Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Rembrandt Or Not?
“It was accepted unconditionally as a Rembrandt from 1823 to 1969,” he told the New York Times. “It’s a canonical image, and no one else...
Why We Need To Be Highly Critical Of New Artificial Intelligence Models
For us, critique is service. We critique because we care. And if these powerful companies cannot release systems that meet the expectations of those...
Artificial Intelligence Promises A Wild Future
Let’s say there’s a writer named Derek. One of the things that Derek does for The Atlantic is explain stuff. Well, if there’s a technology that...
Peter Marks: This Year’s Best Theatre
In many respects, 2022 was a transitional year. But in one, it was a traditional year, with a lot of splendid work to point...
Director Guillermo Del Toro: AI-Made Art Is An “Insult” To Humanity
“I consume and love art made by humans. I am completely moved by that. And I am not interested in illustrations made by machines...
Investors Bet YouTube Libraries Will Be Worth Millions
Investment firms for years have sought to lock up income streams from assets such as mineral rights and songwriter catalogs, with classic-rockers Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen cashing in for...
Simon Woods: Orchestras Need To Rethink The Music Director Role
It’s a sobering reality that few of the great artists of the past would be well equipped for the role of a music director...
Tech Enthusiast Makes AI-Created Children’s Book. He Gets Death Threats
I’m honestly just saddened by how that debate has played out. The hateful rhetoric and the abuse is really not fun to read." -...
Why Should Anyone Write In Cursive Anymore?
I understand that handwriting imprints the memory better — I notice it even in adulthood — but I am skeptical that there is a...
Growth As A Measure Of Success? How About De-Growth Instead?
Wealthy economies should abandon growth of gross domestic product (GDP) as a goal and focus economic activity around securing human needs and well-being. This...
ChatGPT Is Wildly Popular. The Site Keeps Crashing, And The AI Will Explain What’s...
Having only launched as a public beta on Nov. 30, ChatGPT crested well over a million users in five days. Since then, media coverage...
Apple Promised A New Classical Music Streaming App This Year. What Happened To It?
"Apple Music plans to launch a dedicated classical music app next year combining Primephonic's classical user interface," said an Apple Newsroom press release shared last year....
Museums’ Days Of Swashbuckling Collecting Are Over
Today many U.S. museums are facing a reckoning for their aggressive tactics of the past. Attitudes have shifted, the Indiana Jones era is over,...
Yoga Practitioners Push Back Against Cultural Appropriation
This week, practitioners in India have once again sought to draw attention to what they see as cultural appropriation of yoga, amid allegations it...
The Ambitious Public Art Going Into Seattle’s New Light Rail System
Just the long noun “government-agency-run public art” might’ve made some of you sleepy; the adjective “taxpayer-funded” might have others wondering where you put your...
Allegations Of Sexual Harassment At Juilliard
According to a 2020 survey conducted by the school, 11 percent of respondents indicated knowledge of a sexual assault that took place in a Juilliard-related context....
How A Seattle Dance Company Bought A Church
“When came in and showed us how they were going to love the space, to use it for art and dance, it was...
Post-Mortem: English National Opera
Did it have to die? The cause of death, in this coroner’s verdict, is a prolonged failure to address reality. Take opera in English,...
Principal Bans Students From Seeing “Oliver” Over Concerns About “Violence, Alcohol Use and Thievery.”
The Children's Musical Theatreworks show, which opened to general audiences on Dec. 2, wasn’t some new, explicit, souped-up version of the classic Broadway musical....
The History Of Books In Defining The World
Since all reading at that time occurred out loud rather than inside one’s head, the study rooms were a modern librarian’s nightmare: no one...
Rise Of The Virtual AI Girl Bands
In fact, there's mainly one big difference between them and any other pop group you might know - all 11 members are virtual characters....
Crappy Pay Is Pushing Writers Out Of Publishing
The report shows a drop in the proportion of full-time authors from 40% of those surveyed in 2006 to just 19% today. This shows...
Some Fears About The Future Of Choreography
Difficult conversations about intention, taste, and editing are vital for the sake of developing successful new work. With focused training, and subsequent appropriate delivery...
Have We Reached The End Of Our Love Affair With Celebrity Memoirs?
According to industry magazine the Bookseller, hardback sales of celebrity autobiographies are down compared to last year, when titles by Billy Connolly, Bob Mortimer and Dave...
This Year’s Turner Prize Winner Is Older. Makes Sense.
There is something universally cheery and comforting about the phrase “oldest ever winner” – designed to put a glint in the middle-aged eye and...
