Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Why You Can’t Love A Clone
Even if a new mug – or a clone – is identical to the original in every visible way, the fact that it is not the same alters...
Fighting Over Art And Politics Again (And Again)
Identity, even when mobilized as a force for visibility and justice, can shield art from critique—transforming dissent into offense and rendering criticism suspect. Questioning...
How Politics Made Contemporary Art Predictable And Dull
The ambition to explore every facet of the present was quickly replaced by a devout commitment to questions of equity and accountability. There was...
The Global Elite Have Given Up On Spelling And Grammar
The literary breaches, while trivial, highlight a reality that has become all too clear: There’s an inverse correlation between power and proper punctuation. - The...
Marseille Has A Thriving Artist Community. So Why Might The City Elect A Far...
If your experience of Marseille is limited to certain multicultural central neighbourhoods then it might be easy to assume that this is – and...
This Year’s Spotify Report: Music Business Is Increasingly Global
Spotify said artists from 75 different countries had generated at least $500,000 in streaming royalties last year, compared to 66 the year prior, with...
Making The Case For Opera In Odd Spaces
Sitting in front of the singers, without the distraction of the sets or even an orchestra, I found myself face to face with Mozart’s...
The LiveNation Settlement Will Solve Nothing
With a fine equivalent to a few days’ revenue and some marginal changes to its business practices, Live Nation will, more or less, plow...
Handicapping The Oscars
Whatever happens on Oscar Sunday, I suspect that the two front-runners will share the spotlight in a spirit as companionable as it is competitive. -...
Simon & Schuster Hires Former Amazon Exec As New CEO
The choice of Greg Greeley marks the first time in memory that Simon & Schuster had hired a CEO from outside the company. The...
Yearning For The Meaning Of Consciousness
"What I find moving in these discussions is the intense yearning for a world that is more alive than secular scientists might think it...
The Collective Community Wound When Famous Buildings Burn
The fire will have obvious economic consequences for the city, particularly through the loss of businesses caught in and close to the fire. But...
Exodus Of Top Staff At The Art Gallery Of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario deputy director and chief curator Julian Cox will leave his post this April after eight years in the role, marking the latest departure...
Roblox Is Hugely Popular — But What Is It Teaching Our Kids?
Roblox burgeoned during the COVID-19 pandemic; many of my students told me that their most cherished remote-learning memories were actually ditching Zoom classes to play Roblox...
Is There Still Room For “Beautiful” Mathematics In An AI World?
GH Hardy believed there should be a strong aesthetic judgment in mathematics, drawing parallels with poetry, and argued that beauty is the first test of good...
Why The German Government Feels Threatened By Independent Bookshops
Independent bookshops are dangerous because they interrupt us. They do not optimise our curiosity. They derail it. Is that the reason why Germany’s culture...
Longtime Kennedy Center Patrons Contemplate A Shutdown
For many loyal patrons, the question has become how to fill the void left by the cancellations and the impending two-year closing. - The...
The Argument Against Optimizing
What you lose in optimizing morality is the same thing you lose in maximizing your airline-mile spend. In other words, nothing quantifiable—but precisely the...
Amazon Pulls Sponsorship Of Paris Bookfair After Accusations Of Promoting AI Books
The SLF has been sharply critical of Amazon, arguing that it destabilises the book trade. In a statement reported by the Bookseller, it accused the...
How Gen Z Is Hacking The High Cost Of Music Festivals
Enter Breakaway: a growing dance-music festival brand built on the premise of making concerts and festivals accessible and affordable again. - Fortune
How Does The Troubled Philadelphia Museum Of Art Get Its Swing Back? Here Are...
The museum today is focused on the fact that fewer visitors are coming now than before the pandemic, and the concern is legitimate. But...
Directors Are Mattering More In Hollywood
An emerging trend skews more classic Hollywood—directors, particularly those who might be considered auteurs for their well-defined aesthetic and storytelling style, have begun to...
How Hollywood Has Adjusted Its Messaging During The Second Trump Administration
The creators of some of the more politically compelling movies and TV shows of the past year have explored how being alive feels during...
An Opera Singer Who’s Made A Name As A Car Salesman
He started making videos of himself performing robust opera arias while standing outside on a car lot, wearing his name tag. He composed lyrics...
Quentin Tarantino Has Written A Theatre Farce For The West End
The stranger-than-fiction truth is that Tarantino has written an original, old-fashioned British farce, in the door-slamming, trouser-dropping, mistaken identity vein of Brian Rix or...
