Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
The Truth About Finding Your Own Creativity
The myth of the genius is that these individuals woke up one morning and excelled. As a result, too many people are convinced that either you’re creative...
The Really Good News Out Of This Year’s Tonys
On Sunday, the Tony Awards paid homage to the astonishing array of acting talent that drew audiences back to the theater. But it wasn’t star power...
The Great Unwinding: Warner Discovery Will Break Up
The decision to split is a major about-face from the conventional wisdom in the industry when Warner Bros. Discovery was created three years ago...
Smithsonian Pushes Back Against Trump Over Attempt To Fire Portrait Gallery Director
The statement, which does not mention Trump, Sajet or the NPG, goes on to obliquely rebuke the president’s claims, clarifying that he does not have...
How Irving Thalberg Helped Create Hollywood’s Golden Age
Thalberg produced some three or four hundred movies in his years at M-G-M, ranging from big pictures like “Mutiny on the Bounty” to the...
As AI Writing Becomes More Ubiquitous, Will We Change How Humans Write?
Will we now push ourselves to write in a style that means we can’t possibly be confused for AI? Might we try to sound...
Is Poetry Just About The Words? (Not Really)
While what’s lost in translation is admittedly enormous, to conclude that poetry is therefore untranslatable is to fundamentally misrepresent both what poetry is and...
Rural America Will Be The Loser If Congress Defunds Public Broadcasting
“This would disproportionately harm rural areas and smaller communities, where public media really is a lifeline,” said Tim Richardson of PEN America. - The...
Judge Rules Trump Can Dismantle Institute of Museum and Library Services
In Friday’s ruling, the judge wrote that as much as the “Court laments the Executive Branch’s efforts to cut off this lifeline for libraries...
Now That Taylor Swift Owns Her Music, What Happens To Her Re-Recordings?
Some fans are disappointed that we may never see the last two rerecordings, though Swift has hinted that she might be willing to release...
Tracing Back Where All Our Languages Came From
There are about 7,000 languages spoken in the world today; they can be divided into about 140 families. Nevertheless, the languages most of us...
What To Make Of Damien Hirst At 60?
Ever since Hirst burst on the art scene in the 1990s with his macabre readymades (or “objets trouvé”) of dead animals in vitrines, he...
In The Era Of Algorithms, Roots Music Is Getting A Boost
Algorithms, which sort the listening public into ever-more-individualized niches, can cut both ways: They can introduce you to new artists, but they can also...
Trump Takes Over Arts Institutions. But Can He?
Trump may not have the formal capacity to shape the leadership of any of the Smithsonian’s museums, but if others treat him as if...
Why Are There So Many TV Shows Now About Rich People?
Lately, most of television seems stuck in the same mode. Virtually everything I’ve watched recently has been some variation of rich people pottering around...
Fired Librarian Of Congress Speaks Out
The first woman and African American to serve as the US librarian of Congress before Donald Trump fired her in May has not heard from the...
The Kennedy Center Begins Its Repurposed Life
Across the country, arts leaders say the Kennedy Center’s transformation—complete with a CEO firing, board overhaul and unprecedented political involvement in its programming—has become...
What Trump Learned About Book Banning From Florida
Since 2021, the Sunshine State has led the country in advancing the “parental rights” agenda. Contrary to its name, this agenda has used fuzzy, coded...
Just Whom Are We Calling A Genius?
You can tell what a culture values by who it labels a genius—and also what it is prepared to tolerate. The Renaissance had its...
Has Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Become Our Best Playwright?
“Obviously, I’m very neurotic. I’m always trying to understand what’s happening and why. My friends every day talk about what they’re anxious about, and...
We’re About To Be Able To Translate Animal Languages. Then What?
The prospect of speaking dolphin or whale is irresistible. And it seems that they are just as enthusiastic. In November last year, scientists in...
Ai-Generated Music Is Flooding Streaming Services
Fraudsters are flooding Spotify, Apple Music and the rest with AI-generated tracks, to try and hoover up the royalties generated by people listening to...
How Florida Inmates Incredibly Made A HipHop Album, Despite The Challenges
County jails are incubators for hip-hop, especially in Broward county, which cultivated “legends like Kodak Black and YNW Melly … but the diversity of...
Four Takeaways For Galleries From This Year’s ArtLogic Report
Even as technology opens new doors, the daily realities of operating a gallery have never been more daunting. - Hyperallergic
UK House Of Lords Rejects New AI Copyright Rules. Wants More Protections For Artists
The Lords, who are looking for more protections for artists from AI, rejected the latest amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill on...
