Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
UK Proposes Spending £46 Million On Statue Of Queen Elizabeth. Should It?
Such a staggering budget may seem to befit the late queen, a towering figure of British history, but why is so much money being thrown...
How Researchers Stitched Together 8000 Images To Reveal Medieval Painting In A Church
The image was created by digitally stitching more than 8,000 photographs of the curving walls, taken in the crawl space behind the panelling which...
Where’s The Art Market Going In 2025?
If the market woes of 2024 continue, expect 2025 to winnow the field of art fairs, auction houses, and galleries. Lest we forget, the...
Amid Media Viewership Declines, E! News Surges With 11 Billion Views In 2024
The success was led by Instagram, which was up 49% to 5.6B video views, according to internal data from NBCUniversal. - Deadline
Sales Of Physical Recordings Up For First Time In 20 Years In UK —...
Women led the way in recorded music this year, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), topping the singles chart for 34 out of...
Losing The Plot: There Are Only So Many Story-Types (And We’re Good At Recycle)
If we think of plots in the mathematicians’ terms, as data sets whose patterns can be objectively mapped and compared, then perhaps it makes...
How Classical Music Has Been Repurposed For TikTok
Despite these odds and obstacles, classical music — an art form best known for constantly dying and losing its grip on popular culture —...
Reports: Interest In Classical Music Is Gaining
According to a 2022 study from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, people under 35 are actually more likely to listen to classical music than their parents. In...
Some Indie Movies Thrived This Year. Here’s Why
It wasn’t just because those films were artistically accomplished — it’s because inventive ad campaigns helped make them feel like events you needed to...
Twelve Big Architecture Projects To Look Forward To In 2025
Here's a look at 12 exciting architecture projects expected to open in 2025, including a giant domed skyspace and an earth-covered sports complex. - Dezeen
Hollywood’s 2024 Box Office: Down A Bit
Even though there’s still $2B-$3B missing in the post-Covid annual domestic box office, there was plenty to be thankful for in 2024 which is...
A Correction In The Art Market
2024 was peppered with lawsuits, auction records, and disappointing performances, more than a few gallery closings, and a lot of hot air forecasting that...
Ten Questions About Theatre For 2025
The year 2025 begins with some short-term questions about theater – the fate of “Warriors,” the effect of “Wicked”?– and more long-term ones –...
Wacky Premise, Crazy Start: Some Of 2024’s Best Books (As Chosen By Editors)
To help us recap the highlights we're joined now by two familiar faces, Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR's "Fresh Air," and Gilbert Cruz,...
Opera — A Synthesis Of All The Arts (Or A “Circus Of Sensation”)
Wagner described his ideal opera as a “total work of art”, meaning an artwork that brings together all the arts into a single masterwork": music,...
The Authenticity Problem At Historical Recreations
Aura matters, and for good reason. The presence of a historical object focuses the mind on it, its maker, and its context in ways...
How Schools Are Expanding What Music Education Is
Step into a music class today and you might find laptops, turntables and MIDI controllers joining the expected clarinets, recorders and violins. From elementary...
Studying the Scriptures According To TSwift
Swift’s music still forms the basis of their interest in her. Fans study it like scripture, offering various interpretations of the lyrics. Uniting these...
This Year In Great Sentences, Frank Bruni Edition
In The Times, Jason Farago defended an artistic movement against its detractors: “If you find Monet, Renoir, Degas too pretty and popular — if you think...
Musicians We Lost In 2024
A list of prominent musicians who dies in 2024. - Gramilano
The Top Library Stories Of 2024
It's been a challenging year for libraries. - Publishers Weekly
Top Archaeology Stories Of 2024
From sexy frescoes emerging from the ashes to hidden cities surfacing due to Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scans, archaeologists continue to make discoveries...
The “Unphilosophical” Life?
Thinking hard makes sense if you want answers; it makes less sense if the highest reward you anticipate from your intellectual efforts is surprise....
Why Are We So Fascinated With Our Own Demise?
Young people today are no less obsessed with climate disasters than Gen X was with nuclear war. Where we had nightmares about missiles, theirs...
What Accounts For Those New Year’s Music Traditions?
For old time’s sake, we sing “Auld Lang Syne.” We embrace the waltz to remember and ward off depression. Everywhere in the world there...