Art After Subcultures: Sean Tatol and Troy Sherman in Conversation

Did the internet make art uncool? Did COVID K*ll the scene? In "After the Post-Avant-Garde," a critical essay in the latest issue of The Point, Sean Tatol traces the origins of the art world’s current malaise to “the demotion of the avant-garde’s desire to reinvent society, which led to the empty equation of novelty with artistic value." But this equation is increasingly “untenable now that TikTok and Instagram Reels can provide a constant, vertiginous stream of up-to-the-moment new media." What happens when scenes are no longer capable of generating the energy and cultural values required for the production of good art? And what is the function of contemporary art if not “newness”? Join us for a conversation with Sean Tatol and Troy Sherman about art in the long shadow of vanguardism—and where artists and critics can go from here.
The discussion will be moderated by Gareth Kaye, Gertie's director of curatorial affairs. Cohosted by The Point and Gertie.
Sean Tatol is an art critic from San Rafael, CA, based in New York City. He is the author of the Manhattan Art Review.

Troy Sherman is an art historian and critic. He ran the Midwest Art Quarterly, and he writes a Critical Archive. He's getting a PhD in 19th-century American painting.