I Became A Renowned Genius At My Arts High School - Chapter 223



Only Noblemtl

Episode 223. Struggle (2)

Pop art.

This term, short for Popular Art, literally refers to a genre of art that actively uses images close to popular culture.

Andy Warhol, who repeatedly expressed Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley by drawing them on canvas or slightly changing the colors.

Lichtenstein created his own unique style by adding dots to cartoon-like images.

In the 1960s, other outstanding pop artists such as Oldenburg, Rosenquist, Wesermann, and Segal were active in New York.

They blurred the high walls of art that were strict and difficult, blurred the boundaries, and showed that everyday materials could easily become works of art, expanding the possibilities and perspectives of art.

“… … .”

Kim Min-jun also made good use of the characteristics and advantages of pop art.

A villain or antagonist of the main character who always appears in movies, animations, and picture books.

They took that character and reborn him with a new image as a ‘bad boy’.

Works that are like cartoons but do not lose the quality of art.

The mischief in it was quite entertaining.

He punished corrupt figures like the righteous thief Hong Gil-dong, boldly revealed instincts that he was desperate to hide to save face, and criticized the actions of hypocritical figures.

No wonder it was so well-received by the younger generation in Europe.

The conflict between the older generation and the next generation has existed regardless of the era or place, and the popularity of pioneers who can honestly express their discontent has never been lukewarm.

but.

‘That’s strange.’

There were a few things that took care of it.

Belief first.

‘Was Kim Min-jun such a righteous person?’

Were you someone who could not stand injustice, spoke for the weak, and tried to correct absurdity?

No way.

Su-hyeon shook her head.

If I had changed my ways after encountering a life-changing event last year, I wouldn’t have known. People can’t change so suddenly.

Moreover, the possibility of his conversion was very slim. Just looking at his actions in Korea after returning from his exchange program, he seemed no different from before, and rather, he gave off an even more sinister vibe.

then.

‘It could be smoke.’

Su-hyeon nodded.

Did the quick-witted Kim Min-jun find an easy way to win the public’s love and decide to actively utilize that character?

Isn’t he showing off his attractive villainous role with decorated acting?

And the question that follows.

‘Why New York now?’

That was also a part that was not well understood. According to the story that Seonhwa told, Kim Minjun’s pop art work gained explosive popularity in Europe, and he even collaborated with fashion brands to create products.

It’s a real cruise.

In a situation where you could have aimed for the top if you just pushed a little harder, you decided to wrap up your European activities, come back to Korea, and head to New York again?

That was an uncharacteristic action for the greedy Kim Min-jun.

‘If you get caught up in the phenomenon, it’s easy to miss the essence.’

Su-hyeon frowned and became lost in thought.

People assumed without a doubt that Kim Min-jun, who was just starting to become famous, was rushing to advance into New York, but the Kim Min-jun that Soo-hyun knew would have tied up the knots firmly, gotten everything he wanted, and then taken the next step.

‘I wonder if there was some trouble in Paris?’

Soo-Hyeon’s thoughts reached out to another possibility.

What if you had a headache and just ran away?

What if you came back to Korea at a perfect time, before things got too big?

He must have established a certain position, and was trying to gain an upper hand in Baekhyun Hyundai, but after hearing news of Soohyun’s activities in New York, he may have been looking for another opportunity.

“If that’s the case, it’s really scary.”

Su-hyeon muttered.

Was it too much to think about? Soo-hyun, who was trying to apply the brakes, slowly shook his head.

The last thing that came to mind was this:

‘It’s changed.’

A document requesting the purchase of a work of art sent by Kim Min-jun to J-House. The condition set by Kim Min-jun was to exchange it for his work, .

.

The moment Soo-hyeon saw those words, she felt her heart skip a beat.

Before returning to the past, I visited Kim Min-jun’s solo exhibition.

Because the picture was there.

, , , .

Kim Min-jun, who made good use of Su-hyeon’s portfolio, gradually expanded his world and finally surpassed his previous world with the painting .

It was an incident that made Soo-hyun lose all of the will he had left.

Now, it has crossed over to a place where I can’t reach it even if I extend my hand.

As the title suggests, Kim Min-jun has made a leap forward.

Su-hyeon’s heart started pounding like crazy as she remembered the feeling of that day, which she had to admit was so sad.

however.

‘It wasn’t like this.’

The painting that Soo-hyeon saw when he accessed the homepage address that Park Seon-hwa had sent him was completely different from anything he had seen before.

‘Just as my choice showed me a future that I couldn’t open, will Kim Min-jun’s future also change?’

In the past, Kim Min-jun became famous after he turned 30.

So it was too early to make a judgment, but the direction was already changing. Kim Min-jun was into the pop art genre that he had never tried before, and the ‘leap’ drawn in that way was quite neat, but it did not have the same impact as before.

‘There must be something.’

What you see isn’t everything.

Soo-hyun thought that the truth hidden in this dissonance would eventually be revealed.

And, a clue was found sooner than expected.

“Well, there is something like that.”

Humphrey said, biting his lip.

“This, this picture. What should I say?”

“why?”

A face that seemed to be contemplating whether or not to spit it out. When Soo-hyun looked at him questioningly, Humphrey tightly shut his eyes.

“I, this, this… … Ah, it looks familiar. So it’s not like it feels strange, but, ah, I think I’ve seen it before.”

“what?”

Su-hyeon’s face hardened as he understood the meaning of the words.

***

Paris a year ago.

“it’s annoying.”

Kim Min-jun returned to his old, cramped house, put down his bag nervously, and threw himself on the bed.

“It’s like a beggar.”

It was the cold season. The top floor of a five-story building with no elevator.

Turning on the old heating system was of no use.

I was shivering. I put on layers of sweaters and coats over my trembling body, but the cold was still biting me.

“ha.”

Kim Min-jun, who was watching the sigh dissipate into smoke, laughed in disbelief.

“How did it end up like this?”

If you think about it, there were many opportunities.

Looking back, I realized that it was I who missed those opportunities every time.

“It was a mistake to go to Joongang Arts High School.”

Kim Min-jun gritted his teeth and went over the past points one by one.

“I should have come to my senses earlier in middle school. I should have gone to Sehyun Arts High School instead of Joongang High School.”

A brief period of wandering during adolescence influenced the starting line.

Kim Min-jun clicked his tongue as he recalled several excuses and reasons why he couldn’t concentrate on the college entrance exam.

“I should have gone to Sehyun and won first place. If I had, I would have won the grand prize at the National Youth Art Contest.”

Kim Min-jun clenched his fist as he recalled the 1996 national competition where he had only managed to get the best award because of Han Su-hyeon.

My fingernails dug into my flesh and drew blood, but that didn’t matter.

“Then I would have been the one receiving JK’s sponsorship.”

The moment when I started to feel angry came to mind.

If my first mistake was not taking first place at Sehyun Arts High School, my second mistake was my weak mind.

If Kim Min-jun had known that the results of the national competition would be achieved with such enormous support, he would have defeated Su-hyeon by any means necessary.

“I was too complacent. Instead of leaving the paint where it was, I should have just applied it myself.”

Kim Min-jun regretted leaving the paint he had been playing with at Soo-hyeon’s seat.

I was afraid that I might get caught and was reluctant to touch the painting myself, so I left it to chance.

Life is about creating your own path, so how can you leave it in the hands of others without any sense of responsibility?

Kim Min-jun shook his head.

If you had made up your mind that day, the object would have been yours.

The protagonist who held his first solo exhibition at the age of 20 as a sponsor of JK would have been Kim Min-jun, not Han Su-hyeon.

“This might be our last chance.”

Kim Min-jun muttered, shuddering.

Intoxicated with the success of his solo exhibition, Han Su-hyeon stood in the world of light, receiving attention as the center of Baek Hyun-dae.

As the number of things you can enjoy increases, you won’t feel thirsty.

Kim Min-jun took advantage of that gap.

When Han Su-hyeon was busy with various things, she quickly finished applying for an exchange student position at the Paris Academy of Fine Arts, which she had not paid attention to.

‘Because this is the best exchange student program among Baekhyun University’s exchange programs.

If we use this opportunity well, we will be able to turn things around.’

Kim Min-jun sharpened his knife in his mind.

‘In the end, the one who laughs the most is the one who works hard. I may be a little less talented than Han Soo-hyun, but I will make up for that with crazy hard work, and I will reach the top no matter what.’

After the IMF, families whose fortunes were in decline were not able to provide full support as before.

So, while I was an exchange student, my life in Paris was poor and shabby.

But Kim Min-jun held on tenaciously.

And heaven gave him another chance.

“under.”

One morning.

Kim Min-jun, who was stopping by a bakery as per his usual routine to buy some bread and find a suitable seat in the break room, noticed something.

“what?”

A tattered notebook.

The cover was completely worn out, either because it had been handled a lot or because it had been rolled around carelessly.

Swish-.

Kim Min-jun, feeling a bit uneasy, pushed it away with his elbow and tried to place the bread and drink on the table.

however.

Chul-chul.

Did I push too hard?

The note fell to the floor.

Whoosh.

Kim Min-jun, who was looking down at it absentmindedly, froze for a moment.

“It’s a painting.”

A page that unfolded by chance, or rather, as if by fate.

There were a lot of graffiti-like drawings there.

Whirlyrick.

Kim Min-jun took it and passed it over without realizing it.

“hmm.”

Kim Min-jun frowned and then smiled brightly as he looked through his notes.

“Good idea?”

I muttered without realizing it.

Various sketches drawn in notes.

The shapes were crude and the lines were poor, as if they had been drawn by someone who had never studied drawing.

But I thought it would be okay if I just polished it up a little. The form wasn’t that great, but the message the picture contained was quite attractive. And Kim Min-jun knew how to polish it up.

“It would be fun.”

The more I looked at it, the more attractive the design of the sketch became. And.

“ah.”

Kim Min-jun tilted his head.

As it turned out, I still had unfinished homework for my afternoon class.

It occurred to me that this picture would fit perfectly there.

Drawing a poster using magazine images.

I haven’t started on this task yet because it doesn’t seem interesting at all, but I thought it might be easy to solve.

“Let’s try.”

Kim Min-jun pushed the bread aside, took out a sketchbook from his bag, and began to draw quickly.

Until then, my only thought was to just solve the homework that had to be done in the afternoon.

So I never thought that a year from now, someone would come across my drawings and find the original owner of the notebook.

At that time, Kim Min-jun could not have imagined that they would become Soo-hyun and Soo-hyun’s friends.