Theoreti.ca

The Cyclorama of Jerusalem is one of the few remaining large panoramas that are still on exhibition. (The other one I know of is at Gettysburg.) Is was created in the 1880s and has been exhibited at the pilgrimage site of Sainte-Anne-de-Beauprè since 1895. Cycloramas are large paintings that form a complete circle creating a “virtual” space where you can immerse yourself in a place and time. As the glossy brochure says, “We claim 3-D as a modern invention but this Cyclorama, in existence for a so long time, gives such an illusion of depth that viewers feel they are among the crowd marching with Roman soldiers…” (p. 2)
My theory is that types of media are like species – you have periods of exploding variety, and then something happens, and all the experiments die out before a particular technology. The late 19th century saw an explosion of different types of immersive media, including panoramas and other optical expositions. Cinema made them all obsolete, effectively wiping the variety out. We are now in another period of expanding diversity – what technology will survive?
Continue reading Canadian Multimedia: the Cyclorama of Jerusalem

I don’t know much about new media and music, but CBC is playing a great show by PBS called American Mavericks which is about musical innovation in the US in the 20th century. It covers people like Laurie Anderson and Glass. The web site is serious – with lots of sound and video clips along with virtual instuments.