{"id":3209,"date":"2026-01-24T13:38:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T21:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/?p=3209"},"modified":"2026-01-24T13:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T21:38:09","slug":"aj-chronicles-this-week-in-the-great-culture-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2026\/01\/aj-chronicles-this-week-in-the-great-culture-shift.html","title":{"rendered":"AJ Chronicles: This Week in the Great Culture Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Image: Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s probably a hazard of the job, but I tend to look at culture systemically. It\u2019s not just the algorithms that steer our attention, but the often-unseen infrastructure we constructed that determines a large part of our culture diet: the systems that shape orchestras, theatres, dance companies, museums, the practical nuts-and-bolts and often mundane practicalities that determine what\u2019s possible and what isn\u2019t. The media landscape (or lack thereof), and the contracts and copyrights and rules that make some sort of order out of it. That make some things possible. And some things not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So while\u00a0this week\u2019s story about artists having difficulties getting visas<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(NYT) to come to the US might seem like a story of bureaucracy, it\u2019s actually a signal about how our culture in America is increasingly being narrowed. Just as DEI policies aren\u2019t just a social justice issue but also an attempt to more broadly represent cultures and voices, and humanities programs are a structure to help us look outside our own experiences, when these structures and institutions are weakened, our abilities to \u201csee\u201d the culture that shapes us as communities is eroded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another fight over cultural infrastructure<\/strong> is playing out over AI. AI isn\u2019t just a set of tools, it\u2019s a systemic disruption of our infrastructure that will ripple across the entire creative world, forcing us to become crisper in our understanding of what we think art is, our cultural values and how it is exchanged. The backlash to AI is exploding with each passing week. Among the ubiquitous AI hype, there\u2019s a hardening against the encroachment of algorithmic efficiency (which, let\u2019s be honest, has been with us for a long time now in other forms).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week San Diego Comic Con<\/a> (Artnet) <\/strong>declared itself sole arbiter of what constitutes \u201chuman creation,\u201d banning AI-generated art from its show. This isn\u2019t Luddism, it\u2019s a defense of the \u201cartistic ego<\/a>\u201c (LitHub)<\/strong> and creative neurosis that audiences reportedly miss in the deluge of machine-generated work. We are, it seems, hungry for the human insecurity that Amazon\u2019s flood of AI authors simply cannot replicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AI-still-can\u2019t-do-this meme as a critique of what is happening is a tired cliche, but it can still be amusing, as this discovery that AI currently \u201csucks at dancing<\/a>\u201d (CalMatters) <\/strong>shows in failing to replicate the convincingly messy physicality of human movement. We are, for now, safe in our clumsiness. But let\u2019s not forget the now-armies of artists who are now using AI in their work and making amazing things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably the bombshell news of the week was the Metropolitan Opera\u2019s announcement of layoffs <\/strong>and a financial crisis. The Met<\/a> (ArtNews) <\/strong>is in a state of financial meltdown<\/a>, (The Guardian) <\/strong>and is even considering the sale of its two prized Marc Chagall murals for $55 million just to keep the lights on\u2014all while stripping props from <\/a>Carmen<\/a><\/em> (AP) <\/strong>to save $300,000. The biggest revelation though, was the extent to which the Met has plundered its endowment in the past few years. The cruise ship is taking on water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ideological tectonic plates are also shifting. <\/strong>The federal arts sector\u2014the NEA, NEH, and Kennedy Center\u2014feels as though it has been \u201cinvaded by aliens<\/a>\u201c (Joe Horowitz)<\/strong> as new political priorities reshape the national narrative. This isn\u2019t just a change in administration; it\u2019s a fundamental re-evaluation of what \u201cAmerican\u201d culture is allowed to mean. Hollywood<\/a> (NYT) <\/strong>is feeling the same \u201cvibe shift,\u201d as the industry\u2019s era of \u201cprogressive sincerity\u201d reportedly evaporates in favor of more conservative-coded content. The Washington Post and CBS News are undergoing significant culture shifts that will impact us all. The Smithsonian<\/a> (The Atlantic) <\/strong>has become a battleground for how museums of record tell the national story, proving that the past is as volatile as the future. And this as we go into the 250th Birthday celebrations of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it all feels like creative turmoil mired in stagnation, perhaps we should look back 67,000 years to a hand stencil<\/a> (The Conversation)<\/strong> recently identified in an Indonesian cave. That hand\u2014the world\u2019s oldest known art\u2014didn\u2019t have a business model, a \u201cwoke\u201d agenda, or an algorithm. As we argue over whether a ballet shoe<\/a> (NYT) <\/strong>should incorporate sneaker technology or whether obituaries<\/a> (University of Missouri) <\/strong>are the only thing keeping small-market newspapers alive, that ancient hand reminds us that culture usually has a way of enduring the structures of its time. Maybe those structures are only the temporary scaffolding; it\u2019s the creative bits that endure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week, ArtsJournal looked at thousands of stories and collected 118 stories across culture. This is one person’s attempt to make sense of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-aj-chronicles","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/framework-3328434_1280-2.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ePZm-PL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3237,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2026\/02\/aj-chronicles-this-weeks-stories-when-spectacle-replaces-authority.html","url_meta":{"origin":3209,"position":0},"title":"AJ Chronicles: This week’s stories — When Spectacle replaces Authority","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"February 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"My weekly essay reflecting on arts stories of the past week.","rel":"","context":"In "AJ Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"AJ Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/aj-chronicles"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/275654247_0b89849085_c.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/275654247_0b89849085_c.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/275654247_0b89849085_c.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/275654247_0b89849085_c.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3383,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2026\/04\/aj-chronicles-this-week-perils-of-the-algorithmic-culture.html","url_meta":{"origin":3209,"position":1},"title":"AJ Chronicles: This Week \u2014 Perils of the Algorithmic Culture","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"April 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The threat isn't that AI replaces artists. It's subtler and more coercive: that an algorithmically saturated environment erodes the capacity for the kind of thinking that we like to think art requires. Tolerance for ambiguity. Patience with difficulty. The willingness to be bored before a breakthrough.","rel":"","context":"In "AJ Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"AJ Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/aj-chronicles"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shubham-dhage-p9DzBzWhMls-unsplash-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shubham-dhage-p9DzBzWhMls-unsplash-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shubham-dhage-p9DzBzWhMls-unsplash-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shubham-dhage-p9DzBzWhMls-unsplash-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3271,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2026\/02\/aj-chronicles-the-battles-for-who-gets-to-say-what-culture-is.html","url_meta":{"origin":3209,"position":2},"title":"AJ Chronicles: The Battles for Who gets to say what Culture Is","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"February 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Evidence abounds this week that the battles for culture are intensifying. Taken together, these tests of authority over cultural institutions are probes of where the line is, of how much self-censorship the cultural sector will perform without being explicitly required to.","rel":"","context":"In "AJ Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"AJ Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/aj-chronicles"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/alexei_other-electricity-4971002_640.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/alexei_other-electricity-4971002_640.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/alexei_other-electricity-4971002_640.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3371,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2026\/04\/aj-chronicles-how-to-fight-the-slop.html","url_meta":{"origin":3209,"position":3},"title":"AJ Chronicles: How to Fight the Slop","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"April 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Old systems of certification are failing from every direction: technological, legal, institutional and political. So what's left when you can't just say \"trust us\"? You have to show your work and construct a context, making the case not by institutional credential but by demonstration.","rel":"","context":"In "AJ Chronicles"","block_context":{"text":"AJ Chronicles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/aj-chronicles"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/designtrickacademy-amber-7327252_1280-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C365&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/designtrickacademy-amber-7327252_1280-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C365&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/designtrickacademy-amber-7327252_1280-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C365&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/designtrickacademy-amber-7327252_1280-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C365&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3213,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2026\/02\/this-weeks-aj-chronicles-context-is-survival.html","url_meta":{"origin":3209,"position":4},"title":"This Week’s AJ Chronicles: Context is Survival","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"February 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Existential crises have a way of forcing clarity. 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