The Mysterious Art Museum

Chapter 11 (2) - The Mysterious Art Museum

There are artists in the world who create their own colors and are remembered by colors.

Yves Klein, a great artist from Nice, France, is one of those artists.

The young artist, who had his own original steps, developed his own blue paint in 1960 and patented it under the name IKB (International Klein Blue).

The artist, who created nearly 200 IKB paintings and left before he died at the age of 34.

There is a saying among art students. 'There is no same red.' He created his own countless blues based on this saying.

He said that the beginning of all his inspiration was the sky, and he expressed the color that was liberated from everything blue.

It's actually a transparent color, but the sea leads us to blue, and the sky that we can't touch makes our eyes and hearts look up to the sky. He was also a person who thought that blue was the color that made the invisible visible.

So what?

Isn't it just blue after all? You might think that. But the reason why Youngju wants to use this color is because of the influence that Yves Klein Blue had on the global fashion industry.

When the world's luxury companies launch new products, if they use blue, they always choose one of the shades of Yves Klein Blue, and this is a natural thing in the fashion industry. In other words, his blue is directly connected to fashion.

-The second is cats. So I'm going to try to draw a cat with IKB.

A blue cat. I've heard of a bluebird, but would a blue cat be pretty? I briefly imagined the shape in my head and nodded and answered.

"That's a good idea, the cat and the cool blue that fashion-sensitive people envy would go well together."

-Yeah? Hehe.

Youngju seemed to want to hear this from the beginning.

It's good to respond to questions that have a predetermined answer. There's no need to make unnecessary trouble by saying something else, because it would only be a tackle.

"Good luck."

-I always work hard. You should work hard too. If you win this time, you might not just get the prize money and end it.

"What do you mean?"

-You might get to work with MG. Doesn't it make your heart flutter just to hear it? MG appliance designer!

Wow, do they offer such an opportunity?

"There was nothing like that in the contest announcement, are you sure?"

-Ah, of course not. They have to see a work that they like before they make such an offer. I think they might change their attitude after seeing the level of the contest.

"Hmm."

It's a vain dream. There's no way a big company would work with an unknown painter like us. Unless they collaborate with a high-priced painter, there is no merit for the company.

But dreaming of such a hope can also be a catalyst for increasing the efficiency of the work.

"Okay, let's do it right this time."

-Okay! Call for a drink after the contest submission?

"Okay"

I hung up the phone and tried to focus on the contest again and prepared to draw.

I put the contest announcement on the laptop, and checked the images of the refrigerators that MG appliances had produced so far as reference materials. But MG really only produces appliances that are only functional, and they only have basic refrigerators that are embarrassing to call design.

I went to the Oseong Electronics website and checked the refrigerator designs. They are very impractical, but I also checked the designs of 'SMEG', an Italian appliance company that is popular among the young generation these days.

But the only pictures I could find among the refrigerator designs were flowers and branches. I sat in front of the easel and looked at the laptop and scratched my chin.

"Refrigerators are usually placed where you can see them when you turn your head from the living room to the kitchen. That means it's part of the interior. Then it shouldn't be too flashy."

So they only put simple flowers or decorate them with pretty colors.

I was lost in thought, scratching my chin.

Youngju said that most of the people who buy refrigerators are newlyweds.

What kind of refrigerator would a woman who just got married want?

Women who have the opportunity to decorate their own house for the first time in their lives would look for interior examples with their dreams inflated. There are many famous sites, so some people would just take the interior they saw there, and some people with a sense of style would combine various interiors and create their own style.

What do they want?

A pretty interior?

A house that can make them hear compliments when they invite their friends for a housewarming party?

What is it?

If it were me, what would I want?

I was staring at the laptop and turned my head and saw the sketch-only painting. The painting I painted with Alphonse Mucha at the end. I smiled unknowingly at the happy family in the painting.

Then, suddenly, I had this thought.

'They would want a pretty refrigerator. But is that really what they want, a refrigerator that is only pretty?'

Let's put aside the functionality, which is obvious.

They just got married, and they buy things to use in their married life. Why do they buy those things? To live comfortably?

'No.'

To be happy. They want to build a happy family with this person they are marrying. That's why newlyweds buy things.

I looked at the painting I painted with Mucha and narrowed my eyes.

'Newlyweds dream of a happy family.'

Mucha, who was alive, always drew the scenes of the users being happy with the product and achieved commercial success. And the picture that suits the happy family that the refrigerator buyers want the most was right in front of me.

'But can I use this?'

I colored it, so I have some stake in it? No way.

I just filled in the colors as if I was studying coloring as an elementary school student, following his instructions. The design and small details of this painting, and the value contained in the painting, are all Alphonse Mucha's.

This is no different from stealing.

But, what if this painting really doesn't exist in the world?

If no one can see this beautiful painting and I'm the only one who knows it, it will be buried. That might be a sin in itself.

I reached out to the sketch-only painting and muttered.

"Can I show this painting to the world, teacher?"