Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
What The Post-Plague Years In Medieval Europe Can Teach Us About Post-COVID
As we move toward a new, post-pandemic era, the tensions in the labor market of the 14th century may have something to teach us...
Bookstore Sales Up 28 Percent In 2021
The rebound was not quite enough to bring 2021 bookstore sales back to 2019 levels, falling 1% below 2019 sales of $9.13 billion. -...
Facebook… Er, Meta… Is Revamping Its Art Program
Open Arts was initially founded as a residency program at Facebook. Artists were commissioned to create work along with employees on site at the...
New Midwest Powerhouse? Iowa Public Radio To Take Over Licenses Of Six University Stations
IPR began managing broadcast operations at the stations in 2007 and now the Board of Regents of the universities will decide on a proposal...
Tate Britain Will Keep Blatantly Offensive Wall Painting, But Recontextualize It
Rex Whistler's wall painting includes depictions of black slaves on a leash and caricatures of Chinese figures. The room will no longer be used...
These Women Artists Weren’t “Forgotten.” They Were Erased
Unfortunately, much of the language that surrounds their retroactive inclusion — through museum retrospectives, new biographies, and increasing market interest — makes it seem...
Coming: A Digital Copy Of Your Brain
In 2016, Bill Ruh, then-CEO of GE Digital, predicted that “we will have a digital twin at birth, and it will take data off of the...
Our Evolving Understanding Of Stonehenge
Since 2001, there have been at least ten major archeological projects at or around Stonehenge, along with many smaller ones; many have involved techniques...
Viacom and CBS Change Name to Paramount
CBS is a foundational name in broadcasting — the Columbia Broadcasting System launch dates back to 1927 and the early days of commercial radio. The...
Melbourne Clubs, Musicians, Warn They’re Dying Under COVID Restrictions
“We used to play shows in Sydney, we can’t really get them much any more. There are no venues to play at. It’s a...
What Jonathan Larson Taught Me About My Relationship With Theatre
Every time I encounter his work, it forces me to confront head-on the most futile labor that defines my occupation: finding language to describe...
“Fixing” Old Musicals To Fit Today’s Social Sensibilities?
Jed Perl’s “Authority and Freedom: A Defense of the Arts” is useful in showing the problems with thinking of social justice as inherent to...
Why Do The Oscars Organizers Seem Determined To Self-Sabotage?
The Academy is coming off as “the absolute most insecure girl at the party.” Babe, you’re the Oscars. You should be the most confident person...
The Community Mythologies We Convince Ourselves Of
Whereas historians aim to create a relatively objective account of the past using rigorous professional standards of what counts as evidence, when members of...
America To Get Its Own Song Competition Based On The Long-running Eurovision Model
The extravaganza, prosaically titled American Song Contest, will see musicians from all 50 states, five US territories and Washington DC compete against each other,...
Should The Kennedy Center Be Creating More New Work?
The Kennedy Center’s mission statement says that one of its three pillars is “presenting, producing, and curating world-class art.” In theater, it’s relying these days...
What Can Be Learned From A Hollywood Union’s Attempts To Diversify?
The story of what happened when costumers tried to instigate reform is a tale of the frustrations and barriers to progress that exist in...
When You Talk To Yourself, What’s Going On?
From the perspective of psychology, there have also been many studies on the role of outer and inner speech in our thinking processes. An...
Calgary Arts Commons To Get Major $450 Million Addition
Arts Commons sees the new project as a means of engaging a larger set of Calgarians and providing space for everyday gatherings and informal...
Chicago Dance Community Aims To Take A Broader View Of Dance In The City
The city of Chicago has designated 2022 the Year of Chicago Dance in recognition of an art form that is ubiquitous, burgeoning, diverse—and precarious. - Chicago Reader
Court Says Failed Italian Bank Must Sell Its Caravaggio. But there’s A Big But…
But there’s a hitch: The valuable paintings, including a Caravaggio said to be worth millions, cannot physically be moved from their location due to national...
Why Everyone’s Talking About Defining Consciousness
For much of history, the nature of consciousness was the purview almost exclusively of philosophers and poets. It was not taken seriously as a...
Workers Aren’t Returning To The Office, But They’re Slowly Going Back To Movie Theatres
The return rate to movie theaters in the first week of February was 58% of what it was before the pandemic. Restaurants were nearly three-quarters as...
The Theatre Wisdom Of Stephen Sondheim
I learned all of these compositional principles from Babbitt. What it amounts to is, music exists in time, so how do you make...
Nothing But Guests: A Lineup Of Potential Music Directors For The NY Philharmonic
For the next six weeks, the Philharmonic’s calendar is filled with nothing but guests. - The New York Times
