Robin Cembalest reviews a recent event in which Alex Melamid (of the elephant paintings and Art Poll, on which I worked in a lowly capacity many years ago), Art Spiegelman, et al. talked about Neosincerity, the Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoons Contest, Tom and Jerry, etc.:

Later, at home, I wondered if the panelists were right. “Is irony over?” Typing it into my computer, I felt like Carrie Bradshaw. I continued. “Is it possible to develop antibodies? And if we are finally resistant to irony, is Neosincerity the new zeitgeist?” I thought about the success of Jon Stewart, who has become hugely popular by making a comic show the most honest news broadcast on TV—and even managed to make a Munich joke at the Oscars. Maybe we’re on the cusp of a new age of shtick.