Charles Giuliano
Original Gonzo Journalist, arts and music critic, art history professor, the man in the room, and more.
My wife and partner, and the
person who took my photo,
Astrid Hiemer
My Story
As a native Bostonian, I am deeply rooted in the arts and culture of the city and its remarkable heritage.
Founded in 1635 I graduated from the nation’s oldest educational institution, Boston Latin School. In 1963 I graduated from Brandeis University then renowned for its radical faculty and activist students. Upon graduation, I joined the Egyptian Department with two and a half years as a conservation intern for the Museum of Fine Arts.
After working for New York galleries and launching a career as a critic I returned to Boston in 1968. I curated The Visionaries for East Hampton Gallery which was the basis of the Grove Press book Psychedelic Art and joined the alternative paper The Avatar as its managing editor that summer. By fall I joined Boston After Dark/ Phoenix as its art critic and then was hired by the daily Boston Herald Traveler as its jazz and rock critic.
When the Herald was sold to the Hearst Corporation I started a freelance career which included Art News and the daily Patriot Ledger. I became a columnist and occasional guest editor for Art New England. For my column Perspective, I covered the art world including interviews with museum directors. Much of this material provided the spine of my book on the MFA.
Given the nature of a freelance arts journalism career, I returned to graduate school and earned an MA in American Art and Architecture from Boston University. This led to teaching art history and humanities for New England School of Art & Design which merged with Suffolk University. I was an adjunct professor of art history at Boston University’s Metropolitan College, U Mass Lowell, Framingham State College, Salem State College, and other institutions.
While telling an outrageous story in the apartment of then Boston Globe Magazine editor, William Cardoso, with emphasis I exclaimed. “It was gonzo, man.” Cardoso later famously passed the word to Hunter Thompson. However, I was the first to publish the term in a colorful review of Ten Years After for the Herald. That tale is told in my Total Gonzo Poems.
In addition to numerous exhibition catalogs and artist monographs since 2014, I have published four books of gonzo poetry and three oral histories. Since 2006 I have been publisher/ editor of Berkshire Fine Arts.com. The site has a number of national and international correspondents covering all aspects of the arts.
Charles Giuliano
Recognition & Awards
A true cultural movement can only ever be one that takes place everywhere; otherwise, at best, it’s a local quirk.Counterculture in Boston, then, is as much a national microcosm as it is a regional history; and, as such, it’s absolutely engrossing.
– Dave Thompson, Goldmine Review of Counterculture in Boston
This book makes the case for Boston's place in counterculture history.
– Olivia Deng, referring to Counterculture in Boston 1968 – 1980s
Only Charles Giuliano could effortlessly connect his coining of "gonzo" with the Nugents of Rockport. No one who knows him expects less, those who don't are in for a treat.
– Mark St. Germain, Playwright
His books are an exploration into the depths of this enigmatic writer who at the end of the day is simply human.
– Mary Louise Tuvim, Educator
Giuliano has created a visually-pleasing unique writing format and style that draws the reader into the text not seen in past autobiographies. His experiences on the road less traveled with some pretty famous and unorthodox individuals offers insight into the creative process.
– Jack Lyons, theatre critic and ATCA member
Hey Charles…I’m overwhelmed and overjoyed by the book. Especially impressive are the photos that complement the interviews so well. Much appreciation to you for preserving our colorful culture.
– David Bieber
Berkshire Fine Arts
Charles Giuliano, critic, curator, artist, and art historian has published and edited the online arts website Berkshire Fine Arts since 2006.
My Books
My most recent book, a work of almost 60 years as a part of the art culture in Boston – observer, chronicler, participant, and in the case of this book, the man in the room.
As only the second book about the Museum in its 150-year history, and in this case, written by a semi-insider, it tells a compelling story of the assembly of the world’s finest East Asian art collections, and of the vision of its early Brahmin founders.
This story of the Museum is told in the words of the men in charge of its administration, just as they spoke them, without editorialization or judgment. Learn what they had to say, and in doing so, learn about the art culture of Boston.
