The Work of Art

Keynote Conversation with Adam Moss & Vinson Cunningham

 
 

Sunday, October 13th at 5 pm

What is the work of art? In this guided tour inside the artist’s head, former editor of New York magazine Adam Moss traces the evolution of transcendent novels, paintings, jokes, movies, and songs — crafting a collection of illuminating conversations examining the very personal, rigorous, complex, and elusive work of making art. Weaving conversations with some of the most accomplished artists of our time together with the journal entries, napkin doodles, and sketches that were their tools, Moss breaks down the work—the tortuous paths and artistic decisions—that led to great art.

A New York Times bestseller, The Work of Art is a “visual feast” (Ari Shapiro), ultimately examining the very personal, rigorous, complex, and elusive work of making art. Moss will be in conversation with The New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham.

Featured Book: The Work of Art: How Something Comes From Nothing

Event Details:

  • This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but we’d appreciate an RSVP over on Facebook!

  • All book festival events, unless otherwise noted, will take place on the Midtown Scholar Bookstore’s main stage.

  • Seating is general admission; first come, first served.

  • A public book signing will immediately follow the discussion. Purchasing an author’s new book from the Midtown Scholar Bookstore is required for entry to the signing line. (Additional copies of a book may also be signed if time permits).

About the Speakers:

Adam Moss was the editor of New York magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and 7 Days. As editor of New York, he also oversaw the creation of five digital magazines: Vulture, The Cut, Daily Intelligencer, Grub Street, and The Strategist. During his tenure, New York won forty-one National Magazine Awards, including Magazine of the Year. He was an assistant managing editor of The New York Times with oversight of the Magazine, the Book Review, and the Culture, and Style sections, as well as managing editor of Esquire. He was elected to the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame in 2019.

Vinson Cunningham is a staff writer and a theatre critic at The New Yorker and a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. He co-hosts the podcast “Critics at Large” and his writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The Fader, Vulture, The Awl, and McSweeney’s. A former staffer on Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign and in his White House, Cunningham has taught at Sarah Lawrence College, the Yale School of Art, and Columbia University’s School of the Arts. He lives in New York City.