Rauschenberg was certainly not bored enough to come over and laugh at Luan Walter in front of him. He held a wine glass and walked over to Lin Chaoyang and sat down next to them.

"Robert Rauschenberg." Rauschenberg stretched out his hand to Lin Chaoyang.

"Lin Chaoyang."

After shaking hands, Rauschenberg asked: "Are you the author of "The Death of Van Gogh"?"

Lin Chaoyang glanced at Luan Walter, "Yes."

"That book is really good! I didn't expect to see you here today. How about having a drink together. "Of course, no problem."

The two of them clinked their wine glasses together and took a sip of wine.

Rauschenberg became interested in Lin Chaoyang only after hearing Luan Walter's words just now.

When Rauschenberg was young, he studied at Black Mountain College, a famous art school in the United States, where he accepted the artistic concepts of Dadaism.

In the 1950s, American abstraction flourished, and he combined Dada art with abstract action painting.

In his creations, newspapers, advertisements, trademarks, film and television images, cover girls, fast food, cartoons, etc. can all become creative materials.

It breaks the boundaries between painting, sculpture and craftsmanship, forming a unique "fusion painting".

In the 1980s, he visited China many times. In addition to holding art exhibitions at the National Art Museum of China, he also visited various places. His "Chinese Pavilion" was created after visiting Jing County, Anhui Province in 1982 to see the rice paper manufacturing techniques.

Of course, he took the initiative to come over to chat and get to know each other, mainly because he was curious about Lin Chaoyang.

The sales volume of "The Death of Van Gogh" is considered a solid bestseller in the United States, and it is about Van Gogh. Naturally, Rauschenberg has read it and liked this novel very much.

He didn't expect to meet the author Lin Chaoyang in a tavern, and he had the idea of ​​getting acquainted with him.

In his mind, Lin Chaoyang should be the kind of writer who has a good understanding of the art of painting.

The reason why he made unscrupulous ridicule to Luan Walter just now was because he felt that Luan...

It is really ridiculous for Walter to show off his poor knowledge of painting to a writer like Lin Chaoyang who wrote "The Death of Van Gogh".

But Rauschenberg misjudged the situation.

He chatted with Lin Chaoyang about painting techniques and found that Lin Chaoyang knew nothing about it, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

Rauschenberg stopped asking questions, Lin Chaoyang didn't speak, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

At this time, Luan Walter, who had been ignored for a while, finally found his sense of existence.

"The problem of space in Chinese landscape paintings of the Song Dynasty? For a writer, your question is too technical.

Mr. Rauschenberg."

Rauschenberg nodded hesitantly. This statement was correct. Perhaps due to preconceptions, he had too high expectations for Lin Chaoyang's paintings.

His thoughts changed, and Rauschenberg changed the topic from painting techniques to art history, and the topic suddenly opened up.

Practical operation has always been Lin Chaoyang's weakness, but he is terrifyingly good at talking!

"".--The background of Western art forms is religion, while the Eastern art form is the connection between heaven and man, a kind of response to nature. There is no way to compare the two together, as they are completely products of different systems.

However, George Steiner said that art is suffering, and this applies to both East and West.

Suffering is an important miracle for artists to transcend and sublimate. The birth of many masterpieces handed down from generation to generation, if they do not go through some suffering, their vitality is often not vivid and grand enough."

Rauschenberg was very excited when he heard Lin Chaoyang's point of view, "Yes. Artists are all painful people, and the source of artists' inspiration is actually endless waiting and expectation.

All forms of artistic expression can be regarded as forms of suffering. This seriousness comes from living toward death. The fearless resistance to death makes art become suffering.

Entertainment, by contrast, is immanent. It is not endowed with metaphysical potential, and therefore entertainment is ephemeral and fleeting.”

"No, no, I don't agree with this. The theology of art cannot be generalized. There must be some degree of intersection between art and entertainment.

Of course, entertainment that is completely unfettered cannot be regarded as art, but when entertainment becomes unfettered and develops into suffering, it touches the realm of art.

Whether it is the theological sublimation of art or the theological release of entertainment, their ultimate goal is the same.

We Chinese have a saying that skill is close to Tao, and this is the truth.

Art history is not necessarily a history of suffering. Suffering is a kind of hardship for many artists, but it is not absolute. Pain, fear and loneliness are not the only driving forces for the creation of artistic forms.

Picasso had a smooth life, can you erase his artistic value?

Many poets, painters, and musicians in China come from wealthy families, and their art can also resonate with people."

Lin Chaoyang's words made Rauschenberg deep in thought. He is a staunch supporter of the Passionist School of Art.

When he was young, he lived with his friends in a dilapidated apartment on Fulton Street in New York in order to create.

There is an idiom that can well describe their situation at that time - a house with only four walls. This is not an exaggeration. Even the bricks where he lived were exposed, and the floor had long been dilapidated.

Rauschenberg is full of gratitude for this experience in his early years. He believes that it is precisely because of the choices he made back then that he has achieved his current success.

While he was meditating, Lin Chaoyang said: "Robert, don't worry about these things. The most important thing for an artist is always the work. The vitality of the work is given by the artist. Suffering is only part of the life experience."

There is no death in your paintings."

His last words lit up Rauschenberg's eyes.

He has been famous for many years, and his pursuit of art has long been no longer just about painting a good picture or achieving a high level of skill, but has become more of an obsession with pursuing eternity that points to the present and beyond.

"Death does not exist in paintings——" Rauschenberg read this sentence with excitement.

"That's right, that's right! Art never dies, my friend, art never dies!"

Rauschenberg spoke louder and louder. He excitedly raised his glass and shouted: "To art!"

"Respect the art!" Luan Walter shouted very loudly, his voice was louder than Lin Chaoyang's just joining in the fun.

Epstein, who had been silent for half the night, was startled by the movements of the three people, and whispered: "Idiots draw pictures!"

Although it was only their first meeting, after a heart-to-heart exchange, Robert Rauschenberg became like Lin Chaoyang's good friend for many years.

The two left each other's contact information, and then each left McSorley's Bar drunk.

The next morning, he woke up from his hotel room, had breakfast, and called home. Unknowingly, he had been away for a week.

Tao Yushu was also on a business trip in Shanghai recently, and the couple chatted about their respective situations.

When Lin Chaoyang said that Random House had invited him to collect stories and write something in the United States, Tao Yushu was very supportive.

She has always been this way about Lin Chaoyang's creations.

"Maybe you won't be able to see me for two or three months!" Lin Chaoyang joked.

Tao Yushu's shyness will only bloom in no-one's corners, "I will go over and accompany you when I have time!"

"That's great!" Lin Chaoyang said happily.

After the couple finished talking on the phone, Luanne Walter came a short while later.

He was Lin Chaoyang's local companion in New York, and he even picked up a copy of The New Yorker when he came.

"Look, you've become a celebrity in The New Yorker!"

When the Neustadt International Literature Prize was awarded a few days ago, Lin Chaoyang was interviewed by reporters from several media, including The New Yorker.

This serious magazine, founded in 1925, has played a pioneering role in popular ideological trends in the fields of politics, economics, literature and art for more than half a century.

With his long-term literary character and persistence of intellectual temperament, he has won the respect and recognition of the intellectual class in the United States and even the Western world.

In the American press, some people refer to The New Yorker as "Zeus on Mount Olympus." Almost every American intellectual or middle-class family must have a copy of The New Yorker on their bookshelf.

Lin Chaoyang accepted an interview with "The New Yorker" as soon as he arrived in the United States. Of course, it was inseparable from Random House.

The two companies are now owned by the same owner, and both are part of the Newhouse News Group.

Random House was acquired by Samuel Newhouse in 1980, and The New Yorker was acquired in 1985.

Similar to when he took over Random House, Samuel Newhouse took over the original editor-in-chief William Shawn after taking over the New Yorker, which directly triggered protests from the New Yorker writers.

However, rebellion by intellectuals usually does not lead to good results. The protest of the New Yorker writers was easily resolved by Newhouse and did not bring about any changes.

The New Yorker's interview with Lin Chaoyang was published in the form of a question and answer, titled "Writing the Times in Words."

The introduction of the article reads as follows:

On May 9, 1991, a normal working day, the library at the University of Oklahoma opened half an hour earlier than usual.

Early in the morning, many students gathered in front of the library. Many of them were students of the school's literary club, and there were also some outside literature lovers.

They seemed very excited and enthusiastic. After the library opened, they walked into the library. The path composed of display posters and books led to the community room, making the atmosphere solemn and solemn.

There is a special event here today - the Neustadt International Literary Award Ceremony.

This literary award, which has a history of more than 20 years, has regarded the Nobel Prize in Literature as its challenge goal since its birth.

What is gratifying is that during the many years of award evaluation, many of its winners and nominees have indeed been recognized by the Nobel Prize for Literature. This also explains to some extent the importance of the Neustadt International Literature Prize.

success.

Today's Neustadt International Literature Prize will welcome its eleventh winner, a Chinese writer Lin Chaoyang.

He is young and looks more energetic than college students.

After awarding the award, he was surrounded by enthusiastic readers. Such a popular scene was surprising, as this was a Chinese writer from thousands of miles away.

He responded to the readers' needs humbly, "This is my first meeting with them, and it may also be the last time," Lin Chaoyang said.
To be continued...