Hrag Vartanian

Critic, Curator, Editor-in-chief and co-founder, Hyperallergic

Critic, Curator, Editor-in-chief and co-founder, Hyperallergic

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The Essence of Culture

March 19, 2010 by hv

“Mostly because you can sweat almost anything down to this basic biological truth: Culture is a mating ritual. We are looking for ways to differentiate ourselves so as to attract one another. That is the deep dark secret of everything we do. It might be that black and white.” — via Riff Market’s “RE HIPSTER […]

Filed Under: art criticism, literary criticism

Could I have “unfriended” someone in the 18th C.?

December 9, 2009 by hv

Recently, Michael Quinion explained that the term “unfriend” is much older than Facebook. In a recent edition of WORLD WIDE WORDS (Issue 667, Saturday, November 28, 2009) he suggests that the word originates in medieval Scotland: The noun certainly is, with evidence going back to medieval Scots, its sense ranging from that of a person […]

Filed Under: internet, literary, literary criticism, pop culture, writing

Re:Public – A Review of VANDAL SQUAD & An Interview with Author Joseph Rivera

March 13, 2009 by hv

My new column for ArtCat Zine is up so check it out. I review & talk to the controversial author of Vandal Squad, Joseph Rivera (pictured above). A former member of New York’s anti-graffiti police team, Rivera has written a very intriguing book about the graffiti world through the eyes of a cop. Here’s an […]

Filed Under: American, art, literary, literary criticism, New York, pop culture

The Value of Criticism

January 18, 2009 by hv

I came across this quote today by the 19th C. English writer & critic Matthew Arnold: “…Arnold said that ‘first-rate criticism has a permanent value greater than that of any but first-rate works of poetry and art,’…”

Filed Under: art criticism, literary, literary criticism

Faster Hipster, Kill, Kill

April 24, 2008 by hv

It was only a matter of time before hipster lit (hip-lit?) hit the bookstands with full force. Rayo Casablanca’s 6 Sick Hipsters is the latest entry to the genre and check out a review I came across (italics mine): The premise of Casablanca’s 6 Sick Hipsters is enticing: someone is murdering those atrocious denizens of […]

Filed Under: American, Brooklyn, fiction, literary criticism, New York, pop culture

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