Another false god -Jeram Patel


Yes, Mr. Patel,
after looking at your
thingies, I feel this way too.


Hear all ye art lovers - bow and kneel as you behold your new god, the great Jeram Patel. The gates of pantheon have opened to let in this master of all master artists. He is now officially the legendary Mr.Patel-
(from the print edition of the Hindustan Times, Delhi edition(regd. reqd.) )
In a ceremony held at India International Centre, Lecture Hall, Lalit Kala Akademi awarded fellowship to Mr. Jeram Patel. This honorary title certifies the artist as a National Legend. Mr. Jeram Patel (b. 1930, Sojitra, Kaira Dist., Gujarat) was the student of Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai. Today, most of his exhibitions are held in India and abroad. A living legend, Mr. Patel have(sic) set the trends of Indian art and given a new meaning to the devices of artistic imagery. Mr. Patel is the 50th proud recipient of this highest honour. He enters the niche group of legends such as- Mr.Jamini Roy, Mr.Nandlal Bose,Mr. N.S. Bendre. Mr. M. F. Hussain and Ms.
Kapila Vatsyayan.

It is said that the gods we worship tell something about us. And what kind of a god is Mr. Patel?
He paints some blackish, longish, jumbled up thingies. A sample-




See more of these thingies here.
For these he is considered legendary by that council of wise men and women that make up the Lalit Kala Akademi.

I often wonder if these savants take the average but intelligent person for a fool. Just take one long and good look at one of Mr. Patel's thingies and then ask yourself -a great artist? a god?

Is it too much to ask if one of these wise men will answer this obvious curiosity- by what standards? why?

Comments

Anonymous said…
The reason for their inane activities might be found at their site under "Objectives". Here is the excerpt.

Since its inception the Akademi has been a nerve centre of creative and cultural discussions and hardly there is any artist or art critic in India who has been associated with the Akademi and its activities.
Anonymous said…
dude put some new posts
Gurmeet said…
Dude, you are right. I have been neglecting this blog in favor of my other blog-
http://libertynewscentral.blogspot.com/

One reason is that writing about art can be very depressing, given the state the contemporary art is. It's like throwing pebbles at a tank.

But hey, thanks anyway.