Armenian History Month is celebrated throughout Los Angeles County during April, in part to recognize our region’s approximately 200,000 residents of Armenian descent, the largest Armenian community abroad.
At the center of the celebration is Joan Agajanian Quinn, an American-born writer, editor and art denizen of Armenian heritage, still vibrant as she nears 90 years of age. She’s sometimes referred to as the “Gertrude Stein of Los Angeles” and known as a muse to Andy Warhol.
Warhol biographers maintain that the soup-can art visionary never actually said that in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, but he certainly believed it. It’s impossible not to think of this when considering the life of Quinn.
Warhol was indeed prescient on the subject of celebrity, exemplified in real time by the Kardashians, who it is said are famous for being famous. Coincidentally, late attorney Robert Kardashian was Quinn’s cousin.
Last month, we caught a glimpse of Quinn at the opening of the current exhibit “Embracing Diasporic Art: Portraits of Joan Agajanian Quinn,” curated by Ara and Anahid Oshagan as part of their ReflectSpace series at the Glendale Central Library. ReflectSpace, a nonprofit established in 2017, is an inclusive exhibition gallery designed to explore social justice issues.
More than 300 of Quinn’s friends have created portraits of her over the years in every imaginable medium, friends including David Hockney, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Helmut Newton and Robert Mapplethorpe. Thirty-five of these portraits are included in this exhibition, which will be open to the public through May 23rd.
Quinn, smiling and unmistakable with her trademark dip-dyed, crimson-tipped coiffure reminiscent of Agnes Varda, was ensconced like royalty at the entrance to the exhibition. A quizzical Stuart Rapeport cut-out figure stood beside her like a guardian as waves of well-wishers swarmed Quinn with flowers and cake, and one tall gentleman with an impressive white braid bowed deeply to kiss her tiny hand.
Curator Ara Oshagan, who knows Quinn as a personal friend, says “What’s so great about her is not simply that she knows a lot about art and loves artists. It’s that she is in no way pretentious or elitist, which is unusual in the gallery world. And for decades, she has championed artists from the Armenian Diaspora, but also immigrant, Black, Latinx, Chicano, queer and female artists who otherwise might not have gotten much traction.”
The outpouring of love expressed by the artists whose lives were touched by Quinn is monumental. Ruby Vartan portrayed Quinn as nurturing with the multiple comforting arms of a benevolent Shakti. On Instagram Vartan writes, “To honor her role as a supporter and connector of artists, I incorporated my arms into the piece, symbolizing her welcoming embrace to those in her circle.”
Elsa Flores Almaraz portrayed Quinn in the celestial convention of the Blessed Virgin Mother, clasping an artist’s palette, both wrists adorned with the vintage Cartier watches that Quinn cherishes..
We connected with Quinn shortly after that evening as she packed to fly to Paris the following day to attend the opening of a new David Hockney retrospective. This is the life she has led for more than a half-century, where love of the visual arts led to deep personal bonds and high-profile gigs.
Notably, after a casual meeting at a gallery, Warhol asked Quinn in his usual floaty, off-handed way to be his West Coast editor for his iconic magazine, Interview. Her consent launched a magic carpet ride-career which persists to this day.
Quinn’s own fizzy party-hearty-Polaroids from those days (Mick! Tru, as in Capote! Liza! Divine, a frequent house-guest, as in “Pink Flamingos”!! Christopher Isherwood! Tony Duquette! Even El Lider Mas Listo Fidel, in Havana!) also on view at the Library as part of the exhibit, document her exuberant and egalitarian influence on the Los Angeles art scene at a time when many collectors maintained that “real” art was only made, shown and purchased in London, Paris, New York or Munich.
She says, “Artists of all kinds — fashion designers, fine artists, dancers — were the heroes of the time. Everyone who did anything creative was a celebrity, surrounded by a circle of friends who uplifted them. These circles crossed over and interchanged — we were always hanging with the best of the best. That generation of stars and celebrities was a phenomenon — there was nothing like it. No cell phones, few computers — you had to communicate.”
Of her years as a journalist, Quinn says, “I just ask questions that i am sure won’t rock the boat…I was taught to know the answer to my questions so I wouldn’t be surprised, and to be able to build my questions on what I expect will come next. I think that is a litigator’s way of questioning, and I had no choice because my late husband Jack, who was an excellent trial lawyer, was my tutor.”
In addition to print, beginning in 1993 Quinn hosted her own mini-syndicate, The Joan Quinn Profiles, a 30-minute, two-guest cable talk show format. There now are more than a thousand episodes in the can. In addition to visual artists, past guests included Hollywood glitterati and smognoscenti: Javier Bardem, Frank Gehry, Vera Wang, Paloma Picasso, Henry Jaglom, Bob Mackie, Paul Sorvino, Michael York, Brenda Vaccarro, John Waters, Dennis Hopper, Oscar de la Renta, Tippi Hedren and Sally Kirkland.
Quinn was born in Long Beach to Hazel Faye, whom she describes as “…an Armenian beauty, oldest daughter of immigrants, good taste, artistic, great cook, and wonderful mother.” Of her father, she says “My father, like his father, was a rubbish man who had an interest in Indy cars. He was entrepreneurial, as are hard-working Armenians. His car won two Indianapolis speedway races. My father kept us apart from his work and his hobby. It was a man’s world. My mother took care of the house and family, he took care of biz.”
She adds, “Being Armenian, I have always felt a deep connection to religion and ancestry—both are important in my life. My grandparents were so brave to come to America from Armenia with nothing. My grandfather, James Agajanian, worked hard and raised a successful family through his work ethic and belief in God. God is very important in my life, and my path has always been guided by the Holy Spirit.”
Working as an assistant registrar at the USC Law School, she spotted her future husband, then a first-year law student.
She recalls “I picked him out of the class—so handsome, so perfectly dressed, always wearing pressed khakis and shirts with the sleeves rolled up, a neat crew cut, and a great smile. He also had a good grade point average. I invited him to dinner at my parents’ house, where I lived at the time. After a long, long, long courtship, I convinced him to marry me. Believe me, it wasn’t easy — he was a cautious, exacting, careful, list-making Virgo. But it was a marriage made in heaven — I couldn’t have been happier. And then, we were even happier when we had the twins (Amanda and Jennifer).”
Quinn’s late husband frequently defended artists against galleries that exploited them, underscoring the fact that this is one of the ways in which art becomes activism. Early in their six-decade marriage, the Quinns began “accumulating,” the word that Quinn prefers to “collecting,” the work of local Venice-area artists: Ed Moses, Laddie John Dill, Charles Arnoldi, Tony Berlant, Ken Price and Peter Alexander. A broligarchy, for sure, but Quinn found her footing as one of the boys. From there, she became synonymous with contemporary artists in Los Angeles as well as in New York and Europe.
She says, “I was in NYC two to three times a year with Jack. Then, when I became an NGO (delegate) to the UN for the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA), I was there four to five times a year. I spent time with Andy — shopping, going to parties — as did Jean-Michel. I was also in Paris and Florence with Basquiat, which was a real eye-opener. I loved it.”
Today, her westside home, built for Oliver Hardy, is a floor-to-ceiling shrine to how decades of artists have chosen to portray their benefactor and friend. She expresses concern about the new generation of young artists, saying “Artistic integrity has to come before fame. If an artist is truly great, fame will follow. Too many young artists today think only of fame, and their work suffers. Remember, it’s easy to climb to the top, but when the fall happens, it’s very, very hard.”
She says, “I still love parties — what better way to see friends? When the pandemic hit, I started hosting teas on my backyard patio by the pool. We strung the space with Mexican cut-out flags and piñatas — it was very festive. I served tea, sandwiches, and sweets. Now, I host small tea parties in my living room with two or three people. It’s easier to talk and more intimate.”
And of the future: “I love my life, and I hope, God willing, to continue helping artists and sharing with the public. I want to inspire people.”
DEETS
- “Embracing Diasporic Art: Portraits of Joan Agajanian Quinn”
- March 22 through May 23, 2025
- ReflectSpace / Glendale Central Library
- 222 East Harvard Street, Glendale 91205
- 818-548-2021
- Artist panel discussion: “Embracing Diasporic Art”
- Tuesday, April 22, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
- Glendale Central Library Auditorium
- This event is part of the Week of Armenian Genocide Commemorative Events
I loved meeting this radiant spirit. Thank you, Victoria, for another entry into a fascinating life! What I’ve read is an inspiration to live fully, fearlessly, and intelligently, and sourced from a higher realm.