Since graduating with honors in Art History from Carleton, L.A.-based Matt Diehl has become one of the preeminent writers on pop culture – publishing four books and writing primarily about music (but also film and TV, among other topics) for the likes of Rolling Stone, New York Times, SPIN, L.A. Times, and many others. “Studying Art History at Carleton gave me a critical lens through which to observe cultural trends,” Diehl notes. “Regardless of medium or genre, everything basically stems from an art movement of some kind. And I just can’t believe how often I use what I learned in Boliou. The other week, I was interviewing Kanye West: the minute I walked in to his house, you couldn’t help but notice the monographs on Leonardo and Warhol prominently placed in the living room, and then all he wanted to talk about was Matthew Barney! And let’s not even get into Lady Gaga’s art historical references… That kind of thing happens more than you’d expect: I’ve learned Art History is in fact a kind of lingua franca shared among the most creative and interesting people affecting our society.”