Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 7hYou can read my full review (w glorious photos): “RuAfza served the theoretical meat of the aesthetic banquet, bringing Brechtian stylings to her surgical strikes at billionaires, right-wing hysteria, & exhaustion, capped by a Luigi Mangione-inspired enactment that left us with a hole-y Elon Musk.”hyperallergic.comThe Ritual Joy of Queer Performance Refuses to Give UpReigning diva Amygdala brings Brooklyn drag to Manhattan in “Pleasure Dome: Continuum,” a fête of therapeutic sound, vaudeville tributes, and queer politics. 110
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 7hMy review of Pleasure Dome Continuum is up on the site and I have a video report too. 130
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 8hThis makes me so ill. The bloodlust of this administration and its supporters knows no boundaries. Cronenberg’s Videodrome was prescient. 030
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 15hHe was a professional and was a great and encouraging teacher. He helped me flourish. 000
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 08/10/2026My husband has a no blood or bloodletting rule for performance art, so I’m glad I didn’t bring him. 290
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 07/10/2026So true. “I wrote on October 7, 2023 — the day of the Hamas attack, with Israel’s bombs already falling on Gaza — that Israel was going to commit a genocide. That took no prophecy, only a willingness to believe what Israel had told us about itself for years…” 280
Reposted by Hrag VartanianRabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 07/10/2026by @self.agency, brilliantly structured, essential, applying what Jews ourselves defined about genocide denial to much of our community's attitudes towards Gaza these last years.jewschool.comWhen Jews Deny Genocide · Jewschool“Keep far from a false charge; do not bring death on those who are innocent and in the right, for I will not acquit the 512540
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 07/10/2026The Table of Contents is still relevant. And I love that it was printed in a dot-matrix printer. 🤭 1160
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I just discovered an old paper I wrote in 1990 for high school about Homosexuality. I would’ve been in grade10s 2190
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Tonight, I'm moderating a talk at @bklynlibrary.bsky.social with a panel of artists about the freedom of expression. Come by! It starts at 6:30p.bklynlibrary.orgOn Artistic Freedom: A Panel Discussion | Brooklyn Public LibraryThis Banned Books Week, BPL exhibiting artist and author Christopher Myers is joined by Oscar-nominated and Peabody Award-winning Director/Producer of The Librarians, Kim A. Snyder; Namrata Tripathi, ... 070
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Quite a line to get into the Morgan on the last day of the Tarot show. 170
Reposted by Hrag VartanianCharlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 01/10/2026The National Post attack on NDP Leader Avi Lewis crosses the line into threat. They invoke the same religious code words used by extremists who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin. It is unacceptable to use religious intimidation to shut down debate on Gaza. charlieangus.substack.com/p/national-p...charlieangus.substack.comNATIONAL POST CROSSES LINE ON THREAT AGAINST LEWISA recent editorial on NDP leader Avi Lewis crossed the line into an extremist hate threat. It needs to be called out. 33523209
Reposted by Hrag VartanianHrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I reviewed Mala Iqbal’s current painting show at JJ Murphy gallery: “This is city as living room, something that most New Yorkers will recognize, a place where dogs can blend with their owners, & the hybridity of faces in the paintings reveals geographies that are as imperial as they are familial…”hyperallergic.comMala Iqbal Paints the Space We Share With StrangersHer new paintings remind us that the world is a room we share with strangers, most of whom are looking elsewhere. 1112
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I reviewed Mala Iqbal’s current painting show at JJ Murphy gallery: “This is city as living room, something that most New Yorkers will recognize, a place where dogs can blend with their owners, & the hybridity of faces in the paintings reveals geographies that are as imperial as they are familial…”hyperallergic.comMala Iqbal Paints the Space We Share With StrangersHer new paintings remind us that the world is a room we share with strangers, most of whom are looking elsewhere. 1112
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 01/10/2026And some people wonder why rape survivors don’t come forward. We have learned nothing. 070
Reposted by Hrag VartanianTimothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 01/10/2026We are ruining our own institutions, which is sad for us and great for our enemies. 401549565
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 · 21/09/2026It’s always the smallest decision that has a bigger impact than you think 😑 130
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 · 20/09/2026A friend of mine is doing the same. I really do think it is worth it, especially if that’s an important part of your life, you’re a tarot reader or enthusiast. 010
Hrag Vartanian @hrag.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Here’s a Justice card from a 15th-century Lombardian set. Their selection was fantastic. 260
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 · 19/09/2026My favorite line: "He may have started out painting holes, but he ended up being one for a much more famous artist." 010
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