Riddhi Doshi does a write up in DNA about the Vaziranis of Saffronart.
If there is a God of Art then the Vaziranis(and others) will someday face divine judgment -and the verdict won't involve scotch-taping pretty white wings on them and allotting them their own fluffy, white cloud condo fully furnished with a harp and a satellite-sharp vision of the Earth.More like eternal fires, boiling oils and ghastly looking feminist hags with whiplashes.
The Vaziranis have over several years been very prominent in stultifying Indian art by promoting really horrid 'art' and 'artists'.And they have been hugely successful.In this respect I do not wish to single out this couple.There are hordes of like-minded creatures that inhabit the swamps of contemporary art( the Vaziranis are however among the top of the food chain).And such creatures -art dealers, gallery owners,academics, critics, clueless art beat reporters- are among the causes why it is a swamp, a bog and not a lush, sunlit field.
They are the reason why almost every time one enters a gallery or an art museum, one is confronted by purulent, meaningless images wrapped in a verbiage shot with idiocy. One expects art to ennoble our souls, much like a novel by Victor Hugo or film by Bimal Roy. Instead, stepping into a gallery is like stepping on shit -bullshit. The average person, mystified, unable to make anything out of the in-you-face 'courageous' 'art' staring down at him, just hastens for the door.He thinks,"I don't get it but experts say it is deep. So it must be.I must be stupid."
Yes, mate, you are - for believing that you are. For suspending your judgment when attacked by arty-sharty mumbo-jumbo.For disarming yourself intellectually. For giving up when faced with such banal idiocies like a work by Ganeh Haloi -
or Jatin Das-
or Krishen Khanna-
No, mate, they are not 'deep'. But the whole stinking art establishment wants you to believe they are.
It's a nice intellectual con for those who are psychologically up to it. Hey,with enough creative marketing the art-elites can even sell human feces -in the name of art! They are that good -and that corrupt.
Riddhi Doshi doesn't mention any of it in the article. One doesn't expect mere journalists to.The art establishment openly brandishes it's vapid art-jargon as a hugely intimidating weapon.It's like a 20.000lb bomb displayed on the deck.The art reporters are scared shit to touch it- to question the premises, the dubious aesthetics and the general all round lunatic-quality creepiness that passes for 'creativity'. So they merely become a part of the PR machine and a tool of these knavishly profiteering sophists.
They are the useful idiots of the Big Art. They cannot comprehend that the bomb contains no bang -only a lot of rats.
The Vaziranis make a nice packet out of it -as do the others.I have no objection if some fool wants to buy a M.F.Husain for obscene millions. But an intellectual atmosphere has been created where now the rotten is worshiped and and the good horse-whipped.When you can make a killing doing this -
then why strive for years to perfect yourself to do something like this-
It will only be trashed as regressive.It might be stunningly beautiful -but appreciation of that is a virtue missing in these dark souls.A soul that trashes beauty is indeed a dark pit.
No, my objection to the Vaziranis and their ilk is not that they enrich themselves peddling their fetid wares -it's that they have done their bit so that those who offer beauty, sincerity, talent, skill and years of learning are not able to peddle theirs. Where is the space? Not in the Vaziranis' gallery.And not in thousands of others. Good art survives -in smaller, less 'prestigious' galleries and in an almost underground network of practitioners and admirers. Internet now helps.But we must not forget that it has been driven out of the large, prominent, 'prestigious' museums and galleries.
I would love to go to an exhibition and spend some or a lot of time deriving pleasure from observing a fine painting, an enjoyment that is almost metaphysical. I would like to appreciate the skill, the effort, the learning, and the genius-
but I dread that almost always I shall have to face something like this-
and a lot of clueless but fawning automatons who have been drilled to applaud the muck. Wine glasses held delicately, they will go 'ooh' and 'aah' over the latest asininity of some famous ass....sorry, artist.
Art is a fuel for the soul.My soul has been impoverished by having been denied the fuel. Mine and countless millions' others.All I see is a devastated landscape. The locusts have done their job. But these locusts do not fly away. They entrench themselves and sit in judgment on the pauperized farmers.
Thank you,Vaziranis, thank you, Kumars, thank you others for making us poorer in spirit. Thank you,thank you and thank you.
Disclosure - I was rejected out of hand by Saffronart for 'technical' reasons. Have a look at my works and then compare with what the Vaziranis' are pushing. I should like to sound modest, but this is not the time.
Note- I must emphasize again that I do not wish to single out the Vaziranis. This is not personal. They are merely one among many -very many; although among the most prominent.The sewer is teeming.
The Vaziranis have over several years been very prominent in stultifying Indian art by promoting really horrid 'art' and 'artists'.And they have been hugely successful.In this respect I do not wish to single out this couple.There are hordes of like-minded creatures that inhabit the swamps of contemporary art( the Vaziranis are however among the top of the food chain).And such creatures -art dealers, gallery owners,academics, critics, clueless art beat reporters- are among the causes why it is a swamp, a bog and not a lush, sunlit field.
They are the reason why almost every time one enters a gallery or an art museum, one is confronted by purulent, meaningless images wrapped in a verbiage shot with idiocy. One expects art to ennoble our souls, much like a novel by Victor Hugo or film by Bimal Roy. Instead, stepping into a gallery is like stepping on shit -bullshit. The average person, mystified, unable to make anything out of the in-you-face 'courageous' 'art' staring down at him, just hastens for the door.He thinks,"I don't get it but experts say it is deep. So it must be.I must be stupid."
Yes, mate, you are - for believing that you are. For suspending your judgment when attacked by arty-sharty mumbo-jumbo.For disarming yourself intellectually. For giving up when faced with such banal idiocies like a work by Ganeh Haloi -
Untitled 3
Offset Print on paper
20.5 x 28 in/ 52.1 x 71.1 cm
by
Ganesh Haloi
or Jatin Das-
Untitled
Pen and ink on paper
1966
8 x 12.5 in / 20.3 x 31.8 cm
by J
Jatin Das
or Krishen Khanna-
Untitled
Graphite on paper
2004
14 x 10 in/ 35.6 x 25.4 cm
by
Krishen Khanna
No, mate, they are not 'deep'. But the whole stinking art establishment wants you to believe they are.
It's a nice intellectual con for those who are psychologically up to it. Hey,with enough creative marketing the art-elites can even sell human feces -in the name of art! They are that good -and that corrupt.
Riddhi Doshi doesn't mention any of it in the article. One doesn't expect mere journalists to.The art establishment openly brandishes it's vapid art-jargon as a hugely intimidating weapon.It's like a 20.000lb bomb displayed on the deck.The art reporters are scared shit to touch it- to question the premises, the dubious aesthetics and the general all round lunatic-quality creepiness that passes for 'creativity'. So they merely become a part of the PR machine and a tool of these knavishly profiteering sophists.
They are the useful idiots of the Big Art. They cannot comprehend that the bomb contains no bang -only a lot of rats.
The Vaziranis make a nice packet out of it -as do the others.I have no objection if some fool wants to buy a M.F.Husain for obscene millions. But an intellectual atmosphere has been created where now the rotten is worshiped and and the good horse-whipped.When you can make a killing doing this -
Untitled
Mixed media on paper
2002
17 x 22 in /43.2 x 55.9 cm
by
Jai Zharotia
by
Evan Wilson
No, my objection to the Vaziranis and their ilk is not that they enrich themselves peddling their fetid wares -it's that they have done their bit so that those who offer beauty, sincerity, talent, skill and years of learning are not able to peddle theirs. Where is the space? Not in the Vaziranis' gallery.And not in thousands of others. Good art survives -in smaller, less 'prestigious' galleries and in an almost underground network of practitioners and admirers. Internet now helps.But we must not forget that it has been driven out of the large, prominent, 'prestigious' museums and galleries.
I would love to go to an exhibition and spend some or a lot of time deriving pleasure from observing a fine painting, an enjoyment that is almost metaphysical. I would like to appreciate the skill, the effort, the learning, and the genius-
Changbai Mountain Trip
Pen and ink
Pen and ink
2006
by
Yu-tang Yang
(do click on the image to appreciate the enormous talent of Yu)
but I dread that almost always I shall have to face something like this-
Pencil on paper
1995
15 x 12 in /38.1 x 30.5 cm
by
Akbar Padamsee
and a lot of clueless but fawning automatons who have been drilled to applaud the muck. Wine glasses held delicately, they will go 'ooh' and 'aah' over the latest asininity of some famous ass....sorry, artist.by
Bose Krishnamachari
2009
Acrylic on paper
Art is a fuel for the soul.My soul has been impoverished by having been denied the fuel. Mine and countless millions' others.All I see is a devastated landscape. The locusts have done their job. But these locusts do not fly away. They entrench themselves and sit in judgment on the pauperized farmers.
Thank you,Vaziranis, thank you, Kumars, thank you others for making us poorer in spirit. Thank you,thank you and thank you.
Disclosure - I was rejected out of hand by Saffronart for 'technical' reasons. Have a look at my works and then compare with what the Vaziranis' are pushing. I should like to sound modest, but this is not the time.
Note- I must emphasize again that I do not wish to single out the Vaziranis. This is not personal. They are merely one among many -very many; although among the most prominent.The sewer is teeming.
Comments
all the best for your future! u r an amazing artist!!