One might think it odd to stage a symphony at Glacier Point. But according to Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman, “From the signing of the Yosemite Grant to the present day, the arts have played a significant role in the creation and continued interest in preserving these public places.” Yosemite sparkles in Ansel Adams’ photos. It is illuminated by John Muir’s prose. Yosemite has a new artistic champion in Les Marsden, the conductor of the Mariposa orchestra.
Tag: 08.26.16
The Great Library Of Alexandria Had A Rival – And A Vicious Rivalry
The kings of Pergamon in Asia Minor (now Begrama, Turkey) fought hard to build a collection as large and prestigious as Alexandria’s – and the Ptolemies were not pleased at the competition. The two cities struggled over manuscripts, scholars, and even materials. (Yes, there was a papyrus embargo.)
What Is, And Isn’t, ‘Artificial Intelligence’? Not What The Marketers Tell Us It Is
Om Malik: “Much like ‘the cloud,’ ‘big data,’ and ‘machine learning’ before it, the term ‘artificial intelligence’ has been hijacked by marketers and advertising copywriters. A lot of what people are calling ‘artificial intelligence’ is really data analytics – in other words, business as usual. If the hype leaves you asking ‘What is A.I., really?,’ don’t worry, you’re not alone. I asked various experts to define the term and got different answers.”
The Changes Begin Under Atlanta Ballet’s New Artistic Director
“Change is afoot at Atlanta Ballet under artistic director Gennadi Nedvigin, with a new ballet master and company members, plus a major upswing in one dancer’s career.”
James Corden’s Success In U.S. Based On YouTube, Not Broadcast TV, Says Producer
“‘When I get in in the morning I will check our YouTube hits before I check our overnights [ratings],’ said Ben Winston, the man behind Corden’s hit The Late Late Show. ‘The overnights just tell us who managed to stay awake. The YouTube hits tell us which bits flew.'”
The Extraordinary Detail Of Rembrandt’s Etchings
“In this video from Christie’s, we see contemporary printmaker Alexander Massouras analyze the diversity of Rembrandt’s lines and how they create different textures in the same work of art – something Rembrandt was a master at. We also get to see the etching process firsthand.”
Why Holograms Of Dead Performers Weird Us Out (But We Keep Watching Them)
“Simultaneously here and gone, holograms are stand-ins for all things virtual, harbingers of a ‘mixed reality’ in which the real and the simulated have been integrated seamlessly. … In reality, however, holograms have mostly been gaudy stunts … still abut the uncanny valley, displaying a body that is there and not there, alive and dead. Something about it doesn’t quite compute.”
Cast Of ‘Fun Home’ And PFLAG Compare Notes On Coming Out
“‘We thought they could learn a lot from professional actors about public speaking skills,’ said Drew Tagliabue, the executive director of PFLAG NYC, an organization for family members of gay and transgender people. The group runs the Safe Schools Program, which sends those emissaries into classrooms to talk about coming out. … But what was planned as a class about how to hold onto an audience became something different.”
You Know Who’s Responsible For That ‘Any Similarity To Actual Persons Is Coincidental’ Disclaimer In Movie Credits? Rasputin, That’s Who
“Virtually every film in modern memory ends with some variation of the same disclaimer: ‘This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.’ The cut-and-paste legal rider must be the most boring thing in every movie that features it. Who knew its origins were so lurid?” Duncan Fyfe explains.
Hard Lessons About How The Art-Buying World Works, Courtesy Knoedler Fakes Scandal
“For collectors seeking information on the authenticity of specific works of art, there is no repository of authenticators’ reports, and experts doubt the value of a database that buyers could consult the way they check for stolen art (for example, through the Art Loss Register or Art Recovery Group). For one thing, not all reports are reliable.”