Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Will Crutchfield: New Opera Is Thriving
New opera, by any reasonable definition – by any defensible amalgamation of the definitions commonly put forward over the years – is thriving. -...
The Best Books Of The Past 125 Years? The NYT Book Review Asked Readers…
In November, we presented a list of the 25 most-nominated books (one per author) for a vote. After tallying more than 200,000 ballots, the...
The Rare Fabric That Was Coveted 200 Years Ago That No One Now Knows...
Made via an elaborate, 16-step process with a rare cotton that only grew along the banks of the holy Meghna river, the cloth was...
How Orchestras Are Trying To Diversify Audiences
Orchestras are approaching these audiences through multilingual websites, artist and repertoire choices, and outreach activities, connecting more firmly with the communities they touch. - Strings
Let’s Look At The Toxic Damage Of Bullshit
The mass production of warm sounding words with minimal interest in real material outcomes is signifying bullshit (SB). It is nearly ubiquitous. - 3 Quarks Daily
TV Newsrooms Are Jumping To Streaming In 2022
As the nation’s big media companies look to woo new viewers trying to pick their way through a dizzying number of streaming outlets, news divisions...
We’re Addicted To Stories With Trauma. But Are We Lazy?
The prevalence of the trauma plot cannot come as a surprise at a time when the notion of trauma has proved all-engulfing. Its customary...
Recontextualizing Messiahs In Confronting Racism
How these two Canadian companies chose to respond to our contemporary context of anti-racist calls when interpreting Messiah provides an opportunity to have a conversation about...
Perspective: Seeing The Real Chuck Close
Seeing Chuck’s image reduced to the accusations against him in recent years has inspired me to tell my story, not as a defense or...
Maria Rosario Jackson Confirmed as New NEA Chair
Jackson, 56, earned a doctorate in urban planning from the University of California at Los Angeles, and she’s a professor at Arizona State University...
While Paris Wants To Be A “Fifteen-Minute City,” Sweden Experiments With A “One-Minute City”
While Paris works with a 15-minute radius and Barcelona’s superblocks with nine-block chunks of the city, Sweden’s project operates at the single street level, paying attention to...
Meditating On The Art Of Giving Up
The way the idea of giving up figures in our lives, as a perpetual lure and an insistent fear. The giving up that involves...
Kennicott: Remembering Wayne Thiebaud
There’s a Warhol, there’s a Lichtenstein, there’s a Thiebaud. His work was routinely grouped with that of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, and thus...
Is The Met Museum Well-Served By Showcasing Disney?
The self-consciousness isn’t necessary; Disney transcended the high-low debate a long time ago. A better question is whether a major art institution dedicating programming...
How Disgust Drives Behavior
Once you are attuned to disgust, it is everywhere. On your morning commute, you may observe a tragic smear of roadkill on the highway...
Checking In With Claire Chase’s Multi-Decade Flute Project
Since 2013, she has been commissioning scores for a monumental project called “Density 2036”; when it comes to completion, in the designated year, it...
E.O. Wilson, 92, Often Referred To As Darwin’s Successor
Dr. Wilson was an eloquent and immensely influential environmentalist and was the first to determine that ants communicate mainly through the exchange of chemical...
YOLA Grand Ambitions For Music In LA
It is one of the most vivid examples of efforts by major arts organizations across the country to bring youth education programs out into...
The Landmine Field That Is Pop Christmas Music
With Christmas pop the companies are on tricky ground. As one company executive put it, the Christmas record needs “an indefinable atmosphere.” Sex is...
Arts Administrator Christopher Newton, 85
Among Newton's contributions were the development of distinctive Shaw Festival seasons, the establishment of a permanent acting ensemble and the creation of an artistic...
Identity Crisis? Universities Are “Triaging” Away Humanities
Suddenly, faculty in these departments are expected to justify why they exist and why anyone would need a degree in English. - The Baffler
NY State Tries Out A Universal Income For Artists
Creatives Rebuild New York is a new initiative that will provide monthly, no-strings-attached payments for up to 2,400 artists with financial need. A second component...
Amazon As A Grand Narrative
“The relation of Amazon to fiction, to story, is more than one of convenience, going to the core of its corporate identity,” Mark McGurl...
Yes, Movies Can Still Score: Spider-Man Breaks Box Office Record
Worldwide box office is $1.05B which makes Sony’s No. 2 film of all time, behind only Spider-Man: Far From Home ($1.13B). No Way Home is also the No. 1 title...
Does Art Really Have Role When Times Are Bad?
To Thomas Mann, the ironist was always serious in play. But does playing seriously mean playing unapologetically, letting oneself be nothing but a player?...