Q & A AMA - Claire Yeon

[Claire Yeon]

Claire Yeon was born and raised in Queens, New York, to immigrant parents originally from Busan. She is a first-generation American and her parents' only child. The family was not particularly wealthy, but they never lacked for essentials or the occasional treat. While she felt her parents were overly strict with her growing up, she understands now that it was coming from a place of love, though the relationship has become strained in the last few years.

Claire has been interested in art since an early age, but lacking any significant natural talent - or patience to develop what fate had not granted her - she sought ways to be involved in the art community outside of creating. She performed well enough in school to earn a partial scholarship to NYU, where, to the disappointment of her parents and general ridicule of her small circle of childhood friends, she chose to study art history. One can only be told one is wasting one’s potential so many times before one snaps, and for Claire, that moment came toward the end of freshman year. In retaliation to mocking comments directed at her and a few others in her class, she promised a group of laughing business majors that within five years of graduation, she would be making more money than any of them.

After graduation, she accepted a position at a prominent New York City art insurance and investigation firm. She made good on her promise/threat in three years, and received an offer to be made partner after ten, but declined and chose to go her own way. She works now as an independent art detective, working closely with auction houses, customs agents, and private collectors. Money has a way of going out as fast as it comes in, thanks to an affinity for first-class tickets and expensive shoes, but so far she has managed to avoid debt. Some months ago, a routine job to recover a stolen painting went awry when it was implied that Claire had inside information as to how it went missing in the first place. Ever since then, she has chosen less high-profile jobs, which keep the lights on, but have forced her to cut back on her more lavish expenses. A partnership with VILE holds the tantalizing promise of steady work and lucrative income, and it was only a matter of time before their paths merged.

When it comes to relationships, Claire prefers quality over quantity. While she is generally friendly, except to those who abuse power and privilege, she holds herself at a distance and has very few close friends. There are only three people she loves: her parents, despite the wedges that pride on both sides has driven between them, and a charming archaeologist she met on a job last year and married six weeks later. Her primary home and base of operations is Manhattan, though she also has a house in Guadalajara (her husband's, originally), an apartment in Singapore, and a timeshare in Barbados. She likes to make a spectacle of her birthday, but those in her small circle do not begrudge her this indulgence: being born on February 29, the chance only comes once every four years.

 

[Eugene]

...to the disappointment of her parents and general ridicule of her small circle of childhood friends, she chose to study art history. One can only be told one is wasting one’s potential so many times before one snap, and for Claire, that moment came toward the end of freshman year. In retaliation to mocking comments directed at her and a few others in her class, she promised a group of laughing business majors that within five years of graduation, she would be making more money than any of them.

What course of study did family and friends envision Claire going into, and why didn't she go that direction?

 

[Chase]

Has Claire ever investigated her family's lineage in Busan?

 

[Neb]

Does Claire stea- acquire stuff herself, or does she have someone do it for her?

 

[Claire Yeon]

@Eugene: My parents did not want me to go to college at all. They own a bakery/cafe, and it was their wish that I take it over. While some would say my attempts at making songpyeon were reason enough for me not to go into the family business, the truth is that I viewed it as beneath me. I am ashamed to admit I was not especially kind when I told them I intended to do nothing of the sort, that others looked down on us for who we were and what we did, and that I would not settle like them. It was a long time before apologies were made, and something broke in that moment that has never been fully mended. I mean to do right by them, someday. Perhaps, in my travels, I will find someone who can treat the business with the respect I never could.

@Chase: Yes. My mother's family has been in Busan since the turn of the century. My grandparents on my father's side fled the north when tensions began to rise after World War II. They made it to Seoul, where my grandfather enlisted in the army and fought in the Korean War. He lost his leg, but kept his life. They relocated to Busan after the armistice. I still have family there - an aunt and uncle and a spattering of cousins on both my mother's and father's sides - but we are not particularly close. It seems they resented my parents for coming to America, saying they were turning their backs on their family and their duty. Perhaps I am following in my parents' footsteps after all.

@Neb: Hypothetically? If an item of a particular value come to the attention of a hypothetical prospective buyer, it would first be the duty of any respectable art insurance agent to see that any policies associated with said item were transferable. That agent would be remiss in their obligations if they did not, hypothetically, ensure that the proper safeguards were in place to keep said item in the possession of its legally-recognized owner. This process may or may not involve intimate knowledge of certain security measures and - hypothetically - how to bypass them. Hypothetically, if one were to test said measures and find them lacking, one would only be doing one's due diligence in pointing out the weaknesses. It would not be prudent, therefore, for these hypothetical trade secrets that may or may not exist to be bandied about without extreme prejudice. If one found themselves in possession of such knowledge, it would be in their best interest (hypothetically) to keep it to themselves, or perhaps on occasion, with a few other select individuals who are close-mouthed and could not be traced back to the party of origin. Each situation would, hypothetically, need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis, depending on what security measures may or may not be in place and how closely a certain insurance agent may or may not be scrutinized by overly-curious ACME agents. This is, of course, all hypothetical.

 

[Joe Kerr]

What's Claire's skill set?

 

[Morgan]

Might Claire consider having children, sooner rather than later?

 

[Emma Bezzle]

Is Claire's husband aware of her operation or her association with VILE?

 

[Claire Yeon]

@Joe Kerr: I have a particularly keen eye for forgery in paintings. I am not infallible, of course, but I have done well enough that I am often brought on as a consultant ahead of expensive, time-consuming, and potentially invasive tests. I am also accomplished in the application of methods such as mass spectrometry and infrared reflectography, which prove useful when one is seeking things that others would prefer to remain concealed. Aside from this, I can fairly accurately judge distance by sight. It has not proven useful in my line of work just yet, but it does make for a good party trick.

@Morgan: No. Selfish reasons of money and freedom aside, my husband has some health concerns that he would not want to risk passing along to a child. We have both traveled enough to see the hardships that too many children are facing, and believe it is better to try and improve the quality of life for those already here than to add the number of those competing for limited resources.

@Emma Bezzle: Not specifically with VILE, no, but it is not uncommon for those in our world to have friends in low places. I suspect he has a few of his own - from time to time, an item of no real value to anyone other than a private collector will go missing from sites he has visited. We neither ask, nor tell. As long as we each remain ignorant about any hypothetical dealings in which the other may or may not participate, we have plausible deniability should anything come to light.

 

[Patty]

What would completely and utterly disrupt Claire's current happy life?

 

[Claire Yeon]

Not looking to make trouble, are you, @Patty?

Barring loss of life or limb, I have grown accustomed to a certain lifestyle, and if something were to happen to cut off my income, it would put me in a difficult position. Furthermore, because my entire business model is based on my reputation, I cannot make a mistake. Ever. As soon as it gets out that you let a client pay $3 million for a piece you assured them was authentic, and it is not, you are ruined. I have declined jobs where I knew I could not be 100% certain, and I cannot do that too often, either, or prospective clients will think I am not the expert I claim to be.

Outside the professional realm, I am hoping for a reconciliation with my parents. If something were to happen to them before this could be achieved, it would be... regrettable.

 

[Jacqueline Hyde]

Not looking to make trouble, are you, @Patty?

Patty, make trouble in the AMA threads? Perish the thought!