Patrons come to my shop in search of a wide variety of things.
Many are easy for me to procure: simple items like a weapon or trinket.
But my favorite patrons are those in search of art.
Finding the perfect piece requires a level of sophistication that I pride myself on.
See, art comes in all shapes and sizes. It evades an easy definition and to truly find what inspires your patron, you need to have the ability to dig deep and really understand them.
There are a lot of things that separate artistic works from one another–the medium they’re presented on, the flourishes specific to an artist, and so on. But there is one thing that is common with all art.
It’s meant to make a statement.
So I, as The Shopkeeper, need to decipher what drove my patron to pursue a piece of art.
Not just what’s appealing to the eye or trendy, but what speaks to them, what inspires them.
Over the years, I’ve become intimately familiar with many different artists and have found myself intrigued with what inspires them. What statement are they attempting to make?
But very rarely have I had the opportunity be a part of the process, to be in the presence of the artist themself.
Which brings to me Narcissa Balenciaga, Damien Wolf, and Manfred Curze.
In their own ways, all are artists. All three seek to make a statement with their art, different though their mediums may be.
Narcissa used her artistic skills with fashion and design to rise to the upper echelon of Arcadia, all the way to Zeus’ court. She was able to rise to a previously unimaginable level.
Damien used his artistic skills to become a wordsmith able to somehow survive and even prosper in the dangerous world of Arcadia. He prospers in a world where, without this, he would surely die a vicious and miserable death.
Manfred, perhaps most interestingly of all, puts his violence on display, both hanging the flesh of his victims and sending their screams echoing throughout the deepest deaths of Arcadia. Through this, he has instilled fear in even the most evil among us.
All of you fascinate me.
While we may be adversaries in our current context, you are not my enemies.
Fate has brought us together, artists all, to create.
I see this as an opportunity to work with you, to understand your art firsthand.
Let’s make a masterpiece together.