Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
An AI Breakthrough In Creating Images
"One way you can think about this neural network is transcendent beauty as a service,” says Ilya Sutskever, cofounder and chief scientist at OpenAI....
The Heart Of Video Game Culture
“Film has Cannes. Video games have G.D.C.,” Marie Foulston, a London-based curator and producer of video-game and digital-art exhibitions, told me. “It has become...
What, Exactly, Is The Point Of The Venice Biennale?
Looking at the superyachts in the Grand Canal, that the Biennale is a prism of wealth inequality that we’re effectively sanctioning. We go anyway,...
The New New Thing: Video Game Book Clubs
Unlike many "real" book clubs and video game podcasts, they're less interested in new releases—focusing instead on detailed analysis of popular retro titles. -...
Why We Find The Internet So Exhausting
It's not just that you’re the product. You’re also the laborer, the factory, and the logistician. You’re also the resource. And your boss is...
The Art Of Buying Books You Haven’t Read To Decorate Your Room
It turns out the bookshelf bulk-buy is standard practice among the rich and famous – and increasingly so, since books have become established as...
Could Will Smith Lose His Oscar?
Hollywood-watchers say the academy is walking a tightrope: how can it take a stand now after failing to act against other members' misconduct for decades?...
Ed Sheeran Wins Song Plagiarism Fight
In a video on social media, he said there was now a culture "where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement...
UN Climate Report Slams Contemporary Architecture
Policies that favor wasteful new construction, and do little to encourage environmentally minded retrofits, have hindered the building industry’s ability to curb its footprint. -...
LA’s Comedy Store Turns 50
The late co-founder and longtime owner Mitzi Shore always envisioned the historic institution on L.A.’s Sunset Boulevard as an “artists colony,” a protected enclave...
Entertainment Glut: Streaming Platforms Offer 100s Of Thousands Of Shows
As of February 2022, there were more than 817,000 unique program titles across traditional TV and streaming services in the U.S., with many of...
Is There A Relationship Between Sadness And Making Art?
The data (as well as Aristotle’s intuition, per his question about the prominence of melancholics in the arts) suggest that the answer is yes. -...
War, Images, And Ukraine
The fact that Ukraine feels more culturally familiar to many people watching these events closely has had a profound impact not just on the...
Marin Alsop On Reimagining Beethoven’s Ninth
"The thing that always struck me about the symphony is that you have the sense that the listeners are enduring the first three movements...
The Collapse Of Russian Theatre
Artur Solomonov describes the mood in the Russian theaters in the wake of the invasion as “complete shock . . . the realization that...
When Crosswords Became A Craze (100 Years Ago)
The modern “word-cross” appeared for the first time in print in the December 21, 1913 edition of New York World’s FUN Supplement. Section editor Arthur...
The Mythologies Of The Writer’s Blank Page
If all works of literature are haunted by the ideal forms of which they are but imperfect instantiations, then the blank book symbolises the...
Can African Museums Transcend Colonial History?
Is an African museum, designed by an African architect, capable of undoing this level of institutional violence? Can it go beyond a restaging of...
How Classical Music Influences Heavy Metal Pop
One can be forgiven for failing to see any common threads between these two seemingly divergent entities. However, a closer look reveals evidence to...
The Bridgerton Factor: Viewers Flocking To English Country Estates
The regal properties are reporting a “Bridgerton factor” as people enchanted by the baroque interiors and bucolic gardens of the hit show decide to...
How Neuroscience Is Failing To Explain How Art Works
“If you define neuroaesthetics as the use of neuroscience to explain art and aesthetic experience, then it is not surprising that neuroaesthetics fails: art...
Media Critic Eric Boehlert, 62, Killed On Bicycle
A frequent commentator on television and radio, as well as a prolific writer, Mr. Boehlert never shied away from searing critiques of what he...
The Rot Of American Higher Education Was Put On View Last Week
The unspoken secret had been fleetingly exposed: Free labor is a fact of academic life. “These arrangements are common in academia.” - The New York...
The Case For Nationalizing An American Cultural Treasure
Like the Delta blues or Yellowstone National Park, baseball is as indelibly American as it is painfully uncommercial. Left to fend for itself, the...
The Thinking Behind The Mellon Foundation’s Unusual New Logo
Moving away from “literal sensibilities” for logo choices, Opara tells It’s Nice That, the team went for a more symbolic direction, developing a morphing...
