Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
How The US Government Shutdown Is Affecting Museums
Smithsonian–run institutions remain open using funds from previous years through October 11. Should the shutdown last beyond that date, the Smithsonian will also close....
What The LA Fires Taught The Art World
While the scope and scale of the art losses are still being determined, claims may take years to resolve. - ARTnews
How Taylor Swift’s Marketing Machine Guarantees Success
At time of writing, over 24 different versions of the CD and vinyl have been released. These include different colour vinyls, different cover images,...
Francis Fukuyama: Why Populism Has Been On The Rise
After pondering these questions for nearly a decade, I have come to conclude that technology broadly and the internet in particular stand out as...
Universities Respond To Trump Proposal Of A “Compact”
“This action targets funding for things like cancer research, Pell Grants for students from low-income backgrounds, and criteria for hiring faculty. This displays a...
AI Seems To Be Homogenizing Our Thinking
Of course, a writer can in theory always refuse an A.I.-generated suggestion. But the tools seem to exert a hypnotic effect, causing the constant...
How The Museum of Moden Art Store Became A Big Brand On Its Own
The MoMA Store has become a brand in and of itself to the point where there are shoppers who know the acronym and logo...
How “Tilly” Is Dividing Hollywood
There have, of course, been AI actors before. Carrie Fisher was famously resurrected for The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. James Cameron used background “actors” to...
The Biographer: Data Mining? Or Something Else?
“How can you write in a way that shows somebody working day after day on a piece of work?” asks Richard Holmes, with the...
Maureen Dowd: In The Forest Of The Uncanny Valley
Human connections have been eroding for some time. We’re all dwelling in Uncanny Valley now, staring into our personal screens, not sure what’s real...
Theatre As Narrative? Why?
“I have a real problem with the idea that theater is meant to achieve narrative fluidity, as if it could somehow resolve the world’s...
AI Is Getting Very Good At Creating Fake Crowds. Why That’s A Problem
This observation could potentially have serious consequences in a society where images of big, engaged crowds at public events like rock concerts, protests and...
Hollywood Actors Are Furious About AI-“Actor” Tilly
“They are going to use our work, use all this information, to perfect every possible inflection and expression. And they are just going to...
Report: For The First Time, More Americans Get Their News From Social Media Than...
“The proportion accessing news via social media and video networks in the United States (54%) is sharply up,” the report’s authors write, “overtaking both...
College Radio Is Booming. Why?
Stations that once struggled to fill airtime are now turning people away, shortening shows, alternating time slots, and running training programs just to keep...
Protest As A Collaborative Art Form
Global protests are not just about chanting slogans and marching anymore. What was really eye-opening was seeing different groups coming together organically and using...
The Orange County Museum Of Art “No Longer Exists” After University Merger
“OCMA as it existed no longer exists. The employees and everything else pertaining to the museum is transferred to the university.” - Los Angeles...
European Museums Report Increased Political Interference
Museum organisations across the continent reported various types of interference. Three key areas were outlined by the questionnaire. - The Art Newspaper
Long Wharf Theatre’s Artistic Director to Step Down
Padrón, who joined the theatre in 2019, led the nonprofit through a period of change that included adopting a new producing model, staging performances...
Steven Holl-Designed Bellevue Arts Museum Building Sold After Bankruptcy
BAM closed last year following financial collapse and filed for receivership, a court process akin to bankruptcy. - Seattle Times
Report: Florida Is The Most-Censored State In The US
PEN America, which has filed a lawsuit challenging removals in the state, reported Florida had more than 2,300 titles pulled from campus shelves last school...
The Creative Fertility Of Empty Space
Like the negative space against which words become visible (voids emphasised in Cage’s original typography), nothing generates speech and the speaker, poetry and the...
A Short History Of Amateur Internet Culture
For most, participation in the online attention economy feels like a tax, or maybe a trickle of revenue, rather than free fun or a...
Cancel Culture Is Ascendant. But What Is It?
Some say canceling is an act of redress, a powerful display of solidarity. Others blame it on a mob. Still others have considered it...
Los Angeles’ Movie Industry Is In Freefall, Unraveling In Front Of Us
The entertainment industry is in a downward spiral that began when the dual strikes by actors and writers ended in 2023. Work is evaporating, businesses are...
