Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Why The Record Sale Price For The Frida Kahlo Painting Is Nothing To Celebrate
In the rush to map cultural issues like gender disparity onto high-level financial trading, we’re forgetting that this has nothing to do with gender...
Those Eureka Moments And Why They’re So Remarkable
You never feel as if you’re getting warmer; rather, you go from cold to hot, seemingly in an instant. Or, as the neuropsychologist Donald...
If Machines Do Most Of Our Writing, What Will Happen To Human Writing?
If you’re more likely to read something written by AI than by a human on the internet, is it only a matter of time...
As Our Machines Get More Intelligent, We Keep Redefining What Intelligence Is
Machine intelligence meets or surpasses humanlike abilities in many areas—but being an embodied human is complex, and our grasp of intelligence has grown significantly....
Broadway’s “Queen Of Versailles” To Close After Only A Few Weeks
The musical, based on a 2012 documentary about a Florida couple seeking to build a palatial home but stymied by an economic downturn, is yet another...
The Taj Mahal Has Become A Flashpoint Of Controversy
The symbol of love is now a flash point in India’s historical antagonism between Hindus and minority Muslims, a battle between historians — a...
Drawing A Line: As 21st-Century Pop Culture Got Stale, The Counterculture Became Right Wing
In place of the bohemian idealism of previous countercultural movements, this counter-counterculture embraced cynicism, scoffing at inclusivity and progress. - The New York Times
LA Phil Reduces Its Youth Orchestra Program (YOLA)
“This decision comes as we assess how to best serve the Los Angeles community with recent economic challenges and shifts in funding for the...
One Big Beautiful Bill: Architecture Is No Longer A Professional Degree
Under the terms of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the provision of student loans in the USA will be overhauled starting 1 July, 2026, with...
The Real Origins Of Disneyland
So perhaps it’s more accurate to say that, with Disneyland, it all started with a holiday to Chicago. - Los Angeles Times
Wicked Part 2 Sets Opening Weekend Box Office Records
Not only is it the biggest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, unseating the record set by the first film’s $112 million launch, it’s also...
The Man Who Helped Determine The American Literary Canon
Determining what the nation did and did not read was the through line of Malcolm Cowley’s career. He was a great discoverer and nurturer...
Why The Gustav Klimt Fetched a Record Price
The painting is valued so highly because it carries a deep personal and political history – and because the artist’s incredible skill once helped it serve as a...
San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre Chief To Step Down
Pam MacKinnon will step down as artistic director of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) at the close of the 2025-2026 season, ending an eight-year...
Education Before AI Was Still Highly Problematic
We "blame everything wrong with education on generative AI rather than acknowledge deep and justifiable concerns we have had for a while. Course Hero,...
Why Artists Shouldn’t Be Running Arts Organizations
Arts schools, almost by definition, assume the centrality of the art itself. They reinforce the idea that the work is intrinsically valuable and that...
A Terrific Explainer (With Examples) Of How Movie Special Effects Are Made
When was the last time you saw incredible CGI or other visual effects? Probably a tougher question to answer. That’s because VFX, like any...
Philadelphia Art Museum Charges Former Director With Financial Misconduct
That investigation, the motion states, concluded that Suda had “misappropriated funds from the Museum and lied to cover up her theft.” - ARTnews
Superman Comic No.1 Sells For Record Price
A copy of Superman No 1 that was discovered in an attic in California last year has become the world’s most expensive comic book after selling...
BBC Is Now Losing $1 Billion/Year In Lost Licensing
The BBC is now losing more than £1bn a year from households either evading the licence fee or deciding they do not need one, according to...
Research: Students Learning With AI Say They Learn Less
The data revealed a consistent pattern: People who learned about a topic through an LLM versus web search felt that they learned less, invested...
Louvre President, Under Fire, Defends The Museum
Some, including a prominent art critic, have said she should lose her job, and she has been called to testify twice before Parliament. The...
Three Bids To Buy Warner Bros. Discovery
Netflix, Paramount and Comcast submitted bids to acquire the Hollywood colossus, which owns the Warner Bros. movie studio, HBO, and cable networks like CNN...
Frida Kahlo Painting Sells for $54.7 — Most Ever For A Woman Artist
The 1940 canvas, “The Dream (The Bed),” topped the previous record held by a $44.4 million Georgia O’Keeffe, “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1” that sold...
We Think We Need To Get Bigger To Be Happy. That’s Wrong
We tend to believe that to be happier, we need to become bigger in our own mind, and in the minds of others. But that’s wrong....
