Van Gogh Reborn!

249

Playground (1)

I remember Banksy as the person who painted a mural in the neighborhood where Vida Lavani lives.

He hides his identity and works secretly, but he seems to be interested in this matter.

“It must have taken more than a day or two to paint like this.”

I agree with Grandpa.

If it was just a simple painting, he could have done it overnight.

But it’s impossible to draw dozens of children, each with a recognizable face.

He must have been observing them for days.

Not everyone supported him, but there were some who cheered him on, which comforted him.

“Huh? No chocolate today?”

“I want some snacks.”

The children crowded around the car and asked anxiously.

“Why not? There is. We’ll have snacks later. Who didn’t have breakfast?”

Grandpa asked and about half of them raised their hands. I heard that they didn’t have breakfast yesterday, so I prepared well. It was a good idea to buy bread and milk.

“I’ll help too.”

Vida Lavani stepped forward and helped Grandpa.

“Thank you. Be careful.”

A child who was a bit older than the others, like Vida Lavani, took the bread and milk out of the car.

And Blanche Fabre, who had become the leader of the group, lined them up.

“Me! Me too!”

“You have to wait for your turn.”

“Uuuuuh.”

“Don’t run and hurt yourself. It’ll hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt.”

“You might hurt your friend.”

He persuades the children in a strange way.

Grandpa gave bread and milk to the residents who helped clean the street and the adults who watched over the children so they wouldn’t get hurt.

I gave candy to the children who had breakfast, and Noel stuck out his mouth.

“Why? Do you want more?”

Noel shook his head.

“Then?”

“Can’t we see you anymore when you finish painting this?”

The children turned their heads as if they heard what Noel said.

A few moments ago, they were joking and laughing, but now their faces were worried.

“Of course not. When we finish painting here, we can go somewhere else and paint.”

“Really?”

Noel asked with bright eyes.

“Where?”

“There, there are windmills over there!”

“I know a good place!”

“Stairs! How about the stairs?”

The children each suggested their favorite places.

That meant they cherished this time and hoped it wouldn’t end.

I’m glad we started this.

“I’ll let you know when it’s decided. I promise.”

Banksy, the icon and mystery of the modern art world, posted a photo on his Twist account.

It was Dallida Square in Paris, France, where sunflowers bloomed.

He proved that he was the one who painted the children there with the phrase ‘For the sweet souls’.

And the art world was stirred up again.

└Has Banksy ever done something like this with another artist?

└He made a weird amusement park with Damien Carter.1)

└…?

└Why is that criminal here?

└Don’t misunderstand. It was just a collaboration. Does working with Damien Carter make everyone a criminal?

└If you read his confession later, you’ll see that he also participated in various charity works out of guilt.

└Still, I can’t forgive him. He was my idol once.

└But do they know each other?

└Maybe they know Go Soo-yeol? They both have a lot of connections with England.

└Ko Hun, Go Soo-yeol, Banksy. A joint work.

└Why are you leaving out the kids?

└Looking at Banksy’s actions, he would have done it even if he didn’t know them. He’s a person who criticizes terrorists and provides shelter for refugees.

└Right. His work is similar to Hoon’s.

└Wow, Go Soo-yeol, Banksy, and Ko Hun? How much would that sell for if they could really sell it?

└They should buy some buildings or land, but it’s tricky. Those buildings are so old, but they can’t rebuild them because of the paintingsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ They should just register them as cultural heritage laterㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└No wayㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└But if Go Soo-yeol and Banksy participated in the work, it could really happen. They are such amazing artists.

└What about Ko Hun?

└Ko Hun too ㅇㅇ

└What kind of painting can’t our Hoon handle ㅠㅠ He’s good at ink painting and oil painting, and also at optical illusion and landscape painting. ㅠㅠㅠ

└I can only digest food well ㅠ

└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Pierre Malo posted something.

└What did he say?

└He said he wanted to make a frame for it, but he couldn’t because he lacked the skill.

After Banksy directly cheered him on, Dallida Square became the biggest topic in the art world.

Companies sensitive to change offered sponsorship, collaboration, and advertising, and artists also joined in Ko Hun’s intention.

Painters and art students also visited the site and spent time with the children.

“It looks like it will be finished by tomorrow or the day after.”

Ko Hun told Henri Marso the news.

-But.

“Marso, you should come too.”

-Why should I go there?

Ko Hun smiled at the cold voice that came over the phone.

“People will like it if the best painter in France comes.”

-Who.

“Right. Not France, but the best in the world.”

Ko Hun changed his words before Henri Marso could say anything.

He had less time to participate in the wall painting development because of the Dallida Square project, and he wanted to cheer him up a bit because he was very angry.

-Don’t flatter me. You only contact me when you miss me. Do you think I’m funny?

“I didn’t mean that.”

Ko Hun’s voice became a bit gloomy.

“I just wanted to do it together after a long time.”

-You should have said that from the beginning.

“I told you I was painting on the street.”

-You didn’t say let’s do it together.

“You don’t like crowded places. I was afraid I might cause you trouble. It’s not like there was no incident.”

-When did I ever tell you to worry about that?

“I had a lot of things to do and I didn’t want to make you worry. I just wanted to do it together after a long time, now that there’s nothing to worry about.”

Ko Hun said with a lot of regret.

-Hmph. Do it with someone else. You get along well with Banksy.

Henri Marso mentioned Ko Hun’s SNS and YouTube channel.

He left a thank you message and video for Banksy, and he replied with a comment, making it a hot topic.

They built friendship through the street painting at Dallida Square and online, and the interaction between Ko Hun’s fans and Banksy’s fans became active.

“I’ll be sad even if everyone else comes but Marso doesn’t.”

-…

“Marso’s fans are also waiting a lot. When are you coming?”

-…

“The finale is supposed to be done by the most important person.”

-Shut up!

The phone was cut off abruptly.

Ko Hun, who sincerely hoped that Marso would join him, opened a text message with a sigh.

“Did it not go well?”

Bang Tae-ho, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, asked.

“Yes. He seems to be very angry.”

“Angry?”

“I couldn’t contact him well while I was painting on the street.”

Bang Tae-ho tilted his head.

He wondered if he needed to be that angry just because he couldn’t contact him for a week or so.

“He said he applied NFT to Henri Marso 002. He must have wanted to tell you sooner.”

Go Soo-yeol laughed.

He couldn’t understand what he meant by telling him more about , which was in the middle of the pond.

“That’s at home, isn’t it?”

“It means he gave you the original file.”

Ko Hun couldn’t understand his grandfather’s words at all.

"What is an original file? And what is an NFT?"2)

“It stands for Non Fungible Token. You know digital files can be copied as much as you want, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, for technologies that can store digital files like murals, you need to prove which one is the original. You can think of it as a technology that guarantees that.”

“Oh.”

It meant that there was only one original among the digital files that could be copied exactly and infinitely.

If the works drawn by murals were copied, it seemed possible to cope with threats like hacking if they could tell which one was genuine.

Vroom-

“Huh.”

Ko Hun checked the text message and smiled.

He received a welcome news from Arsen that Henri Marso would stop by tomorrow afternoon.

“He’s coming. Marso.”

“Then I should contact Charmant.”

Bang Taeho mentioned the clothing company that sponsored the costumes.

“Why?”

“Mr. Marso will need a suit too. What size is he?”

Ko Hun had no idea how Henri Marso would show up.

He seemed to be annoyed if he didn’t prepare clothes, and he seemed to be angry if he did.

“Large. He seems to wear that size.”

It seemed better to get one more because he couldn’t give it to him if he was sorry.

“We’re almost there.”

Ko Hun looked out the window.

He parked his car at a nearby hotel after passing the largest shopping mall in Paris, Bugrenelli, and headed to the meeting place with the guidance of the staff.

The marketing manager of Bugrenelli Shopping Mall, Giovanna Piaf, and her team welcomed Ko Hun, Gosuyeol, and Bang Taeho.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Hello.”

Giovanna Piaf had a neat look with her black hair tied to her neck, and she was wearing a well-tailored suit.

She had a smart impression, but her eyes were shadowed and she looked a bit tired.

They sat down across the table and started the conversation.

Bang Taeho summarized the proposal from the Bugrenelli Shopping Mall.

“You said the place is the basement plaza. And the period is up to a month. How do you plan to deal with the mall visitors during the work?”

“We wanted to make a separate road, but we thought the work environment itself would be a good attraction. If it’s a safety issue, we’re going to deploy security guards, but what do you think, Mr. Ko Hun?”

Giovanna Piaf, the manager, asked Ko Hun.

Bang Taeho appreciated that she regarded Ko Hun as the main contractor.

“I like it. I think the citizens who watch are also part of this work. I hope you can put up some safety lines as long as they don’t interfere with the work.”

Giovanna Piaf nodded.

“Is the period okay with you?”

“Yes. But I really want to make sure that you don’t need a design.”

Ko Hun mentioned what he thought was the most important.

The place, time, and pay were important, but there were too many restrictions when working with companies.

They needed to go through several steps of verification, and in the case of design, they often went wrong due to the whims and misjudgments of the management.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Bugrenelli is just commissioning a mural to Ko Hun, and we don’t intend to ask for anything in any way.”

“Can you specify that in the contract?”

“Of course.”

Giovanna Piaf nodded and smiled slightly.

“The management is also looking forward to this work. We hope that Bugrenelli will be a space that anyone can visit anytime.”

That would lead to sales, so Ko Hun and his party didn’t doubt it.

“There were some incidents. I guess you prepared this work because of that.”

Bang Taeho mentioned the racial discrimination controversy indirectly.

“If that happens again, it will hurt Mr. Ko Hun too. I want to have some security measures in place.”

“That won’t happen.”

Giovanna Piaf denied Bang Taeho’s concern.

“But as a writer, you can’t help but worry about that, so I’ll prepare a prevention plan for the next meeting. And a post-measure, of course.”

Bang Taeho and Gosuyeol nodded.

As a large company, Piaf, the manager, couldn’t decide on a compensation plan on her own.

Bang Taeho looked at the 1 million euros that Bugrenelli offered first and opened his mouth.

“How did you decide on the pay?”

Banksy, the real person who became the motif of Banks, created Dismaland, a satire of modern society, with 58 artists in 2015.

Damien Hirst was also among the 58 artists.

Dismaland was open for five weeks before it was dismantled and its materials were used for refugee shelters in Calais, France.

Banksy criticizes Islamic extremists, but he also creates spaces for refugees, including Muslims. He strives to protect the socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups.

NFT (Non-Fungible Token)

A non-fungible token is a type of cryptocurrency that stores the ownership of a digital file on a blockchain, making it impossible to tamper with or counterfeit. It preserves the file permanently.