively analyze.

Practice can prove the right or wrong of scientific theories.

In the realm of purely personal subjective judgment in art aesthetics, proving the critics wrong is hard.

Precisely because saying something wrong has no cost, when suppressing dissent, they can often act with reckless abandon.

"If... the critics of ’Oil Painting’ Magazine are lying, is there a way to punish them?"

Gu Weijing asked irritably.

Detective Cat is currently his biggest channel for earning money and providing experience points.

He had just inadvertently earned a reputation, inexplicably attracting these influential figures that could easily crush him.

Gu Weijing felt helpless too.

No matter how hard he tries, it doesn’t necessarily mean he can create good works, creating good works doesn’t necessarily lead to prominence—this is where the cruelty of the art industry lies.

"You care a lot about Detective Cat, don’t you."

Koizumi Katsuko asked puzzled.

This kind of nonsense, uncommon but not rare.

The world of critics survives by criticism; a certain art journal scolding a painter is simply too normal.

It’s just that Detective Cat gathering so many influential judges for a collective denial is a peculiar sight in art history, Picasso might not even have this ability.

Painting Knife Painting... hmm, hearing this painting style, Koizumi Katsuko instinctively didn’t have high hopes for Detective Cat.

She even felt seventy percent certain that these judges might not be entirely wrong in their evaluations.

The remaining thirty percent hesitated,

still because of that fleeting cover illustration on the screen.

Koizumi Katsuko thought a work that made a little girl show such a pure smile couldn’t be too inferior.

"It’s just that these judges, seem like the Sword of Damocles hanging over each of our heads. What do you think, is the ultimate purpose of our creating paintings to express ourselves, or to please art critics?"

Gu Weijing spoke whimsically.

He’s just a young man.

He had previously encountered matters of Brother Hao, Van Doorn, Tanaka Masakazu.

Generally speaking, the world he saw was still quite warm.

The old child-like Cao Xuan, Chinese painting master Lin Tao, the round Uncle Sakai, the sarcastic yet fair Judge Miss, the gentle and elegant Mr. Tree Sloth.

Even Mrs. Sakai, who seemed sharp-tongued and high above, had quite a cute side after extended contact.

The dark side of the art high realms appeared this naked and unadorned before Gu Weijing’s eyes for the first time, making him somewhat disheartened.

"The ultimate purpose of painting is to bring a whole new unique artistic perspective to the world, touching the souls of every person in a brief moment, ultimately influencing the world. Of course, to achieve this purpose, should painters be expressing themselves or pleasing the judges more?"

Koizumi Katsuko sighed, watching the flame flicker on the candlestick: "This is a philosophical question. I believe Raphael chose the latter, earned the appreciation of the archbishops, thus winning the favor of the entire upper class of Florence. I also believe Van Gogh chose the former, selling only a few paintings for Dutch Guilders in his lifetime, yet becoming an unparalleled peak in art history after his death."

The girl noticed the low pressure surrounding her boyfriend.

"Actually, for Detective Cat now, there may be a genuine opportunity to become famous with just one painting."

Koizumi Katsuko raised her glass of juice, gently clinked it with Gu Weijing’s cup, blinking her clove-colored eyes: "As long as she can prove them wrong, it will do. Art critics live off ’authority’. When authority is shattered, in the eyes of the collectors, judges without credibility aren’t worth a penny."

"How to prove it then?"

"Two ways, disproving authority either through facts or greater authority. Renaissance painters, if disliked by one lord, could seek support from another king, if disapproved by the Slockwini family, could turn to the Medici family."

Koizumi Katsuko raised two fingers: "If there is a more top-tier art giant to speak up for her, then previous doubts become insignificant, just like no local bishop would dare to deny the skills of a papal favorite painter. Unfortunately..."

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