the random oracle

So my mom just moved to a new condo in Cambridge, MA and I wanted to get her a housewarming present.  I thought that a painting or some kind of piece of art from Suzhou would be a nice present, and when we were wandering around Shantang Rd we came across a gallery that caught my eye.  The works were not quite traditional, not quite modern, but an interesting mixture of the two.  The subjects were people (which is atypical of traditional Chinese paintings which focuses more on animals, plants, landscapes, and cityscapes, rather than individual people), and the brushstroke technique was also not quite what you would see in traditional works, but the feel and colors were very traditional.

I told the gallerist that I was interested in one of the paintings (the one of the girl on the boat braiding the other girl’s hair), and somehow or another she arranged an appointment to meet the artist, Zhou Wenyong (周文雍).  The next day we returned to the gallery and met the artist in the flesh; he was much younger than I thought, probably around 35 years old, and had a big fearsome artsy-fartsy beard.

The gallerist had mentioned earlier that he’d sold two works to Harvard’s president a few years ago, so I asked Zhou which president it was, maybe it was Larry Summers, and mentioned that I’d been a student there.   He didn’t remember who it was, all he said was that “it was an American guy”, which made me suspicious of the claim.  I wouldn’t have put it past him to fabricate the story just to stir up some clientele.  I’m especially suspicious because the gallerist’s other claim, that the Chinese government put out a book of his work as a sample of modern Chinese art, is not supported by a quick search on Google.

We talked for a little bit and I told him I was interested in the work, but that it was a little more expensive than what I could afford, and he basically told me that the price wasn’t flexible.  But anyway I told him that I was still a grad student and that I wanted to get it as a present for my mom, and when I said the words “grad student” I heard him literally scoff in contempt.  Now I don’t know what kind of artist he is, but at the very least he should have the decency to treat a potential patron, however humble the patron’s means may be, with a little respect.  About 30 seconds after I let slip the “grad student” bit, he basically turned around and walked upstairs.  Not exactly the way to convince someone to buy your work.