Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
After Decades-Long Wait, New Orange County Museum Of Art Opens
Even in the typically molasses-slow process of building a new art museum, 35 years is a rather protracted wait. (The long-ago aim was to...
Let’s Consider The Way Average People Use Twitter
Most people don’t follow a bunch of political “elites” on Twitter — a group that, for these authors’ purposes, also includes news organizations. But...
The Atlanta Symphony’s Nathalie Stutzmann Era Begins
“What is respect for a score? Is it to play exactly what is written, or is it to play what is written and put...
Donald Judd Foundation Sues Over Fingerprints
On Tuesday, the Judd Foundation filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court against New York-based Tina Kim Gallery and the Seoul-based Kukje Gallery, alleging breach of contract...
How Will TV And Movies Reflect Climate Change Realities?
A study by the University of Southern California’s Media Impact lab examined more than 37,000 film and TV scripts that aired in the US between 2016...
The Onion Files Brilliant Brief At The Supreme Court Defending Satire
Claiming global Onion readership of 4.3 trillion, the filing describes the publication as “the single most powerful and influential organization in human history”. It’s...
What’s Disney’s Next Move After Florida’s Attack On Its Business?
Six months after the “Don’t Say Gay” controversy, Disney has clearly been weakened by the fight while DeSantis’ profile as a conservative culture warrior...
Wall Street Fund Starts $2 Billion Fund To Buy Music Copyrights
“Increasing demand for content from streaming services and social media make iconic music IP a scarce and irreplaceable asset,” said Angelo Rufino, a managing partner...
Five Of Eight Staff At Shakespeare Dallas Quit In One Week
“What happened? There’s not a smoking gun to produce,” says board chair Lauren York, who will lead exit interviews of the departed staff members They...
Chess’s Cheating Scandal Demonstrates How Computers Have Changed The Game
In the past 15 years, widely available AI software packages, known as “chess engines,” have been developed to the point where they can easily...
Data Powers What Books Are Published. So Why Is It So Difficult To See...
The single most influential data in the publishing industry—which, every day, determines book contracts and authors’ lives—is basically inaccessible to anyone beyond the industry....
The Meritocracy Trap: Our College Divide
Why do faculty speak so differently about things that happen in their house as opposed to everyone else’s? Understanding this dynamic might help us...
Russia Steals Ukrainian Museum Artifacts In Sham Annexations
Thousands of artefacts and heritage pieces that are collectively owned by the Ukrainian government and its subsidiaries will be lost to the occupying nation....
Theatre Community Defends Oregon Shakespeare Festival Director After Death Threats
“If, by producing writers of the global majority, an artist like Nataki Garrett can be subjected to death threats, what does that say about...
With The British Pound Slump, Making Movies In The UK Is Cheap
At about $1.13 it has still lost more than 10% in value against the dollar over the past six months, so the UK can...
How American Editors Edit Out The Sex
To the eye of an American editor, sometimes the smallest hints of vulnerability, when they don’t service any big and explicit narrative, often end...
Will Christian Thielemann Be The Next Music Director Of The Chicago Symphony?
In the 1990s, Thielemann, now 63 and one of the world’s most acclaimed maestros — as well as one of the most divisive and...
Librarians Under Attack: Have We Forgotten What Libraries Are For?
This is what the censors refuse to grasp: Librarians are not trying to force your children to read material you don’t want them to...
French Museum Execs Are Going Private To Everyone’s Dismay. But…
To many in the French media, Silvie Patry’s move to Kamel Mennour’s 23-year-old gallery—with four spaces in Paris—is yet another blow to public cultural...
This Denver Dance Company Quit Social Media. Here’s What Happened
We've never seen a measurable connection between our activity on social media and ticket sales. And we have never had any measurable number of...
We’re In A Golden Age Of Fake Art
With little authority policing them, you’re basically on your own when determining if a work of art is fake or not. This is a...
Is Australian Opera Losing Its “Vibrancy”?
While COVID-19 was a box office disaster for every opera company, large or small, it did have an upside, said Mould. ‘COVID exposed and...
Opportunity Isn’t The Same as Equality
What we should want is to make outcomes more equal – not opportunity. Antiegalitarians resist calls for equality via the ideology that if people...
Cop Shows After George Floyd
Two years later, it is clear that rumors of the cop show’s demise were greatly exaggerated. “Cops” is back, now on the Fox Nation...
The Role Of Body Percussion
Clapping, stomping and striking body parts from head to feet in rhythmic or repetitive ways is a timeless means of human interchange, whether for...