In our tiny
little Carmel – more like a toy than a town – there are around a hundred
galleries serving any taste and any pocket. But all of them are incredibly
expensive: and what will you? The rent is enormous here, and even if there is
nothing hanging on the wall, the space itself costs much.
I came across
such gallery quite by chance. In the window I saw an unusual picture: an
absolutely black square in an elegant gilded frame. There was something
attractive and mysterious about it. I stepped inside. I saw about thirty black
squares of various sizes, some of them like the one in the window, some very
large. And some on the contrary simply tiny.
I came up to the
first square. Its title was “Void”. It was really a void. An enormous empty, an
absolutely black void. It was exactly my idea of a void – bottomless and
unfathomable.
The next picture
was called “The Solitude”. “Well, it is really an absolutely black solitude”- I
thought.
There were also
“The Middle Of Nowhere”, “A Vicious Circle”, “The Atheist’s Prayer”, “My Inside
World”, “Dead Conscience”, “ Inside The Womb”, “Inside The Coffin”, “Lilith’s
Call”, “Encyclopedia Of Useless Knowledge”, “The Devil. Autoportrait”,
“Hopeless”, “-273”, “The End Of The World”, “F For Future”, “No way out”, “A
Second After The Last Judgment”, “In The Depth Of Your Glance”, “The Rainbow
For The Blind”, “0:0”, “Past Perfect”,
“The Black Prince”, “The 51st Region”, “Princess Of Senegal”,
“Nostalgia”, “Requiem”, “Cloned Soul”,
“666”, “Secret Mission”, “The Road To Nowhere”, “April 31”, “All Is In
The Past”, “The Armageddon Field. The Harvest Is Gathered”. Some of the
pictures were called “Untitled”.
The proprietress
came up to me:
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Like it?
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I’m impressed.
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Next week we are
going to get some more of them. Not so many, though.
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And who is the
painter?
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They are the works
of an anonymous master. But he allows the person, who buys the “Untitled”, to sign the picture with his own name, provided he gives it his
own title.
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And do many people
buy them?
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It is not the
season now. During the tourist season we may sell up to a dozen such pictures.
But this week only three were bought. It is not a good time for sellers:
stagnation, depression, you know. People have no money to buy houses, that is
why pictures don’t go as fast as they used to two or three years ago.
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Do you sell only
this kind of pictures?
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You know, I had
rather a good collection of Russia masters and the business went well. And then
this one appeared. At first only one. It was bought immediately. It stands out
even among the most interesting and colorful works. I ordered two – and they
disappeared at once. The pictures are unique, you know. You can see for
yourself. There is the catalogue: we
have already sold 237 pieces – and not a single repeated title! Gradually “The
Black Square” pushed out all other pictures. I keep some in the hold. Would you
like to have a look?
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Thank you, no. I am
really impressed with this one. It makes you think.
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It goes well with
any interior and can decorate any space. Our buyers, as a rule, are well-off
people. They understand that any picture, hung next to this, not only looks
better, but raises the price of “The Black Square” as well.
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And how much do you
ask for them?
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Depends on the
size. Generally, fifty dollars per square inch. If, of cause, it has no title.
They are considerably more expensive – as you understand, we provide the buyer
with copyright. This here – the large one – it is forty hundred. It is usually
bought for a big drawing room or a library. And that one – for a study – it is
twenty three hundred. That one is for a bathroom; it is covered with a special
substance that is waterproof. It goes
for fifteen hundred. This miniature will look well in the entrance hall or a bedroom.
A mere trifle – eleven hundred!
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A little bit too
expensive, I think.
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Not at all. Imagine
how much wall space will occupy the picture. You cannot hang any other picture
next to it. The Square needs space. The picture itself is only two square feet,
but it needs wall space six times larger. And instead of eight pictures only
four will do, and one of them will be yours. You see how much you save.
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I would take the
one over there. The “Untitled”.
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I think, you are
right. You made a good choice. And remember, if you hang this picture in your
apartment or house, you instantly become a super intellectual and a genius in
the eyes of your guests. The Square will bear your signature. Christmas is
near, and I may give you a discount. The price is thirty four hundred, but I
may let you have it for twenty nine hundred. It seems to me, you will give it a
lovely title, and I am sure, you will get famous. I have trust in your talent.
… Now, in my
house, between the fireplace and the cherry wood bookcase, there is hanging
“The Nothingness”. I am very proud of this piece of art. It is my only
creation. And my children somehow got quieter and started bringing better
marks, and my neighbors around say with pride: “Oh, he is a real philosopher”.