Chapter 88 (2) - The Mysterious Art Museum
Time flows like a stream, and before long, it's the next year.
Jeonghoon has turned twenty-nine, and the exhibition is just two weeks away.
In the meantime, at the W Tree Theater, after a three-month run of Cats, a play starring domestic middle-aged actors was also performed. Jeongmin heard that Minyoung managed to snatch this play, which was originally scheduled to be staged at the S Art Hall Towol Theater.
During the COVID era, as audiences emerged from the extreme frustration of confinement, the theater was packed every day. Thanks to Minyoung's business acumen, the W Tree Hotel Theater was frequently in the news, maintaining its popularity.
As the play ended and the full-scale preparation for the exhibition began, the painters started coming to the theater daily to check their sections, review the order of their works, and create additional pieces where needed.
Chaeyoung claps her hands and shouts to the workers.
There! Please connect the screen to this laptop. It needs to display the real-time fluctuation of prices.
As the screen in Chaeyoungs section lights up, numbers start appearing. Jeongmin, who was checking her section, approaches Chaeyoung and asks,
What is this for, Artist Chaeyoung?
Chaeyoung smiles and responds,
In my exhibition, I always display the price of Choco Pies on the screen.
You display the price of Choco Pies on a screen?
Yes, in cents. I want to remind the audience of the value of this small amount of money in North Korea and the sense of responsibility we should have .
Chaeyoung, who creates artworks based on the North Korean Labor Party's official newspaper and chocolate pie, donates all exhibition proceeds to a North Korean defector organization. Jun-min was so impressed that she nodded approvingly.
"Amazing, artist."
"You're exaggerating. Is your installation almost done?"
"Yes, I just need to adjust some lighting."
"This is a bit unfair. Your artwork is not visible from the outside because of the tent, but mine is fully exposed. It's like revealing the weapon I'm holding before the fight even begins, while I have no idea what the opponent's weapon is."
"Haha, what nonsense."
While Chae-young and Jun-min exchanged laughs, Kwang-ho, with a dark expression, watched as he repeatedly redrew his painting. Chae-young whispered to Jun-min, observing him seriously.
"That guy, isn't he too dark? Honestly, I haven't spoken to him since we had a meal together that time."
"Haha."
"It feels like he pours all his passion into the paintings, but besides his inner self, he seems to have no interest in others."
"Although he draws people's faces and finds emotions within them, it seems unlikely, doesn't it?"
"No, I've done my research. The people in his paintings may all look different, but the emotions within them are his own. In other words, he uses others' faces as tools and focuses on expressing his own emotions through art."
"Is that so?"
Chaeyoung, while stealing glances at Gwangho who was covering his eyes with his hair, looked at Jeonghoon's still empty section. Even with only two weeks left, there was no partition in his area.
"Is Artist Ban Jeonghoon okay? I haven't seen him since that day."
"Hmm."
"It's not like he's giving up on the exhibition, right? If so, he should have informed us earlier so we could use his area."
The sections of other artists were partitioned to guide the visitors' natural viewing path. However, there was nothing in Jeonghoon's area, only the square partitions set up by the theater a month ago to demarcate the areas.
Jeongmin, who had spoken to Jeonghoon unlike Chaeyoung who wished to use his area, looked at his empty space with concern.
Then, the theater doors opened, and two men and three women entered, carrying large items. Jeongmin, spotting Jeonghoon among them, ran up to him.
"Jeonghoon!"
"Oh, noona."
"What happened to you? You haven't shown your face for months. I thought you had given up on the exhibition."
"Why would I give up on the exhibition, haha."
"What have you been doing?"
"Haha."
**
Well, noona is right, I really did stay out of sight.
But, isn't it a bit of a misnomer to say I was holed up?
The only place I didn't show up was this exhibition hall. I've been traveling to a vast number of places in the meantime.
The artists participating in the exhibition with me.
All the painters directing workers in their sections are looking at me.
I greet them with a nod and say,
"I've been painting, what else, noona."
Jeongmin noona looks worried.
"Jeonghoon, an exhibition isn't just about the paintings. The most important thing is the flow of the visitors' emotions, and to maintain their focus until the end, it's hard to plan the movement path. The other artists have been struggling for months to create their paths, and you're just going to show up with your paintings?"
"Thanks for the concern, noona. But I don't need things like movement paths or viewing routes."
"What?"
I smile again and speak to my colleagues who came with me.
"Yeongju, please check the floor. If anything is sticking out, clear it away."
"Okay."
"Jiyong, when hanging the paintings, place the hooks about 1 meter above the floor."
"Got it, hyung."
Jeongmin noona, overhearing this, is shocked.
"1 meter! Are you crazy?"
Gwangho, nearby, approaches with his characteristic darkness.
"Jeonghoon."
"Ah, hyung. Long time no see."
"You know this is your first exhibition, but isn't it basic manners to study the fundamentals?"
".."
"1 meter off the floor. It's not a children's exhibition, and the visitors' line of sight won't align with the center of the paintings. You should at least know that."
"Haha, I'll take care of it."
Gwangho's eyes hidden behind his hair glow as he growls.
"We've poured months into this. Don't do anything to tarnish the reputation of other artists."
"Yes, hyung."
Gwangho turns and walks back to his section. Jeongmin noona whispers,
"Why does he have to talk like that?"
"Haha, well, he's not wrong."
"But still."
"It's okay. Ah! Jiyeon! Clear that thing in the middle."
Jeongmin noona, watching me give instructions, asks,
"Are you really not going to set up partitions? Just leaving the center space empty and displaying only around the edges? It might look open and nice, but it's not a good choice. If the paintings are all visible at once, it will decrease the visitors' concentration."
I smile brightly at noona.
"Don't worry, noona. The people who come to see my paintings will have better concentration than anyone else in the world."
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