“A key challenge for selling stereo was consumers’ satisfaction with the mono music systems they already owned. … Something was needed to show people that this new technology was worth the investment. The ‘stereo demonstration’ was born — a mix of videos, print ads and records designed to showcase the new technology and its vibrant sound.” — The Conversation
Tag: 12.12.18
The Most Difficult Special Effect I Ever Got On Film (Or Didn’t Quite)
“We spoke to 35 filmmakers — directors, cinematographers, effects artists — about the toughest effect they’ve ever pulled off. The resulting stories run the gamut from the computer-generated to the practical, the spectacular to the subtle, and all of them remind us of the sweat that goes into making movie magic.” — Vulture
Scientists Virtually Reconstruct 1,500-Year-Old Bolivian Temple
“Using historical data, 3D-printed pieces, and architectural software, archaeologist Alexei Vranich from UC Berkeley has created a virtual reconstruction of Pumapunku — an ancient Tiwanaku temple now in ruins.” — Gizmodo
Rethinking The Role Of Musicians In Culture
“There is a school of thought in contemporary classical music that music should be above everything else, that it should have a purity about it. To me, that doesn’t make sense. Everything we do in art comes from what’s around us and who we are as humans.” – NewMusicBox
Should AI Learn How To Think More Like Human Brains?
Deep learning is good at learning using many fewer connections between neurons, when it has many episodes or examples to learn from. I think the brain isn’t concerned with squeezing a lot of knowledge into a few connections, it’s concerned with extracting knowledge quickly using lots of connections.” – Wired
Report: UK National Arts Institutions: Income Up, Government Funding Down
The proportion of income generated by the institutions themselves – through fundraising, tickets, commercial activities and other means – rose from 57% to 73%. – ArtsProfessional
The High Museum Asked Rapper Killer Mike To Join Its Board. He Has Some Ideas
While society is constantly redefining what constitutes as fine art, Killer Mike has a plethora of ideas to broaden the High’s scope, including more involvement by members of Atlanta’s infamous hip-hop and R&B community to deeper reflect the city’s culture. – ArtsATL
The One-Man Studio Who Created Some Of The Best Children’s Story Records Ever Made
Jim Copp, an erstwhile jazz performer and L.A. Times society columnist, wrote and narrated the stories, sang the songs, played the instruments, created the sound effects, and layered the tracks (dozens of them) on nine different records between 1958 and 1971. And they still hold up today, even for grown-ups. — The New Yorker
Art Dealers’ Descendant Sues Dutch Government For 144 Old Master Paintings Sold To Nazis
In 1939-40, Dutch dealers Nathan and Benjamin Katz sold almost their entire inventory, at steeply discounted prices, to the Nazis (among them Hermann Goering himself) in exchange for the ability to get their family members safely abroad. Now Benjamin’s grandson is suing the Dutch government, which recovered the works after the war and placed them in museums, to get them back. — The Post and Courier (Charleston)
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra In 2017-18: Small Surplus, Attendance Very Slightly Down, Young Listeners Up
“About 10 percent more young people caught an SPCO concert than the year before, according to a new annual report. Those young concertgoers are a big focus for the nonprofit: Since 2016, the chamber orchestra has lured school and college students with free tickets. The number of unique households attending, too, hit a record high in the fiscal year ending in 2018.” — The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)