Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
New Research: Vermeer’s Major Patron Was A Woman
The identity of Vermeer’s patron is of vital importance, since they purchased half of the artist’s entire oeuvre, at least 20 paintings. Equally significantly,...
Disney Will Reduce Spending On “Content” By $3 Billion
Disney still expects its content spending to remain “in the low $30 billion range” for fiscal 2023. - The Hollywood Reporter
The New Zealand Government Just Boosted Its Culture Funding. So How Will It Be...
While this Ministry of Culture and Heritage announcement is money already in the kitty for the sector’s from the COVID recovery fund rather...
We’re Learning Lots About How Brains Work. Here Are Three Misconceptions
From the myth that humans only use 10 percent of their brain to the idea that creativity and logic is a "right-brained" versus "left-brained" issue, there are many...
Is It Time To Rethink The Idea Of States In America? (Do Mega-Cities Make...
The modern U.S. economy is really made up of metropolitan regions, not states whose boundaries are arbitrary compared to local economies. A 2009 study...
America’s Theatres Are Struggling After COVID
"The key question is, what are the things that are being done in order to emerge from the pandemic in a sustainable way?" said...
Why Can’t We Get Certain Songs Out Of Our Heads?
I’ve got my Pods in and, for reasons I can’t explain but that they may one day understand, I am compelled to listen to...
How LA’s Shiny New Football Stadium Became A Venue For Art
A representative for SoFi Stadium told Hyperallergic via email that “over 15,000 guests have bought tickets to tour the Collection, but hundreds of thousands...
AI Image Generators Can Offer Some Pretty Creepy Results. But That’s Not The Only...
What stood out to me, even more than the witchy, misshapen fingers, was that the couples were all white. Every single one of them. -...
Black Sabbath Goes To The Ballet
The brainchild of Birmingham Royal Ballet director Carlos Acosta and the band's Tony Iommi, the ballet will premiere in Birmingham in September. It will...
In An Age Of Plenty, Documentaries Face An Existential Crisis
As the streaming boom took off, a number of companies tried to crack the problem of how to make good documentaries at the speed and...
My Book Was Canceled. Just Who Is In Charge Here?
What motivates the anti-colonialist cancellers? On the surface, of course, they believe that I’m wrong. But only on the surface. They could react, as...
How California’s Festival Of New Music Came Into Being
“The fact that it’s not curated gives everybody a lot of freedom and the chance to engage in the innovation this state is known...
Where Emotions Live In A Culture
I don’t think culture is one thing. Sometimes it is a set of understandings and practices that we share with other people who have...
Alex Ross: Assessing The Impact Of Michael Tilson Thomas
In his youth, he was expected to take over one of the so-called Big Five—the venerable orchestras of the East and the Midwest. Instead,...
Justin Davidson: Assessing The New York Phil’s Dudamel Appointment
By now, he’s a seasoned artistic leader who has hired players, weathered contract negotiations, laid long-term plans, raised money, and performed all the practical...
Gustavo Dudamel Will Be The New York Phil’s Next Music Director
Just a decade ago, there were concerns about its future. Now its home, David Geffen Hall, has reopened after a $550 million renovation, and it has secured in...
Have We Misunderstood Originality In Art?
It might just be inevitable to conclude that, as Shakespeare himself wrote, ‘there be nothing new, but that which is hath been before’ –...
Mind-To-Mind Connection
‘Good old-fashioned telepathy’ (GOFT) involves a direct transfer of thoughts from one mind to another. It has captivated people for a few reasons. - Aeon
UK Gets Another New Culture Minister (12th In 13 Years)
Frazer has expressed little or no interest in the UK’s creative industries publicly. One of her few interventions came in 2021 when, as Financial...
Houston Grand Opera Gets $22 Million Gift
HGO announced a gift of $22 million, the largest in the organization’s 68-year history. The benefactors: Sarah and Ernest Butler, two Austin-based opera fans...
In Which We Try To Convince You Of Similarities Between Classical Music And Heavy...
There are many technical similarities between classical music, especially music from the baroque period, and metal, which others more versed in music theory are...
A New Database Shows American Museums And Universities That Still Hold Native American Artifacts...
33 years after the law’s passage, at least half of the remains of more than 210,000 Native Americans have yet to be returned. Tribes...
The Right’s Attack On African-American Studies And What’s At Stake
In the so-called concern about the left ruling the campuses, what we actually have is an onslaught by the right wing to control what...
X-Rays Reveal Portrait Under Cezanne Masterpiece
The X-ray, oriented on its side, has the original Still Life composition occupying two quadrants on the right. But the left side—the black backdrop of the...
