Van Gogh Reborn! - Chapter 84

I don’t know why [Sunflower] and [Frost wheat field] that Henry Marceau bought were hanging here.

Moreover, there is also [Guest] which was bought by the man wearing a mask at the Marceau Gallery auction.

Above all, they are hanging in a pretty good place.

Uncle Bang dropped me off.

“How did this happen?”

“Yeah. What happened?”

Grandpa and I asked John Carter.

“Didn’t you know?”

John Carter asked Uncle Bang.

It seems that even Uncle Bang didn’t know about this.

If he had known, he would have let me know, and I wouldn’t have forced myself to be deprived of sleep for two weeks to hang my work at the Whitney Biennale.

John Carter spoke with a smile.

“It came as a request from the Marceau Gallery a month ago. They wanted to display Mr. Marceau’s collection at this biennale.”

I, Uncle Bang, and grandpa listened to John Carter’s story with our eyebrows frowned and our mouths slightly open.

“We would normally refuse, but we accepted it after discussing it with the curator because it was painted by Ko Hun. There were many people in the U.S. who wanted to see Ko Hun’s works in person, especially [Frost wheat field].”

There are many questions.

“It was requested a month ago, right?”

“Yes.”

I can understand if it’s [Sunflower] but [Frost wheat field] wasn’t even auctioned during that time.

No matter how reckless Henry Marceau was, he would not reverse his promise to the Whitney Museum without thinking, so he was planning to buy it from the beginning.

It must be.

I can understand a little why he bought [Frost Wheat Field] at a ridiculous price, but that doesn’t explain the reason why he hung my painting at the Whitney Biennale.

‘There is a place for every work.’

Is this his way of saying that this is where the [Frost wheat field] belongs?

I remembered what Henry Marceau said to me about coming out into the wider world.

Is this because of Goodwill?

Can you do this simply because of Goodwill?

“What about [Guest]? Did Marceau give this painting?”

“Yes.”

Neither I nor grandpa nor Uncle Bang could understand what was happening.

“Mr. Marceau….”

John Carter started turning his head while speaking.

We also turned our heads after him.

I can’t see anything because of the people.

When I looked up at Uncle Bang, he lifted me again.

On the wall opposite my painting.

Two emerald eyes were shining.

The horizontally placed canvas was so large that it looked 150F (227.3cm x 181.8cm).

That large area of the canvas was devoted only to representing the forehead part, the eyes, and the tip of the nose.

“ Oh, My God.”

Uncle Bang groaned in disbelief.

Even grandpa, who was disgusted with Henry Marceau, narrowed his eyes and looked at the painting.

Two emerald eyes as if they were looking at my painting hanging on the other side.

“I think he must have been inspired by you.”

John Carter continued his words.

“I think he prepared it with this kind of composition in mind from the beginning. Michelle Platini asked me to hang it face-to-face.”

That means he must have been thinking about it since a month ago, no, maybe even before that.

“I want to see it up close.”

I got off of Uncle Bang’s arms and headed forward.

Thankfully people recognized me and cleared the way.

The moment I faced the painting without any obstacles, I could understand why he was a loved Artist of this century.

Even when looking at it so closely, I can’t find a gap or mistakes.

He thoroughly expresses the skin texture, eyebrows, and wrinkles.

The most surprising thing is the eyes.

The eyes were drawn so large that the diameter of the pupil looks at least 30 cm, and they feel as if they are alive.

Is this how you feel when you meet a creature beyond imagination?

I felt a chilling sensation when I saw my painting getting reflected in the eyes at the same time as the bizarre experience of facing an overwhelming-sized eye.

The title [Shadow] caught my eye.

I don’t understand why he named it like that, but I can feel his strong will in both of his eyes that contain my painting.

It’s neither good nor bad.

‘When did he draw this?’

My paintings were accurately reflected in those eyes.

It would have been possible if it was just [Sunflower] and [Guest] if you take a long time and effort, however, [Frost Wheat Field] has only been released two months ago.

Is this why he has been visiting every single day since the first day of ‘Sweet Happiness.’

“It seems like he took the title from psychology.”

Grandpa opened his mouth.

When I raised my head, he exhaled heavily through his nose and started explaining.

“Psychologist Carl Jung named ‘Shadow‘ as the role that society expects from an individual’s persona.”

Persona refers to a mask used in a play.

“Unlike the original self, the personality given by society is bound to be different. Like a good student, a sincere employee.”

Schools want students to study hard, but not all students can.

They might like drawing or music.

To some extent, we will accept the demands of school, teachers, and parents and live as sincere students, but there will be a time when we will be exhausted.

The same goes for relationships between people.

We want to be seen as a good person, so we help out with things we don’t want to do, and we laugh when we don’t want to laugh, and suddenly, when we are alone, we hate ourselves.

“Carl Jung called ‘Shadow’ the gap between the persona and the self.”

Marceau has given such a word as the title of this work.

“As the mask gets thicker, the more the suppressed self tries to come out.”

I have sometimes seen a person who lived up to the expectations of the people around him go crazy at some point.

He couldn’t live his true self and would have deceived himself.

“It’s like a complex.”

“That’s right.”

When Uncle Bang asked, grandpa, nodded his head.

I don’t know what the word complex means.

However, I suffered from being expected to be an obedient son by my father and being asked by my uncle to simply sell paintings at a high price.

At the age when I decided to live as a painter, I was able to escape from those expectations.

I know exactly what that desperation is.

Did I awaken the ‘Shadow’ of Henry Marceau? Or does he think of me as his own complex?

Either way, it doesn’t matter.

What is clear is that Henry Marceau did not turn a blind eye to his feelings.

Rather, it got revealed by expressing it on such a large canvas.

Emerald eyes shining like jewels show his will.

I once again admired his skill in expressing emotions only with his eyes.

It’s not the same Henry Marceau who hesitated because he couldn’t carve his eyes.

“Jung insisted that one should accept his shadow as it is.”

Grandfather wrapped his arms around my shoulder, and said,

“You can only discover true individuality when you acknowledge both his own personality and the one that society asks him to be. The process of finding your Individuality is called self-realization. It seems like Marceau has changed a lot.”

Grandpa said something positive about Henry Marceau for the first time.

I feel the same way.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

The Artists who drew the most attention at the Whitney Biennale, which attracted 40,000 people on the opening day alone, were Henry Marceau and Ko Hun.

Those who saw [Sunflower] [Guest] and [Frost Wheat Field] which were sold last year and this year with record auction prices, were amazed and could not take their feet off in front of [Shadow] displayed facing it.

It was enjoyed by not only the people who went there in person but also by the people who accessed the virtual exhibition room that the Whitney Museum has ambitiously prepared so that everyone in the world can enjoy the Whitney Biennale.

Both people who had experience and have not yet experienced started spreading stories about the two Artists.

I finally saw [Frost Wheat Field]! It was amazing. Only a handful of people would have got a chance to see [Sunflower], but now a lot more can view it at the Whitney Biennale.

How was it?

If you really didn’t go, make sure to go. Don’t miss it

It’s a great experience just getting a chance to look at the work of Ko Hun and Henry Marceau 👍👍👍

I know. How come the paintings of Ko Hun be there? It’s all sold out, right.?

The Whitney Museum replied that Henry Marceau provided it.

No way, did he buy it to hang it over there? 😱

If it’s really like that, isn’t it true love?💓

Even the work he submitted this time was crazy because it gets completed only when placed opposite Ko Hun’s painting.

No matter how close you are, is that possible? It’s like a crazy fan.

Of course, he’s a crazy fan, he bought [Frost wheat field] for $14 million

What’s more significant is that Henry’s painting is on display across from Ko Hun’s painting.

I got goosebumps. 😳😳😳😳

I’m watching you? I think that’s what it meant. His shadow is also crazy.

The painting was so big.

Even if his character is the worst, his skills are the best.

The narcissistic man can’t draw his face in vain.

If it’s a masterpiece like that, he should have been preparing it for a long time. Why is the title [Shadow]?

I heard that it’s found in Carl Jung’s works.

Is it some kind of Sci-fi novel?

Nope. It’s a psychological term, and shadow is a kind of complex.

It’s like a rejection when social personality and ego collide?

Actually, I don’t understand anything. It’s too complicated. I’m just gonna look at the picture.

It’s better to look deep. No matter how you understand it, it’s up to you.

No ill-feeling.

The painting of Henry is easy to understand. It’s fun just to watch.

Ko Hun’s drawing is easy to understand.

There’s nothing to understand. All you have to do is feel it.

I like that kind of picture.

Everyone’s talking about only Henry and Ko Hun, and there’s no Ferdinando Gonzalez?

I think it’s because it’s kind of hard to understand.

It looked like two clocks hanging side by side. That’s it and there’s no title.

Art is really hard these days.

There are so many things I can’t understand without listening to the docent’s explanation.

Artists are mistaken because ordinary people can’t afford to see, study, and observe things in-depth, and they only talk about difficult things.

That’s why they are getting separated from the Public.

It’s also the reason why Henry and Jang Mirae are popular these days.

While art lovers shared their opinions with each other about Ko Hun and Henry Marceau, ’Let’s Talk’, a liberal arts program planned and produced by the Whitney Museum to narrow the distance between the public and Art, dealt with Ko Hun and Henry Marceau as the first theme.

“Hello, viewers. I’m Woojin, the host of ‘Let’s Talk’.”

Woojin, who hosted several TV programs, greeted the audience.

“Modern art, it’s hard to understand. But do you know that many artists who live at the same time as us are constantly trying to communicate?”

Woojin smiled as she stared at the camera.

“From today, we’re going to look around the Whitney Biennale and learn about such artists. Today we have Dr. Caroline Streak here to help us.”

“Hello, Ms.Streak.”

“Hello.”

“The Whitney Biennale opened yesterday. This time, it’s the highest ever. 254 people participated.”

“Yes, the Whitney Museum has tried to introduce as many artists as possible.”

“There were particularly two prominent artists. Yesterday and today, the two people who made headlines on the Internet. It’s Henry Marceau and Ko Hun.”

The picture of the two people was projected on the screen.

Trivia

Shadow

In analytical psychology, the shadow (also known as id, shadow aspect, or shadow archetype) is either an unconscious aspect of the personality that the conscious ego does not identify in itself, or the entirety of the unconscious; that is, everything of which a person is not fully conscious. In short, the shadow is the unknown side. Read more

Complex

A complex is a core pattern of emotions, memories, perceptions, and wishes in the personal unconscious organized around a common theme, such as power or status.[1] Primarily a psychoanalytic term, it is found extensively in the works of Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. Read more