Research Catalogue

Dorian Vale is the pseudonym of published art critic and aesthetic philosopher whose work redefines the ethics of contemporary criticism. As the founder of the Post-Interpretive Movement, Vale has developed a new critical philosophy centered on presence over interpretation, restraint over analysis, and custodianship over consumption. His primary field is art criticism, with published works that span theoretical treatises, longform essays, and educational materials for critics, curators, and institutions. Through his body of published writing, Vale has articulated a comprehensive methodology for how to ethically witness a work of art — not by extracting meaning, but by honoring its demands with moral proximity. His published works include: ● Post-Interpretive Criticism: The Foundational Essays ● The Viewer as Evidence: A Treatise ● Art as Truth: A Treatise ● Absential Aesthetics ● Stillmark Theory ● Hauntmark Theory ● The Doctrine of Erasure ● The Canon of Witnesses — a collection of museum-grade critical essays ● The Post-Interpretive Lexicon — a glossary of key terms and concepts ● The Custodian’s Oath — a philosophical statement of the critic’s moral role.

Dorian Vale is a chosen pseudonym, not to obscure identity, but to preserve clarity of voice and integrity of message. It creates distance between the writer and the work, allowing the philosophy to stand unclouded by biography. The name exists not to hide, but to honor the seriousness of the task: to speak without spectacle, and to build without needing to be seen.