Van Gogh Reborn!
Chapter 206:

The King, the Hero, and the Penguin (4)

I can’t blame him for not understanding what Marso was trying to say.

An artist is someone who expresses what they want to say in their own language.

Even if they use common words, they can give them new meanings like Ferdinand Gonzalez.

Or they can use them in unexpected ways to evoke different meanings.

To Henri Marso, the expression ‘the coolest’ was too obvious, not something an artist would say.

For someone who hated talking to others, Marso was quite kind to the young painter.

He was out of his mind.

“That was a good try, but I told you not to say the obvious. I didn’t tell you to say something wrong.”

Marso added.

He meant that saying he hated him was wrong.

Sometimes I envy how he sees the world, so beautiful and easy.

Fabre glared at Henri Marso and got off the stage.

“What did Mr. Henri say?”

Chashihyun looked around the frozen people and asked.

“The truth.”

He said something true, but something that left him speechless.

The 9th, 8th, and 7th places were announced one after another.

As I clapped and celebrated the joy of winning, my heart started to ache.

As Grandpa said at first, I didn’t care about the ranking, but I didn’t want to lose to Henri Marso.

I should focus on the fact that millions of people liked <Summer Winter>.

I wanted to remain a meaningful person to him, who had been paying attention to me since <Sunflower>.

Maybe Marso was obsessed with me because of this feeling.

I was nervous.

“Then, the 3rd place with 2,940,642 votes is?”

I was already anxious, but the music made me more nervous.

“Cloud Cluster! Anish Puer!”

<Cloud Cluster> appeared on the center screen.

It was a work that painted a concave surface with a pigment called Vantablack, and it stayed in the top ranks until it finally took the 3rd place.

The announcements continued, and I was getting tired, but the people cheered again.

“I thought that was amazing.”

Chashihyun clapped and said.

“Me too.”

Vantablack is the darkest color in the world.

It’s hard to believe that it can be so dark. Thanks to that, I felt the concave surface as flat.

I was also impressed by the darkness and wanted to use it once when I painted ‘Solar Eclipse’.

“So Anish Puer won.”

“Hmm. He’s a person with a clear message. I wish he would be less greedy.”

Grandpa seemed to know Anish Puer personally.

“Greedy?”

“Vantablack.”

He tilted his head and Grandpa told him the bitter news.

“He monopolized the artistic use of Vantablack.”

“Then.”

“Yeah. Other artists can’t use Vantablack.”

“I didn’t know you could monopolize paint.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

I wanted to use it to express the darkness of the eclipse, but it was a pity.

“I want to try it.”

“He doesn’t seem to have any intention of allowing it. There were quite a few people who wanted to pay royalties and use it, but they were all rejected.”

Grandpa was right. It was a greedy thing to say.

“Anish, you received the support of about 3 million people and came to this stage. How do you feel?”

Anish Puer went on stage and expressed his feelings.

“I’ve received many awards, but today is the happiest day of my life.”

“Cloud Cluster. It was a very unique work. Can you introduce it briefly?”

“Hmm. I don’t want to explain the work myself.”

“Oh.”

“But what I think is important is the dialogue with the audience. The audience will be drawn to the darkness of Vantablack and naturally observe the Cloud Cluster. And they will read the description below and observe it hard. But they won’t know, so they will touch it with their hands and find out that it is concave.”

“I did that too.”

"Yes. That was my intention. To make the audience move their eyes. To make them reach out and understand the work. To create a new narrative."1)2)

“You mean communication with the audience is important. You seem to have had a lot of conversations this time. Congratulations, Anish.”

Anish Puar left the stage to applause.

I also clapped willingly, because although I didn’t like his ambition, I shared his passion for art.

I hoped he would someday be ashamed of himself and release the exclusive rights he had put on Banta Black.

“Well, now we only have two works left.”

The voice of the host Woojin made me forget the regret of not being able to use Banta Black.

“I’m really bothered that Ko Hun hasn’t come out yet.”

Alex, who was broadcasting the closing ceremony of the Arnuvo Competition, shook his head.

“Frankly, it doesn’t make sense that Ko Hun can’t win. Sunflower and Guest, Frosty Field, Mask, they were all like that. 2028 was Ko Hun’s year.”

The viewers agreed with Alex’s words.

“Yeah. He took the penalty, but still, if he said he drew it, he would surely be recognized. So I’m saying this.”

Alex paused for a moment and then revealed his true feelings.

“Isn’t it possible to speculate that Mi is Ko Hun’s work at this point?”

└So you’re saying your guess is rightㅋㅋ

└But honestly, if you ask me which one of Summer Nostalgia and Mi is closer to Ko Hun’s vibe, I’d say Mi.

└Yeah. The atmosphere is Summer Nostalgia, but honestly, it’s too different from Ko Hun’s style so far.

└Mi, which gives a classic feel, fits better.

“That’s right.”

When he saw people agreeing with him, Alex gained strength.

“Honestly, Summer Nostalgia followed closely, but barely. I think Mi will win, you know? Then Ko Hun wins the Arnuvo Competition? Wow. That’s a real revolution. There’s a story, right?”

The YouTuber who loved art was very excited.

“The hero of the art world, Henri Marso, hosted the competition, and Damien Carter, the most successful artist of the 21st century, withdrew. And the sacred Ko Hun takes his place? This is a revolution. Really Arnuvo. A new art.”

Alex checked the viewers’ reactions.

└You did a good job of putting them togetherㅋㅋ

└But the name of the competition, New Art, definitely fits. In terms of the revolution brought by the hero.

└But then who is Summer Nostalgia?

“That’s right. In my opinion, Henri Marso’s planning of the Arnuvo Competition was the best opportunity for Ko Hun. As the Korean reporter said, even if Damien Carter had continued to participate, he couldn’t have won. Could Summer Nostalgia be Ko Hun’s painting?”

Alex opened his mouth after a moment of hesitation.

“I don’t think so, but just in case…”

The chat window stopped for a moment.

“Honestly, I think it would be scary.”

December 6, 2028, 10:20 p.m.

As the world watched, the two works showed off their own auras.

A classic portrait that gave a graceful and sacred feeling and a landscape painting that gave an illusion effect and a sad atmosphere, <Summer Nostalgia>.

The guests and viewers all admired the two works that decorated the closing ceremony stage.

“The Arnuvo Competition is now approaching its climax. Now, when we reveal the winner, we only have the event draw left.”

The host Woojin mentioned the guessing event, mindful of the ratings.

“The two works that showed a fierce competition until the end. Summer Nostalgia and Mi received 17,334,053 votes, accounting for 56% of the total votes.”

A sigh of relief flowed from the audience.

The two works had secured more than half, so they could be called the true protagonists of the Arnuvo Competition.

“The difference in votes between the two works is 257.”

At the point when the voting status was switched to private, <Summer Nostalgia> and <Mi> had a difference of about 700 votes.

“I wonder if Summer Nostalgia caught up with Mi in an hour. Or if they failed to narrow the gap any further, I’m curious too.”

Woojin turned the card with the script and sighed softly.

“It’s amazing. Who wouldn’t be surprised by this result?”

Everyone who was waiting for the result focused on Woojin’s words and actions.

Which of the two works, <Summer Nostalgia> and <Mi>, would win and lead the new art?

And whether Ko Hun was really the author of <Mi>.

Or whether he failed to win the award, they couldn’t wait any longer.

“Commercial…”

As soon as Woojin mentioned the commercial, the atmosphere cooled down.

“If I tell you to watch, you’ll all get angry. Let’s reveal it right away. 2028 Arnuvo Competition! Introducing the protagonist of the new art!”

With Woojin’s powerful shout, the images of the two works appeared on the central screen.

1st <Mi(Beauté)>

Henry Marceau

(France. 33 years old)

Votes: 8,667,155 (28.0%)

2nd <Summer Frost>

Hoon Go

(South Korea. 10 years old)

Votes: 8,666,898 (28.0%)

The auditorium and the live chat room were frozen in shock.

“This can’t be.”

Someone muttered.

The people in the art world doubted their own eyes.

It was not a big surprise that Henri Marso had participated in the Arnouveau Contest.

What astonished them was that the prestigious Henri Marso had revealed his admiration for Hoon Go once again in his work.

The lonely hero had finally assimilated the characteristics of another artist and reached the end of beauty.

Those who had known Henri Marso until now were amazed and happy that he had finally freed himself from his loneliness.

Meanwhile.

“How could this be?”

The mysterious work <Summer Frost> was also a shocker because it was Hoon Go’s entry.

The art enthusiasts could not help but marvel at the work that Hoon Go had shown after <Mask>.

Hoon Go, who had declared his departure from the image of a mini Van Gogh with <Mask>, had presented a completely different work.

<Summer Frost> was a painting that could never be Hoon Go’s.

The only resemblance was the impressionism, post-impressionism, fauvism-like attitude and imagery.

All the elements that composed <Summer Frost> were distant from Hoon Go.

‘How could he change so much in such a short time?’

Caroline Strick, a renowned art historian, shivered.

It did not matter that Hoon Go had not won the contest.

She was amazed that he had completely changed his style in just a few months.

‘No.’

Caroline Strick finally found Hoon Go in <Summer Frost>.

The impasto of thickly applied paint.

The abstract landscape that was artificially composed, but did not add emotion to nature, conveyed the sadness that Hoon Go had shown in <Sunflower>, <Guest>, and <Frosty Wheat Field>.

Only to a different degree.

Like Henri Marso, Hoon Go had also changed himself while protecting his identity.

Clap-

Clap clap clap clap-

The applause finally began to ring in the midst of the shock.

It was a voice of respect for the two artists who had broken the mold and moved forward without being complacent.

“What you see is not everything. Creating a new narrative through dialogue with the audience is the sensibility of my work, rather than explaining it myself.”

-Anish Kapoor

Narrative: A sequence of fictional or real events that are connected by causality within a given space and time. In art, it can also refer to the narrativity that expresses a single theme through events and their flow. The narrative is how the story changes according to the characters’ actions and motivations, the effects of their actions, how the problem is solved, etc.