Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I just can’t. She really thought she had a zinger there. 181
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Biden’s team continues to think we’re idiots. They lost because they’re terrible liars and bad at their jobs, no other reason. 050
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 28/09/2026This bunny decided to hang out by us for half an hour, barely moving. 0100
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 23/09/2026From yesterday’s protest in front of the Museum of Modern Art, and reporter Anna Lee has this story hyperallergic.com/duo-calls-to... 0307
Reposted by Hrag VartanianAruna D’Souza @arunadsouza.bsky.social · 22/09/2026“Worst” is such a strong word, but “Pavilions I was ambivalent about and some I thought were missed opportunities” was too long. Anyway @hrag.bsky.social and I offer our quick takes on the Venice Biennale for your reading pleasure in @hyperallergic.com hyperallergic.com/the-worst-na...hyperallergic.comThe Worst National Pavilions at the Venice BiennaleAnd some we're still ambivalent about. 052
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I spilled a can of water in a bag of sketchbooks 😭 I think I can mostly save them. 480
Reposted by Hrag VartanianHrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The Tarot show at Morgan Library is truly exceptional & you should run to see it before it closes Oct 4. It was one of the rare times I read almost all the wall text. This is an illustration of a couple playing cards (which is how Tarot started) from a 16th-century Flemish manuscript. 2222
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The Tarot show at Morgan Library is truly exceptional & you should run to see it before it closes Oct 4. It was one of the rare times I read almost all the wall text. This is an illustration of a couple playing cards (which is how Tarot started) from a 16th-century Flemish manuscript. 2222
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The Taryn Simon show at the Guggenheim was disturbing because it presented the horrors of US intelligence organizations in the coldest most detached manner imaginable. The artist more an engaged part of the machine of US empire than an observer. 1153
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 18/09/2026I reviewed the current play at The Brick theater about the fantastical tale of Damien Hirst’s death revealing his secret gay lover, Shape. I love plays about obsession, and this off-off-Broadway production was as quirky as they come.hyperallergic.comThe Titillating Tale of Damien Hirst’s Gay HoleAn infectious play by Sleth explores infatuation and fame through an imagined relationship between Hirst and his gay lover, a younger artist whose paintings consist of holes on the ground. 1120
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Some people seem to replace their parents with theory to tell them what to do. 281
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Writing letters of recommendation is far more work than I ever account for. 0100
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 16/09/2026I’m still thinking about the Baked Alaska at Gage & Tollner. It was incredible. 2230
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Ed Sheeran is a fool and has destroyed his reputation. 0130
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 15/09/2026The Trump admin clearly hates abstract art. "Trump called it a 'strange modernist sculpture' that 'tells visitors nothing about America, inspires no one, and honors none of our Great American Heroes.'”hyperallergic.comAnother Abstract Public Artwork Faces Trump’s Senseless IreThe president wants to replace José de Rivera's “Infinity” (1967) outside the National Museum of American History with a statue of George Washington. 2122
Reposted by Hrag VartanianHyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 14/09/2026Founding Chair Charles Traub said he believed the closure could have been avoided with “better coordination” and more strategies for “how we were going to deal with the future of AI.”hyperallergic.comSchool of Visual Arts Ends Photography MFA ProgramFounding Chair Charles Traub said he believed the closure could have been avoided with “better coordination” and more strategies for “how we were going to deal with the future of AI.” 1104
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 13/09/2026I'm not going to fix my posts anymore, because why. You all get what I mean, and typos are part of this … as are random bs, satire, quoting random crap you hear, etc. You all know how this works. 090
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 13/09/2026I recently remembered that I once produced an off-broadway play by Nouritza Matossian, Black Angel: The Double Life of Arshile Gorky in 2003. How did I even forget that? Life moves too fast. I thought was it was a good play.theatermania.comBlack Angel: The Double Life of Arshile Gorky on New York City: Get Tickets Now! | Theatermania - 101027This solo performance dramatizes the life of the most mysterious artist Arshile Gorky, how he rose to become one of America’s greatest painters, his betrayal and suicide. Author/actress Nouritza Matos... 070
Reposted by Hrag VartanianHeba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 11/09/20269/11/2001 I was a freshman in high school in Alabama, I wore a hijab. In gym class my teacher wheeled in a screen. Something horrible was happening. I watched, mouth agape as the second tower hit. We were silent. As that period reached an end, my name was announced on the loud speaker. 1/ 9234081258
Reposted by Hrag VartanianRon Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 08/09/2026This is what Trump did on 9/11. 31155932293
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 10/09/2026I shared my post-9/11 story here. Never forget what a Brown University report says was over 940,000 people who were killed by direct post-9/11 war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan between 2001–2023.hyperallergic.comArtists Reflect on 9/11 and the Wounds of the “War on Terror”Shahzia Sikander, Wafaa Bilal, Rina Banerjee, and others share stories from the day of the attack and the vicious campaign of Islamophobia, racism, and surveillance in its wake. 1236
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I mailed a postcard from Fire Island to Toronto on July 18 and my friend only received it yesterday. The Postal Service is completely utterly f-ed. 360
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Some days I send my partner real estate listings for country homes we’ll never buy because it feels like pebbling. 161
Reposted by Hrag VartanianHrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 05/09/202615 art books for your fall reading lists 📖 I chose the Kent Monkman/Vermeer catalog for the show at the Frick.hyperallergic.com15 Art Books for Your Fall Reading ListGuadalupe Rosales’s memoir, Christine Sun Kim’s artist book, Fady Joudah’s ode to the people of Gaza, and Elizabeth Alexander’s essay collection are among our most anticipated titles. 1103
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 05/09/202615 art books for your fall reading lists 📖 I chose the Kent Monkman/Vermeer catalog for the show at the Frick.hyperallergic.com15 Art Books for Your Fall Reading ListGuadalupe Rosales’s memoir, Christine Sun Kim’s artist book, Fady Joudah’s ode to the people of Gaza, and Elizabeth Alexander’s essay collection are among our most anticipated titles. 1103
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 03/09/2026The ending to Yesteryear is weak. Such a good book and then a weird Hollywood ending. 220
Reposted by Hrag VartanianDaniel Suitor @danielsuitor.com · 31/08/2026My pedantic note on this is that a private enterprise cannot "fine" you. They can charge you money, sure. But a fine can only be issued under color of law. 314516
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Google really sucks. 😑 A friend in London says it says Lake Ontario there. 482
Reposted by Hrag VartanianDexter Thomas @dexdigi.bsky.social · 28/08/2026wrote this back in 2023 dexdigi.beehiiv.com/p/i-hate-how...dexdigi.beehiiv.comI hate how we talk about Japanese womenThoughts on Yayoi Kusama and Japanese 'racism' 0235
Reposted by Hrag VartanianNathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Crucial new piece in @thegrindto.bsky.social on how the Canadian state and major media outlets have used a deeply flawed 'study' to launder claims of antisemitism on campus. Turns out *the study itself* acknowledges it is *Zionist Jews* who report increased antisemitism. Antizionist Jews DO NOT.thegrindmag.caCampus Antisemitism Report Hid a Key Finding that Turns the Results Upside DownIn early August, mainstream outlets repeated the findings of a flawed report describing alarming levels of antisemitism on university campuses. Two weeks later, the authors stated that 92 per cent of… 39049
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 28/08/2026This review I published when I was EIC by Dexter Thomas, was the article that made it clear that Kusama anti-Blackness permeated her work, and even more disturbing, the art market was trying to cover it up in all sorts of ways.hyperallergic.comWhat the Art World Doesn't Want You to Know About Yayoi KusamaA new publication tries hard to reinvent Kusama as a champion of racial equity despite her troubling record of anti-Black statements. 12803364
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Lake Ontario should be called Lake Epstein, because it’s deep enough to hide the files he doesn’t want us to see. 3256
Reposted by Hrag VartanianRima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 26/08/2026The self-proclaimed "mastermind" of the 9/11 attacks will stand trial in June 2028, a military judge ruled Wednesday, nearly 25 years after the attacks. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been held at Guantanamo since 2003. abcnews.com/US/alleged-9...abcnews.comAlleged 9/11 mastermind's long-awaited trial scheduled for 2028The self-proclaimed "mastermind" of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will stand trial in June 2028, a military judge ruled Wednesday. 172
Reposted by Hrag Vartanian#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 26/08/2026After years of flouting international legal obligations, the UK under new Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham is poised within weeks to finally announce a comprehensive ban on trade with the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise in illegally-occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Golan Heights. 843394
Reposted by Hrag VartanianSam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Dammit.tmz.comActor Tim Curry Dead at 80Tim Curry -- the legendary film and TV actor best known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" -- has died ... TMZ has learned. 108413
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford says that New York state should be known as “the Province of New York.” 😆 This is getting funny.ctvnews.caToronto mayoral candidate proposes new name for New York after Trump takes aim at Lake OntarioIf U.S. President Donald Trump renames Lake Ontario as Lake America to spite the province amid a trade war, Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford says that New York state should be known as 'the Pro... 182
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 25/08/2026I'll never forget the one & only Dolly Parton concert I went to. I was 18/19 & it was with my mum. My dad couldn't go (they both loved Dolly & were going to go together) & I went instead. I knew so little about her & I was so moved by the concert & her humble rapport that I became a lifelong fan. 1171
Reposted by Hrag VartanianPeter Huestis @peterhuestis.bsky.social · 25/08/2026I love how aspirational this title is: 1154
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Few artists have been as intertwined with a struggle & so beloved by the people fighting as Sliman Mansour. Sadly, he has passed at age 79. In 2023, he told @hyperallergic.com: "Our fight now is to tell the world that we are full human beings…We are not less than any other people in the world.”hyperallergic.comSliman Mansour, Painter of Palestinian Hope and Humanity, Dies at 79"Our fight now is to tell the world that we are full human beings," Mansour told Hyperallergic in 2023. "We are not less than any other people in the world.” 27640
Reposted by Hrag VartanianRepublicans Against Trumpism @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Ontario Premier Doug Ford fires back at Trump: You think an insult from Trump hurts me? Bring it on, buddy. I’m ready. I’ve dealt with guys like you my whole life. You’re a loser. 23577103
Reposted by Hrag VartanianRobert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) @iwriteok.bsky.social · 24/08/2026This is what the growth of surveillance is going to bring. Not safety from crime, but new, non-criminal acts redefined as criminal so as to give the police an excuse to exercise power. local12.com/news/offbeat...local12.comPolice request public's help to find suspect who picked up $30 off ground in WalmartA police department took to social media and asked the public to help them identify a suspect who found $30 on the ground in Walmart. 346108963651
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Only Trump could make English Canadians learn French. I wouldn’t be surprised if the country becomes fully bilingual in a few years. 091
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 22/08/2026I’m a giant pink elephant disguised as a human being. 020