G. H. Hovagimyan is an absurdist, a strategist, a serial collaborator, and nothing short of a cultural icon in the world of contemporary art, particularly as it relates to how artists have adopted the digital technological tools of our times, adapting them in his work for critique of art, popular culture, and social engagement.
Situationist Funhouse is a joyride through this history. The journey Stephen Zacks so meticulously documents and describes is not only an incredibly comprehensive ride through G. H.’s life work to date - Hovagimyan adopted G. H. as an acronym in the 1990s as a kind of gesture of personal rebirth and to ease others’ difficulty with his last name [pronounced ho-va-GIM-yan] - it also serves as a document that tracks a particular view on the alternative contemporary art scene of New York from the 1970s to the present day.