Chapter 63 (1) - The Mysterious Art Museum
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Staring at his work, Klimt opens his mouth.
"Hoffman."
"Yes."
"This painting will also receive harsh criticism from critics and commentators, won't it?"
"............"
As Hoffman struggles to respond, Klimt smiles.
"Isn't that true? Even now, most critics say Klimt is nothing but a cheap salesman, dazzling people with his flamboyant decorative effects and gold, a symbol of capitalism."
Hoffman speaks with a stern face.
"It's rather the critics and commentators who scribble garbage, seeking to gather attention and make money. You're definitely not one of those people."
Klimt raises his index finger, smiling.
"In Klimt's paintings, there is no tradition, no artistry, no cultural conservatism. He's just a lowly painter who denies academism, blasphemes against God, and indulges in vulgar eroticism. That's how I'm being evaluated."
"............"
"But isn't it funny? Despite such evaluations, people still line up all year round to commission paintings from me, and my pockets are getting fuller. Ironically, while I don't conform to the times, the times still want me."Updated from novelbIn.(c)om
"Hmm."
Klimt, with his arms crossed, walks around the painting and says,
"A critic once said that Klimt draws mosaic art with ornate gold because his father was a goldsmith."
Looking up at the golden parts of his painting, Klimt speaks,
"As you know, my style has changed significantly. Do you know since when?"
"I'm not sure."
"From right now. Before painting this, I didn't use much gold, mindful of the critics. But in this painting, I've used a lot of gold."
"That's right."
Klimt smiles at his painting.
"Comics are lowly? I assure you, the quality of popular culture will draw an upward curve over time. If art remains complacent in reality, it will fall behind popular culture. Maybe in about 100 years, our children will read more comic magazines than visit art galleries." [T/N: Ahem.]
**
With a jolt, I emerge from the dream.
Still in the midst of majestic music, sitting alone in a vast space, I shake my head vigorously, trying to hold onto the fading thread of consciousness.
Everything Klimt said in the dream was right.
And he predicted modern society as if he had seen the future.
Ask any student you meet on the street.
Who painted the lunch on the grass?
How many would answer douard Manet?
But if you ask who wrote Dragon Ball, Some might know the name of the Japanese manga artist. [T/N: Ahem. Ahem.]
Those who know the creators of "Dooly the Little Dinosaur" and "Fly Superboard" might outnumber those who know Edgar Degas by 60% in our society.
Indeed, society has flowed just as Klimt said.
The preference for popular culture and the perceived decline in the progression of art is not a misstep.
The moment artists chose to embrace a critical view of capitalism and a wariness of commercialism as their mission, they chose their own stagnation.
As Klimt said, modern popular culture increasingly provides opportunities for more people to consume culture.
The famous comedian Charlie Chaplin said,
I started this job to make money, but from there, art was born.
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