Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Rethinking Origins Of The Blues
What is original, real, and distinctive about black Southern culture is still often distorted or dismissed as primitive. And that is true not only...
An Ancient City Off The Coast Of Italy Re-emerges From The Sea
For centuries, Aenaria had existed somewhere between history and myth. Today, its rediscovery is reshaping Ischia's story – and offering travellers the rare chance each...
Why Putting Tariffs On Foreign Films Is An Idiotic Idea
The tariff idea arises from the worldview that treats international exchange as a threat — and cultural expression as just another import to tax....
The Frustrations Of Advocating For The Arts
Advocacy emerges from discontent. In the arts, it’s often borne of witnessing creative practice undervalued, institutions destabilised and public funding eroded. These grievances are...
Why We Choose To Ignore Useful Information Right In Front Of Us
If the saying ‘knowledge is power’ is true, then most people hold an indefinite amount of power in their pockets. And, in this light,...
Recent Rulings On AI And Copyright Leave The Issue More Confused Than Ever
On certain key points, the two judges disagreed with each other—so thoroughly, in fact, that one legal scholar observed that the judges had “totally...
Artnet Staff: Our Favorite Art Books Of All Time
The books that made impressions on people who care about art. - Artnet
What Brain Scans Reveal About Humans Seeking Revenge
Recent neuroscience discoveries reveal a chilling picture: Your brain on revenge looks like your brain on drugs. Brain imaging studies show that grievances—real or imagined perceptions...
How Women From The Former East Germany Are Shaking Up The Museum World
What these women offer isn’t nostalgia. It’s clarity. A resistance to simplification. A belief that history is not a finished room. In Kathleen Reinhardt’s...
Hollywood Bowl LA Phil Season Opens On A Down Note
One of the highlights of this season has fallen victim to a baffling Venezuela travel ban. Gustavo Dudamel can no longer bring his Simón Bolivar...
Historic Documents Stolen Ten Years Ago From Dutch National Archives Are Found In Attic
A decade ago, an employee stole 25 priceless documents from the Netherlands’ National Archives in the Hague. The trove included 16th-century records of clandestine government affairs, a...
AI Slop Is Swamping Publishing
Creative professionals have long found themselves amid an existential crisis in a market where profits are slim and the vast majority of them will...
Bronx Museum Picks A New Director
Shamim M. Momin is, most recently director of curatorial affairs at the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle and co-founder of Los Angeles Nomadic Division, succeeds Klaudio Rodriguez, who...
First Look At LACMA’s New Home
Created to house the museum’s permanent art collection, the David Geffen Galleries increase the total museum space from 130,000 square feet to 220,000 square...
Columbia University In Discussion To Pay Trump Administration $200 Million
Part of the money would be paid to the government, people familiar with the matter said. White House officials said the deal also includes...
Kennedy Center’s Director Of Jazz Joins Long Line Of Leaders Quitting
He is the latest administrator to leave the performing arts center following the Trump takeover. Other administrators who also left included Renée Fleming, Shonda Rhimes and...
Restaurants Consider Ditching Recorded Music Because Of Higher Licensing Fees
The National Restaurant Assn. said its members pay an average of $4,500 per year to license music, or 0.5% of the average U.S. small...
The Harvard Linguist Who’s Figured Out How Algorithms Have Shaped Our Language
“I want to balance being a ‘ha-ha funny’ TikToker with academic credibility. It’s a little hard to strike that balance when you are talking...
La Scala To Ticket-Buyers: No Flip Flops! (We Mean It!!)
The venue is stepping up the enforcement of its dress code this summer, reminding patrons via signs in the foyer to dress “in keeping...
Does It Matter if That Art You Liked Was Fake?
I wondered what it meant if the Greek water jar I had been so moved by, depicting a woman who may have been Sappho...
The Bayeux Tapestry Was Too Fragile To Move. So Now It’s Visiting England? What...
The shift in tone may seem stark, but the Bayeux Museum said it had carried out tests – including a dress rehearsal with a...
Scrappy Indie Publisher John Martin, 94
Martin, an adventurous independent publisher who brought out the raucous work of the poet Charles Bukowski, as well as the writing of other offbeat...
Casing The Joint: Homeland Security Descends On Chicago’s National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts
According to the museum, officers told staff that they were there in an attempt to assess places where undocumented immigrants might enter and leave...
Oakland Eliminates Its Top Arts Manager Position
The Oakland City Council passed a budget on June 11 that eliminated its Cultural Affairs Manager position, citing budgetary concerns. But critics say money-saving...
How Ancient Water Clocks Changed Our Notions Of Time
As ancient civilisations began to need more reliable timekeeping mechanisms, the technology took an extraordinary leap forward with the advent of dependable water clocks,...
