Van Gogh Reborn!
Chapter 159: Summer Valley (5)

Chapter 159 Summer Valley (5)

The next day.

“Wow.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. It looks like a beetle.”

“Don’t touch it. Leave it alone. It might be dangerous.”

“It’s okay.”

“…Are you going to eat it?”

“…No. Look. Isn’t it cool?”

“Ew, no! It’s gross!”

Go Suyeol smiled fondly at the two kids.

They wanted to catch insects, so he bought them a collecting box and a net from a nearby stationery store. They had been running around all morning without a break.

The straw hats he put on them were too big and kept sliding off.

Vroom- vroom-

As he was about to get them some sun caps, Go Suyeol’s phone rang.

It was a call from his old friend Martin Jansen. He answered it cheerfully.

“Martin.”

-You came all the way to Korea, but where did you go so busy?

“Haha. I’m enjoying a vacation with Hoon. You should take your grandson on a trip too. You won’t think about anything else.”

-What’s so cute about a kid who only plays games?

Go Suyeol laughed.

-Actually, I have a favor to ask Hoon.

“A favor?”

-Well. I’m making a documentary about Vincent van Gogh. I need an interview with Hoon about the process of finding his last work.

“That shouldn’t be hard. Let me ask him. Hoon.”

“Yes?”

“Can you come here for a moment? Grandpa Martin has something he wants to ask you.”

At Go Suyeol’s call, Go Hoon ran over and took the phone.

“Martin?”

-Oh, yeah. Is the trip fun?

“I just caught a cool beetle.”

-…A beetle?

“Yes. I’m going to find out what its name is.”

Martin couldn’t understand what Go Hoon was talking about, but he could tell from his voice that he was having fun.

-Hehe. Okay. Be sure to let me know.

“I will. What’s up?”

Go Suyeol took off the straw hat that Go Hoon was wearing.

-I’m making a documentary about Vincent van Gogh.

“Oh…”

-Why?

“Nothing. Go on.”

-I was thinking of putting your interview in it. Your thoughts on van Gogh, or what happened when you found the place where he painted his last work.

Go Hoon was lost in thought.

It wasn’t a difficult task, but he remembered the embarrassing incidents that had happened recently when he was exposed to the media.

-Can you do it?

“Sure. But what kind of content is it?”

-It’s a biography. You can think of it as a detailed portrait. Like how you made an insect book when you were young, or how you liked painting because of your mother.

Go Hoon felt relieved.

That kind of content didn’t seem to be anything to be ashamed of.

-Well, it might be too early for you, but there might be some love stories too. Hahaha!

“No way.”

Go Hoon said firmly.

***

[The completely new SNBA competition]

On the 11th, the French National Association of Art (hereafter SNBA) announced the changes for this year.

The SNBA competition, which gives the top winners the special exhibition rights at the French National Art Salon, changed its name to the Art Nouveau competition.

Art Nouveau was an artistic style that was popular worldwide between 1890 and 1910.

SNBA chairman Chevasson Simon (67) explained that it meant that the art world was waiting for another transformation.

Not only did they change the name, but SNBA also broke away from the existing judging method and allowed all visitors to become judges and select their favorite artworks.

The entries will be exhibited from November 30th to December 6th in the Louvre and Hotel de Ville districts of Paris, and will be judged through an application.

Visitors can enjoy the works on site and in the virtual exhibition hall, and can vote for up to ten works.

The top ten works that receive these votes will be given the opportunity to be exhibited at the French National Art Salon special exhibition.

They did not divide the categories unusually.

SNBA explained that the Art Nouveau competition aimed for a completely free competition that was not bound by genre, size, or theme.

The total prize money of the Art Nouveau competition was 2.5 million euros, the largest among all art competitions.

The winner will receive 1 million euros and prizes will be awarded to the top ten.

Artists from all over the world paid attention to the Art Nouveau competition announced by SNBA.

It was a competition that anyone who was an artist would covet, with 1 million euros and a special exhibition at the French National Art Salon for the winner.

It was organized as a special program for the Whitney Biennale, but it became popular and covered the whole art field. ‘Let’s Talk’ also dealt with the Art Nouveau competition.

-Hello, viewers. I’m Woojin, the host of Let’s Talk.

The host Woojin greeted them.

-It was yesterday. The French National Association of Art confirmed the procedure and outline of the Art Nouveau competition and became a hot topic. Today, we have curator Michael Ping to talk to us. Hello, Michael.

-Hello.

Curator Michael Ping, who participated in the Whitney Biennale planning, approached the broadcast with a serious attitude.

-First of all, the scale of the competition is impressive. The total prize money is 2.5 million euros. We can’t skip over this.

-That’s right. You can’t think of it as a normal competition prize. The winning prize of 1 million euros is almost unbelievable.

-As far as I know, usually in these cases, the prize money is the purchase price of the work. How about the Art Nouveau competition?

-As you know, it is the purchase price of the work.

-Is there a reason why the prize money is set as the purchase price of the work?

-It’s a win-win. The artist can sell the work with certainty, and the organizer can exhibit valuable works.

Michael Ping shrugged his shoulders.

-Even if it’s an international competition, it’s an event that is run by the budget of the French National Association of Art, so they also need to make a profit. Unlike other competitions, they set the purchase price of the work very high, so there shouldn’t be a big problem.

-I see. Generally speaking, it’s definitely a large amount, but some people might be worried about the case of Go Hoon, who confirmed his participation.

-Writer Go Hoon is really an exceptional case. There are very few living writers who sell their works for millions or tens of millions of dollars. They couldn’t have raised the prize money for the minority writers, so I think that part was Go Hoon’s choice rather than the lack of prize money for the Arnuvo Contest.

Woo Jin asked with a light smile.

-Since we’re talking about Writer Go Hoon, I’ll keep asking you, what is your intention to participate? If you think about it easily, why would he need to participate in the contest when he has already earned enough income and reputation?

-Well, I don’t know. I think you have to ask Writer Go Hoon directly. As far as I can guess, there is nothing lacking for Writer Go Hoon right now. I don’t know if there are people who think his foundation is weak, but he even secured his position through the Whitney Biennale. I think he might participate for the sake of experience, since the contest started with a good intention.

-What about other cases? Do famous writers also participate in contests?

-Of course, for big events like the Arnuvo Contest. There is no reason not to.

-What about people like Henri Marso or Jang Mi Rae?

-I’d like to say they are out of the question. Don’t you think they don’t feel the need for that?

-Haha.

-It could rather be a burden. If they don’t win the prize by any chance, their reputation will drop, and even if they win, there will be a lot of talk.

It was expected that there would be protests from the artists who reached the peak, saying that they were depriving other writers of their opportunities, or that their fame influenced the judging.

Michael Ping explained that people like Henri Marso and Jang Mi Rae had no reason to bear such a burden.

-Then let’s move on to the controversial judging method. It’s done by audience voting only.

-Yes. Only those who buy tickets can authenticate and choose their favorite works up to ten points.

-Including virtual exhibitions.

-Yes.

-It seems like you benchmarked the method that was verified in the music industry, but I heard that there is a lot of opposition from the critics and artists.

-Yes. They have three main reasons. One is that professionalism is needed, and the second is somewhat related to the first reason, which is the fear that it could become a popularity contest.

-That could be a problem.

-Yes. Not only that, but there was also a problem that there could be manipulation in the voting, but it was somewhat solved by the process that you have to authenticate the ticket to vote.

-Then what is the last reason?

-That such a procedure was carried out by Henri Marso’s unilateral decision without enough discussion.

Michael Ping continued to explain that Henri Marso was not free from the controversy that arose in the French art world.

“Turn it off.”

Henri Marso opened his mouth nervously.

The TV turned off with a sound and the screen became transparent.

Michel Platini, who was reading a book across the room, turned his head. Henri, who had a twisted face, came into his sight.

“Damn it.”

Michel understood his complaint.

Not only France, but the whole world of art was talking about the Arnuvo Contest, so he couldn’t help but care.

Especially since he was a sensitive person, he seemed to be more so.

He closed the book and approached him to comfort him a little.

“What’s the matter? What’s the one thing?”

Michel tilted his head.

As he approached, he saw a book written in Korean.

Henri said to Michel.

“How do Koreans read numbers? Why do they say ‘haru’ when it should be ‘il’?”

“…Is that why?”

“So?”

He was glad that he didn’t care about the TV content.

"I don’t think we have anything to say about how we count numbers."1)

“What is it.”

As Michel shrugged his shoulders, Henri lowered his head and looked at the Korean textbook again.

“Why Korean all of a sudden?”

“…”

“Don’t tell me you’re really trying to watch Hoon’s broadcast?”

“…”

“Oh my. Really?”

“No.”

Henri Marso tried to ignore Michel and looked through the textbook.

Even if he read the number 1 as ‘il’ and ‘hana’.

He couldn’t understand why they said ‘han myeong’ instead of ‘il myeong’. If he had to choose one of the two, it should be ‘hana myeong’.

"Penelope?"2)

“Shut up! I said no!”

Henri Marso shouted and Michel laughed and left the bedroom.

*****

1)In France, 1 to 16 are each called independent nouns, and 17(dix-sept) is 10(dix)+7(sept).

In 18 and 19, 10(dix) is pronounced [diz], but 17(dix-sept) is pronounced [di] by dropping [s].

Then 70 is 60+10.

80(quatre-vingts) is 20(vingts)×4(quatre) and 90(quatre-vingt-dix) is 20(vingts)×4(quatre)+10(dix).

It was a result of the 20-base system that was used as a basis in the Middle Ages and then the 10-base system was introduced, but the 20-base system that remained in many places of life.

The traces of using the 20-base system are still left in everyday life, so many tests in France are out of 20 points.

2)Pénélope(F): Penelope of Greek mythology. She was the wife of Ulysses and kept her chastity for 20 years.

Although there is a difference, please understand it as a transcendent translation of “You’re a good wife, you’re a good wife”.

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