Why the Tragicomic Feels Like the Most Honest Aesthetic Now
An ARTnews.com essay argues that the “tragicomic” has reemerged as a defining aesthetic for the current era, linking today’s political and cultural absurdities to a form with roots in Plautus (2nd century BC) and later revivals in 17th-century theater and the 20th century. It cites a successful Jamie Lloyd–directed revival of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” at New York’s Hudson Theatre, featuring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, as a recent example of the form’s renewed resonance. The piece also discusses Martine Gutierrez’s performance “Lottery” (2025) at Paris Photo, where audience control over her staged shoot led to the event being halted after an hour due to safety concerns, and notes that selected photographs were later exhibited at Ryan Lee gallery in New York.
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