"...In addition to working on your portfolio, pay attention to what you submit to the interviewer at the school recruitment fair, and also include a Sketchbook (creative sketchbook) that records your thoughts and feelings when you draw your portfolio every day."
"Please don't ignore the latter! Students! This is an important material for your students to prove to the interviewer that they are independent creatives rather than hired guns to outsource the design portfolio. Regarding the specific precautions for Sketchbook, I will discuss it later. Details are explained in the course..."
Although Professor Wattel, the teacher of the Dulwich drawing class, was frothing at the mouth while giving the lecture, and the chalk was banging on the blackboard "bang bang bang!" with great effort.
But on this warm afternoon in mid-March, everyone in the advanced class still looked like they couldn't cheer up.
He was able to attend Dulwich College, but he was not selected into Mrs. Sakai's gifted class.
In fact, most of the students sitting here have already decided on their next homes.
Except for higher tuition fees, foreign art academies are no different from ordinary Western comprehensive universities. They are easy on entry and strict on exit.
Especially for the large and small art academies in Milan and Florence, Italy, it is relatively easy to apply because of the policies of the Italian Ministry of Culture.
Of course, whether you can successfully graduate after entering is another matter.
The application itself is not too difficult.
Regarding the professional performance of ordinary students in Wattle's class, there is definitely little hope of applying to a top 100 prestigious school in the arts, no matter how hard they work or not.
But why have I paid high tuition fees to a private middle school for so many years?
They are still confident in applying to some low-ranking foreign art schools that have cooperative relationships with Dulwich College at the school recruitment fair and getting a small offer.
At worst, you can choose a university in Yangon.
Many people even know very well that they have no talent for painting at all, and they have very realistically given up on being a painter and signing for a gallery. These are completely unrealistic expectations.
Even their parents have planned since they were in school to let their children use their status as art students as a springboard.
When they get to college, let them switch to other majors such as interior design, animation, game interaction, and civil architecture that are easier to make money.
Even the sketching professor on stage is known for being rigid and serious among Dulwich teachers.
After the initial excitement of improving the class wore off, the students in the large classroom still couldn't help but take advantage of the situation.
There was a sleepy atmosphere in the air, and many people were shaking their heads little by little, trying hard to fight against the heavy eyelids.
A girl with braided hair put her arms under her chin, holding a pen in her hand. She struggled to raise her head high, but her eyelids were already stuck together, and she was snoring softly.
A few boys who felt that the course was really boring simply gathered together in the back row of the classroom, rubbing the glass of their mobile phones to play the online mobile game "Fortnite".
"snort!"
Professor Watter, whose hair was naturally curled and whose style resembled the Golden Retriever Lion King in Mr. Jin Yong’s martial arts, glanced at the people in the audience with dissatisfaction.
He realized that if he kept talking like this dryly, he would hypnotize everyone in the classroom.
"Such an important content about the school recruitment fair is not good to listen to!"
Professor Wattel was a little angry.
He originally wanted to perform a lion's roar and roar to wake up these little bastards, but he sighed again.
"never mind."
It's already the graduation season of thirteenth grade, and many of the students who are doing this are already adults.
If he doesn't want to work hard, he, a professor who is an evil person, has no meaning.
"Good words can't persuade a damned person."
Except for a few good children in the classroom, Professor Vatel does not expect these underachieving students to apply for good schools and earn themselves outstanding teacher bonuses.
It would take a hundred days at most to get out of school.
If you don’t want to hear it, just ask for your blessings!
I thought so in my heart,
After all, Professor Watter is still a very ethical and responsible teacher.
He hesitated for a moment and stopped talking dryly about the notes in the portfolio on the blackboard, preparing to change to something more interesting.
"Okay, let's talk about the interview at the school recruitment fair now. In previous years, the examiner would ask some questions about art history during the interview. For example, he would give you a painting and ask you to tell his story. Origin, creative background, collection history, etc. Or let you tell stories about the works of your favorite famous painters.”
Professor Wattel opened his laptop and brought up the projector.
"It's useless to sharpen your skills in the face of the battle. You need to rely on daily accumulation. There are still a few months to go. Try to memorize a painting every morning and evening."
"We are all professional art students. We are not ordinary people, so don't expect the examiner to ask you simple questions like "Mona Lisa" and "Night Watch."
"Let's do a few questions to get familiar with them and test your knowledge reserves. These works are classic paintings that have been taught in school before. Let's see how many of them you remember?"
Vatel used the touch pad to open the electronic picture album on his computer and browsed through the dazzling array of paintings for a while.
Finally he chose a portrait of a woman wearing a red silk coat, a hoop necklace around her neck, and a golden floral accessory tied with a thin hairband in the middle of her forehead.
"Here, who of you can tell me specific information about this work? The more detailed the better."
"Miss Kou Kou?"
Wattel stepped off the podium and tapped the desk of the sleeping little girl with braids with the end of the chalk.
"Your face is about to turn into a little cat from the ink on the tip of the pen."
"What?"
Kou Kou woke up from her sweet afternoon dream and straightened up in fear.
She turned her head, and then grabbed a pencil case from the girl's desk next to her.
Koko brought her face closer and used the metal surface on the inside of the pencil case, which was as smooth and flat as a mirror, to shine on her face.
Finding that the skin was as white and tender as freshly peeled egg whites, Kou Kou said happily: "What? Sister, I was scared to death."
"Miss Koko! This is class! What did you do last night?" Watter's tone rose, and he was very dissatisfied, feeling that his anger tank was about to be filled.
"Ah, oh...Professor, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Only then did Kou Kou completely wake up from her stupor.
She suddenly remembered that she was in class, and immediately stood up and apologized to Professor Wattel.
"A big French food blogger made puffs live on TikTok last night. It was very popular. I followed him and learned it. I didn't expect it to be quite time-consuming. I made it a little late. Sorry, professor, but I can make it. It tastes good, why don't you take some to relieve your anger?"
While Coco was talking, she actually pulled out a plastic food box with a coffee cat sticker from the drawer under the desk, and handed it pitifully to Professor Wattel.
There was a burst of laughter in the classroom.
Professor Wattel was also amused.
Looking at the small lunch box handed over by the girl, I wanted to continue to lose my temper, but couldn't.
Miss Kou Kou has this advantage.
She is the type who accepts with an open mind and refuses to change despite repeated admonitions.
Skateboarding in the corridors, drawing graffiti on the walls with coffee cats and the puppy named Milu in "The Adventures of Tintin"... Koko is a little expert at breaking school rules and disciplines on the Dulwich campus, and also has a strong influence on the student union. The president, Mona, was completely dismissive of her discipline.
But whenever she was caught by a teacher violating discipline, Kou Kou never held her tongue and had a very good attitude in admitting her mistakes.
While apologizing, he looked pitifully at the teacher with his big, watery eyes.
Teacher Fengji couldn't bear to punish her too harshly.
Anyway, it wasn't a principled mistake. When the girl apologized so sincerely, the teacher raised his hand and let her go.
rest assured,
As soon as she disappears from the teacher's nose, she will definitely return to her old ways.
"You."
Professor Watter shook his head, "Forget it, next time you want to sleep, go to the back and don't get in my way. Now, since you stand up, answer my question. Can you identify the origin of the painting on the projector?" ?"
"Uh, Professor... let me think."
Koko sniffed and felt that the portrait on the projector looked familiar, but she couldn't remember the exact origin for a while.
"It seems to be called 'The Beautiful Mrs. So-and-so'. I remember it should be the work of Leonardo da Vinci, probably this one."
Kou Kou said hesitantly.
"Yes, you can remember that this is a work by Leonardo da Vinci." Professor Vatel said half-sarcastically and half-jokingly, "At least I didn't go to the Academy of Fine Arts in vain."
"In the interview at the campus recruitment fair, if you can tell me the complete name of 'Mrs. That's Mrs.', I might be able to give you a three-point score. Now, I can only give you a one-point or two-point score. This means failed."
"Failure means you may lose the offer."
"Sorry, Professor, I really can't remember." Koko stuck out her tongue.
"Well, in order to prevent our Miss Kou Kou from not going to college. Gentlemen here, is anyone willing to lend a helping hand?" The professor glanced at everyone.
There was silence in the classroom for a few seconds.
When Professor Wattel began to feel very disappointed.
A voice came from the back row: ""The Beautiful Madame Ferronnier" is considered to be Leonardo da Vinci's practice in the Milan studio. The excessive light and shadow and the arc on the woman's lips are similar to the "Mona Lisa" "The shadow of "Mona Lisa" has been speculated by some in the academic community as the predecessor of "Mona Lisa."
"Bingo! Very good, this is the answer I want. By the way, I am also impressed by the sketch assignments you hand in every time. Mr. Gu." Professor Vatel then showed a satisfied look on his face, he praised.
"Miss Koko, congratulations, you can sit down. Gu Weijing, is there anything else you can add?"
the professor asked with a smile.
Koko shook her braid, glanced at the back of the classroom with an unclear meaning, and sat down in her seat.
After Gu Weijing in the back row thought for a moment, he continued to add: "There is still some controversy about the identity of the portrait owner of this painting and whether it is an authentic work by Leonardo da Vinci. It was once the royal residence of King Louis XIV of France. The original painting is now in the National Gallery of Abu Dhabi, which is commonly known as Abu Dhabi. Louvre."
"Perfect! 5 points. This is an unquestionable 5-point answer. It even mentions the inheritance. It's perfect. Let's give Gu Weijing a little applause."
Professor Wattel made no secret of his satisfaction and clapped his hands gently.
"Come on, Gu Weijing, keep working hard. Even if you are not selected by Mrs. Cruz to participate in her genius improvement class, I still think that among all the people here, who has the potential to be admitted to one of the top seventy prestigious QS art schools? If you are accepted, then it’s you.”
Professor Wattel returned to the podium and pressed the enter key.
Detailed information about "The Beautiful Madame Ferronnier" appeared on the projector screen, including the creator, the year of creation, the art school and the museum to which the modern collection belongs.
It is exactly the same as what Gu Weijing said.
"I have nothing more to say about this painting, so let's move on to the next one..."
Gu Weijing, who was sitting alone at the back of the classroom, noticed that many people were looking at him in surprise.
They were whispering quietly.
"Wow, robot, you can remember all this, real or fake."
"Nerd."
"Are you jealous? Professor Wattel said that he might be able to apply to one of the top seventy prestigious schools."
"The professor just encouraged you like that, but you will lose if you take it seriously. Didn't you listen to what the previous seniors said? Without a weighty recommendation letter to open the way, interviewers from top universities will not even bother to look at your portfolio. Yes, it’s just an idiot’s dream.”
…
Gu Weijing shook his head expressionlessly.
In fact, if Professor Wattel asked about other works, he should be able to answer the name, creator and painting school, which would be pretty good.
The fact that he was able to come up with such a perfect answer was a bit of a coincidence.
Gu Weijing saw that Professor Wattel seemed to be immersed in the courseware and had no intention of asking questions, so he inserted a wireless earphone into his left ear.
He took out his mobile phone, opened the official homepage of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and clicked on the most prominent promotional video.
"The Louvre Abu Dhabi - a thirty-year great adventure unprecedented in the history of art, France's largest overseas cultural project in history, and the dream-seeking heart of the Arab world."
As the accompanying symphonic soundtrack rang out.
The video starts playing.
The majestic building made of steel comes into view. This is a bird's-eye view of the museum built on a project costing nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars from an aerial lens on a photography helicopter.
The museum was designed by Jean Nouvel, a famous contemporary architect and winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. It was built above the water and was inspired by a lagoon island called Saadiyat Island that is located at the junction of the ocean and the desert.
The overall shape looks very similar to the combination of the Eastern Xia Bird's Nest and the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre.
After a few seconds of overhead view.
The picture first showed the four-color flag of the United Arab Emirates and the three-color flag of the French government, as well as the Arabic and French official names of the museum [Arabic: Louvre Abou Dabi], French: Louvre Abou Dabi.
Then the screen goes black briefly.
There seemed to be an invisible pen swiping across the screen, and new words appeared in gold-lacquered letters - [Manac'h Gallery]
"Mashi Gallery, the founder of the modern art gallery industry and the cradle of artists."
"Damon Clarkson, Vidic Bullitt, Leonard Frank..."
The video begins to look like opening a physical album, with portraits of artists and pictures of their representative works turning page by page.
The founder of the modern gallery industry, this title is a bit self-proclaimed by Mashi Gallery.
However, it is undeniable that this historic gallery had a very glorious history.
Many of the names flashing on the screen are very famous artists in the history of modern and contemporary art. Everyone who studies art will bow their heads in awe in front of such a star-studded list.
There is a slight fly in the ointment. If you use 0.5x slow-motion playback and take a closer look at the time when the great painters joined the Ma Shi Gallery, you will find that a large number of them were concentrated before the 1980s and 1990s.
Those were the most star-studded days of Ma Shi Gallery.
After the turn of the millennium, there were only a few artists represented by the first- and second-tier major painters who had good reputations.
The picture finally settled on the name [Dike Allen].
“This summer, Abu Dhabi, the inventor of the modern art gallery, will once again define modern art for you.”
Subtitles flowed.
The drums of the symphony began to become high-pitched and passionate. When the pianist struck thunderous drums in the bass area, a new line of text appeared on the screen.
"Louvre Abu Dhabi, solo art exhibition of Dyke Alen."
"Let modern art start again!"
The video then comes to an end, and it begins to jump to detailed information such as the ticket booking channel and the exhibition time of the personal art exhibition.
"That's great!" Gu Weijing sighed in his heart and clenched his fists slightly.
In the past week, he had watched this video countless times, but every time it was played, Gu Weijing felt his blood pumping and his heart beating like a drum, and he couldn't help but be excited.
What would it be like if a painter were allowed to openly analyze his deepest dream without being shy?
The answer may be cliché.
Artists are human beings too, and they only want to make money, win prizes, and hold art exhibitions.
If you ask what is your ultimate dream?
Then, the answer may become——
Make a lot of money and sell your works for $100 million;
Winning a big prize, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale;
Open a huge art exhibition and let the Louvre hold a personal art exhibition for him.
This is the highest honor in the art world.
If you can collect any one or two of these three items, the British may be buried in Westminster Abbey, and the French may be buried in Westminster Abbey in half a century when the government discusses parliamentary proposals. The remains were moved to the Pantheon.
Opening an art exhibition in the Louvre is no easier than selling works of art for $100 million.
Uncle Sakai has sold more than 100 million US dollars in sales of his works, and he dare not say that he will have the opportunity to hold an art exhibition in the Louvre in his lifetime.
Admittedly,
There is still a big difference between this Louvre and the Louvre in France.
But don’t think that the village chief is not a cadre.
The 985 branch is also 985, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi is also the Louvre.
This is not a knockoff.
In order to cooperate with France, the UAE royal family has injected enough cultural symbols into the new museum in its capital to attract the attention of the world.
Other museums can also do joint ventures.
Simply to be able to use the name "Louvre", the United Arab Emirates paid France 600 million euros for the co-branding fee alone.
I didn’t buy it yet.
Just to rent the right to use it for the next thirty years.
Who dares to say that the Louvre Abu Dhabi is no longer the Louvre? Even if you ask the French government, they will not give the second official answer.
Minus the "Louvre" gimmick.
The museum itself is also the most modern, grand and eye-catching art center on the Arabian Peninsula.
The scale of the exhibits may not be comparable to that of the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in France. But looking at the world, there is no doubt that it will not be ranked in the top ten, but it will be ranked in the top thirty or fifty.
Leonardo da Vinci's famous paintings, rent!
Classic portrait of Napoleon on his prancing horse, rent!
Van Gogh's Self-Portrait, Rent!
Mondrian's most classic geometric paintings were all rented to me!
The Louvre Abu Dhabi is probably the strangest museum in the world.
Academic circles describe an institution like the British Museum as a robbery-style collection in which a group of armed robbers burst into other people's homes and plundered all the artworks.
Even in the twenty-first world, it still has an imperial background that is difficult to wash away.
With a piece of cloth on their heads, the world's richest oil tycoons created an unprecedented way to open a museum.
Let money speak. If you can buy it, buy it at a high price.
It’s a national treasure and you don’t want to sell it? It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to sell it, then we will rent it at a high price.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi has just been put into operation in 2017, and now it has a collection of famous paintings.
It is an extremely high honor for all famous painters in the world to hold a personal art exhibition in an exhibition hall with the imprint of so many masters.
Gu Weijing pulled out a promotional page printed on copperplate paper from the textbook.
[Mashi Gallery’s agent artist Dike Anlun—“Meditations on History” (Personal Art Exhibition of Reflections on History)]
【2023.5.9——2023.7.9】
The promotional page is printed extremely beautifully, using black and white and color combinations.
An invisible dividing line splits the main exhibition hall of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Two figures stand with their backs facing each other, one on the left and one on the right.
Standing on the black and white side was an old man wearing a baggy linen top and long pantyhose with messy hair.
This kind of dress was the most common dress for Italian men during the Renaissance, and this old man represents Leonardo da Vinci.
The middle-aged man standing sideways in the color photo on the right is naturally the current leading artist of Mashi Gallery, Dyke Anlun.
There are two frames on the promotional page,
What was in front of Leonardo da Vinci was exactly the "Beautiful Madame Ferronnière" mentioned by Professor Vattel as the treasure of the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
The oil painting frame in front of Dike Allen was covered with a mysterious brown velvet cloth.
This promotional page with a sense of design and a solemn atmosphere like a religious ceremony was a gift from the boss of Max III to Gu Weijing through his agent Hanks.
Ma Shi Gallery and Louvre Abu Dhabi have a long-term strategic partnership.
From May to July this year, just after the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Mas Gallery will hold a personal art exhibition for its leading artist.
If Gu Weijing could win an award at the Lion City Art Exhibition.
next year,
Ma Shi Gallery will give this opportunity to Gu Weijing.
At the age of 19, he held his own personal art exhibition at the Louvre.
unprecedented!
(End of chapter)
