Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Everyone Sees Color Differently
Colour, as many people understand it, is the property of a thing. That light is green. The sky is blue. But scientifically, that’s not...
A Year Of Firsts For The International Booker Prize
It’s a year of firsts for the International Booker: this is the first time that a collection of stories has won; it’s the first...
Barry Diller’s Juicy Memoir: Postcard From A Hollywood That No Longer Exists
These days, two factors are pushing the fun out of memoirs. For one, the entertainment business itself is, as has been much remarked, a...
How AI Is Changing Theatre
We’re currently “embedded in the fourth industrial revolution” and points out that, like in previous revolutions, there is always a period of disruption and...
The Universe Beyond Human Sight (As Revealed By Technology)
Venturing even a tiny bit beyond the red edge of the rainbow, into the undiscovered country of the infrared, is a transformative experience: it...
This AI Is My Dance Partner
“When I’m dancing with her, I feel her feeding energy back to me. It’s not quite like being on stage with another human, but...
Charlotte Symphony Busts Through Its Fundraising Goal
The orchestra unveiled details of its three-year comprehensive campaign in April 2024, after having already quietly raised $41 million since 2022. As of Wednesday,...
The Case That The World Is Still Getting Better
Rutger Bregman, 37, is a Dutch historian who has written best-selling books arguing that the world is better (mostly meaning wealthier, healthier and more...
Diversity Is Now Deeply Embedded In Today’s Theatre
"After a weekend of seeing four very different plays at four unique theatres, the word that hung in my mind was diversity. So many people...
The Influential Women Movie Critics Of Boston
During the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Boston’s daily newspapers employed some of the nation’s best-known film critics. All of them were women. They...
Diplomatic Row After Iranian Film Wins At Cannes
Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the prestigious Palme d'Or for his film It Was Just an Accident on Saturday, a political drama inspired by his time...
How The Cartoon Channel Made A Case For Animation And Fell Prey To Corporate...
Cartoon Network is an excellent case study for how the conditions of media conglomeration shape how media is made and curated. And in making...
The Point Of Mass Education? Obedience?
In the vast majority of education systems, you still see these disciplinary and coercive roots very embedded in the character of how schools today...
Fukuyama: As Science Helps Us Live Longer, The Downsides Multiply
There is a lot of happy talk among gerontologists about how people can remain open to new ideas and able to reinvent their lives...
Archaeologists Uncover Large Ancient Marble Workshop In Greece
Paros wasn’t just rich in natural resources. It was also a hub for artistry and culture. At a dig on the site of Floga,...
What’s The Rococo Remake Of The Oval Office All About?
A parade of golden objects march across the mantel, relegating the traditional Swedish ivy to a greenhouse. Gilded Rococo wall appliqués, nearly identical to...
Why Are Silicon Valley Tech Leaders So Obsessed With Tolkien?
How did a trilogy of novels about wizards and elves and furry-footed hobbits become a touchstone for right-wing power brokers? How did books that...
The West Prizes Individualism. But It Breeds A Mindset That Isn’t Always Best For...
Even when we criticise individualism, we remain entrenched in individualist modes of thinking. Liberal and conservative, religious or secular, hip-hop or punk or country...
People Love Janacek’s Music When They Hear It. So Why Isn’t He More Popular?
They are as propulsive and viscerally affecting as Arthur Miller plays, but those who haven’t heard them often think they’re esoteric, strictly for connoisseurs....
Two Of Seattle’s Most-Established Theatres Have Merged. So What Does That Mean?
The hope among ACT staff members, both past and present, is that, as this entity prepares to launch, ACT’s artist-focused legacy continues on through...
Brian Eno: What Art Does
The art schools were easy to get into and their teachers were well regarded. The schools’ core view was that the postwar world would...
Director Michael Arden Steps Into The Broadway Light
This season, Arden has given Broadway its most surprising and heartwarming new musical, “Maybe Happy Ending.” The show, which originated in South Korea, is...
Why Homer Still Resonates 3000 Years Later
Small wonder that the “Odyssey," a staple of the Western canon and the progenitor of so much, from sci-fi to rom-com, has been enjoying...
Wisconsin Arts Organizations Struggle For Funding
In an era when Wisconsin has consistently ranked near the bottom in per capita arts spending nationwide — and with ticket sales declining since...
Politics And The NEA
“The current mood is one of dreadful anticipation of further hostility toward arts and culture, in general, and toward any institution or organization —...
