Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Of Writing And The Usefulness Of Cliches
It was only with the emergence of an artistic movement, beginning around the mid-18th century, that probable language came to be regarded less as the building...
How Expertise Is Being Redefined
I believe there exists a modicum of groupthink in an established expert community; solidarity in opinions may be seen as desirable among some in...
Rethinking The Idea Of Theatre As Public Space
In a world dominated by Netflix, Google, Facebook, Apple, and Twitter, the idea of using theatre to drive change and inform our political life...
Artificial Intelligence Will Likely Be More Tool Than Human Replacer
Though a wide range of A.I. technologies have improved by leaps and bounds over the past decade, even the most impressive systems have ended...
Ontario University Brings Back The Organ
"It's a bit of a hipster thing, the organ in its day was the technological marvel that the computer is today, and there's a...
Swiss Bank Suspends Ai Wei Wei Account
"The bank informed me that it was terminating my account in Switzerland. They did this, they wrote, in accordance with a new policy of...
Taliban Destroys Musical Instruments At National Institute
Amid Taliban rule, shocking visuals have been reported from Kabul's National Music Institute as the Taliban has reportedly destroyed musical instruments including piano and drum...
“Culture Wars” Are The Wrong Frame For Where We Are Now
Conventional wisdom has it that cultural divisions now matter most, and that plenty of people feel they have nothing in common with liberal, supposedly...
What’s Happened To Books In The Digital Age
“So what happens when the oldest of our media industries collides with the great technological revolution of our time?” - Los Angeles Review of Books
Why A Women’s Prize For Fiction?
Ever since the prize was first mooted in the early 1990s, many have wondered whether the prize is necessary, patronising, or even fair. A common position...
How “The Wire” Changed Television Viewing
Unlike the then-popular CSI-style investigative American cop show, The Wire embraces the cold-hearted nature of ancient Greek tragedy. - The Conversation
Ten Years After The Self-Published “Fifty Shades Of Gray,” Self-Publishing Has Evolved
The phenomenon of self-publishing is often linked to online book production methods. However, there is a much richer history of self-publishing that goes further...
A Plan (And A Bill) To Create A New Federal Writers Project And Hire...
A reborn FWP might enable us to confront five of the more pressing problems afflicting America today, a quintet we might think of as...
San Francisco To Get Its Own Institute Of Contemporary Art
Ali Gass, formerly the head of the ICA San Jose and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, has raised $2.5...
Is Making Wine Making Art?
Although winemakers have vision and bring that vision of what a particular wine should taste like to the blending table, their art depends inevitably...
Queen Of Denmark Hired As Designer On New Netflix Movie
Margrethe, who ascended to the Danish throne in 1972 and is commander-in-chief of the country’s defense forces, has also had a long career as an...
How Will Hollywood Know What Movies To Make With The Box Office So Screwed...
The result is a film industry in a fog, in many cases unable to even ascertain whether a movie is a hit or a...
In Search Of A New Frame For 9/11
Was it the beginning of something or a continuation? You can divide most of the anniversary specials between those that focus closely on the...
Behind China’s Crackdown On Popular Culture
At first glance, “common prosperity” and a desire to eliminate “sissy boy” fan culture seem like separate campaigns. But they point to a growing...
The Death Of Funny?
Could you sing this song at your nonprofit, apropos of nothing? Even with all the caveats in the world ahead of actually singing it?...
Our Technology Has Gotten Ahead Of Our Ability To Control It
Emergent technologies have gained far-reaching power over our politics, our economy, and our lives, and no consensus exists on what—if anything—to do about it....
The Art Restorers And The Art Thieves
“Behind every antiquities trafficking ring preying upon cultural heritage for profit, there is someone reassembling and restoring these looted pieces to lend the criminal...
The Curious Case Of The Misbegotten Couple Who Started An American National Ballet
“Was the dream ever real?” asked ANB’s erstwhile artistic director, Rasta Thomas. “Or did I really get hoodwinked?” - Vanity Fair
Afghanistan’s All-Female Orchestra Goes Dark
Formed in 2014, it became a global symbol of the freedom many Afghans began to enjoy in the 20 years since the Taliban last...
Does The Art World Still Have A Sense Of Humor?
Red tape and regulations have largely put paid to a congenial and very possibly no-less-profitable art world, as has the workload in oppressed, ever-leaner...