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Often overshadowed by his contemporary Pablo Picasso, artist George Braque was instrumental in establishing the highly influential, early 20th-century art movement Cubism. Paying tribute to this unsung talent is the new eponymously named stereo system just released by Swedish brand Nocs and industrial designer Daniel Alm.
In Braque’s paintings, collages, and prints, the polymath set out to distill bucolic landscapes and rural village scenes as broken up and then re-assembled geometric compositions; decidedly abstract yet still slightly recognizable representations. Through this revolutionary approach, he examined how objects could be depicted from multiple perspectives—multiple sources of light—as if superimposed portrayals of the same setting rendered at different times of day.
This ever-refined exploration was not merely a refute of the established artistic conventions that had come before but a response to the ever speed-up advancement of technology defining the era; a mutation of Impressionism—that emerged when the camera replaced the need for realistic illustration or the attempt thereof. Cubism, itself, eventually transmuted into Purism: the ultimate paring-down of fundament, meticulously proportioned, form.
The new speaker comprises two seamlessly interconnected by slightly contrasted cubes. As a nod to Braque’s mastery of duality, the device is precision engineered in both plywood and steel, the base in the latter and the main cone encasement in the former. The stacked compositions might not reflect the perceivably erratic nature of Cubist configuration and much more the rationalism of say a Mies van der Rohe, but the intent is clear, if subtle.
It comes down to how both cubes and finishes. While the steel base is cut, welded, and brushed by hand—giving each limited-edition Braque system a bespoke patina—the plywood component—assembled in nearby Estonia—takes a more unified matte coating. Both elements are black but the bottom piece takes on many more simultaneous dimensions as it refracts the light coming in from all directions. This is where the connection to its namesake holds true.
It isn’t just aesthetic however. The speaker is unabashedly performative. “Braque is about space, physical and sonic,” says Alm. “By working with a larger enclosure and a coaxial driver, we were able to shape a sound that’s natural, open, and honest. It reveals what’s in the recording without adding anything of its own, which is the core of our Studio Sound approach.”
“Braque opens up new possibilities for us,” he adds. By the very nature of its essential, boxy form—but also weightiness—the device can be mounted on a stand or suspended. It can also be multiplied—not unlike an installation—as part of a larger installation.
To explore products specifications and shop the device, visit nocsdesign.com.
Photography provided by Daniel Alm.
A top Senate administrator approved OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot for official use in the Senate, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. 404 Media has obtained the full text of the memo and is publishing it below.
“The Sergeant at Arms (SAA) office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has approved the use of three Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms with Senate data,” the memo starts. It also says the SAA will provide each Senate employee with one free license to either Gemini Chat or ChatGPT Enterprise, with Copilot also available at no cost.
The memo says Copilot “can help with routine Senate work, including drafting and editing documents, summarizing information, preparing talking points and briefing material, and conducting research and analysis.”
As the New York Times wrote, questions remain around how staffers who deal with sensitive or classified information might use the tools. And more broadly, it shows the spread of AI chatbots across government, although how much the Senate will use it in this case is unclear.
The full memo reads:
The Sergeant at Arms (SAA) office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has approved the use of three Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms with Senate data. Microsoft Copilot Chat is available now for use by all Senate employees at no cost. Google Workspace with Gemini Chat and OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise also have been approved for use with the assignment of a Senate license. The SAA will provide each Senate employee one Generative AI license at no cost for either Google Workspace with Gemini Chat or OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise. More information about licensing for those two platforms will be provided by the CIO in the next thirty days.
ABOUT COPILOT CHAT Copilot Chat is an AI assistant that is integrated into the Senate’s Microsoft 365 environment. It can help with routine Senate work, including drafting and editing documents, summarizing information, preparing talking points and briefing material, and conducting research and analysis. You can access the Copilot Chat web app here or download the Copilot Chat app on your mobile device. You may also see Copilot offered as a sidebar tool within Microsoft applications like Word and Excel.
Important Note: Copilot Chat does not have access to any Senate data unless that information is explicitly shared within a prompt. Copilot does not search internal drives, shared folders, email, Teams chats, or any other Senate resources on its own. Copilot Chat operates in Microsoft’s secure government cloud and meets federal and Senate cybersecurity requirements.
Data shared with Copilot Chat stays within the secure Microsoft 365 Government environment and is protected by the same controls that safeguard other Senate data. To learn more about Copilot Chat, take the Copilot Chat Training. Use of artificial intelligence tools is governed by the Senate AI Policy and applicable officelevel policies. To learn more about Senate AI initiatives, visit the Artificial Intelligence Webster Page.