Paul A. Fishwick (ed.): Aesthetic Computing (2006)

In Aesthetic Computing, key scholars and practitioners from art, design, computer science, and mathematics lay the foundations for a discipline that applies the theory and practice of art to computing. Aesthetic computing explores the way art and aesthetics can play a role in different areas of computer science. One of its goals is to modify computer science by the application of the wide range of definitions and categories normally associated with making art. For example, structures in computing might be represented using the style of Gaudi or the Bauhaus school. This goes beyond the usual definition of aesthetics in computing, which most often refers to the formal, abstract qualities of such structures—a beautiful proof, or an elegant diagram. The contributors to this book discuss the broader spectrum of aesthetics—from abstract qualities of symmetry and form to ideas of creative expression and pleasure—in the context of computer science. The assumption behind aesthetic computing is that the field of computing will be enriched if it embraces all of aesthetics. Human-computer interaction will benefit—”usability,” for example, could refer to improving a user’s emotional state—and new models of learning will emerge.

Aesthetic Computing approaches its subject from a variety of perspectives. After defining the field and placing it in its historical context, the book looks at art and design, mathematics and computing, and interface and interaction. Contributions range from essays on the art of visualization and “the poesy of programming” to discussions of the aesthetics of mathematics throughout history and transparency and reflectivity in interface design.

Contributors: James Alty, Olav W. Bertelsen, Jay David Bolter, Donna Cox, Stephan Diehl, Mark d’Inverno, Michele Emmer, Paul Fishwick, Monica Fleischmann, Ben Fry, Carsten Görg, Susanne Grabowski, Diane Gromala, Kenneth A. Huff, John Lee, Frederic Fol Leymarie, Michael Leyton, Jonas Löwgren, Roger F. Malina, Laurent Mignonneau, Frieder Nake, Ray Paton, Jane Prophet, Aaron Quigley, Casey Reas, Christa Sommerer, Wolfgang Strauss, Noam Tractinksy, Paul Vickers, Dror Zmiri

Published by MIT Press, 2006
ISBN 026206250X, 9780262062503
457 pages

Key terms: graph drawing, human-computer interaction, Christa Sommerer, Mixed Reality, mathematical beauty, computer science, Scientific Visualization, identity element, Ars Electronica, digital art, SIGGRAPH, information visualization, interaction design, computer graphics, Leonardo Journal, semiotic, aesthetic computing, series-parallel graph, Frieder Nake, Manfred Mohr

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Francis Hunger (ed.): How I Learned to Love RFID (2006)

Reader / documentation from the workshops by HMKV Dortmund and RIXC Riga, 20-22 May 2006.

With texts and images by Dorothea Carls, Jasmina Tesanovic, Rob van Kranenburg, Bruce Sterling, Oliver Leistert, Timo Arnall, Franziska Nori, Inke Arns, Francis Hunger.

“The series of lectures brings together approaches and projects that artistically and critically deal with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology – a technology that is significantly being developed and advanced by companies and research institutes in Dortmund. This technology which at first glance seems to be a simple further development of the bar code (well known from the supermarket) is much more powerful that the good old bar code technology. RFID tags are passive radio transmitters, which upon receiving a minor wireless energy impulse are sending back the information stored on their memory. Today, this information can be read already at a distance of six meters – without the process getting noticed. In addition, with its unique identification numbering system, this technology will allow for a precise identification of every object worldwide. What will it be like to live in a world where all the objects constantly will be talking to each other?”

Publisher HMKV, Dortmund, 2006
[18] pages

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Francis Hunger (ed.): Satellite Voyeurism Reader (2008)

The Satellite Voyeurism workshop addressed questions of the production and consumption of satellite imagery. Discussing the success of Google Earth and similar software, artists aimed to create their “own” satellite images. The participants were provided with the hands-on experience to receive satellite images from the NOAA satellites, which is documented in this publication.

With contributions by Marc Böhlen, Regine Debatty, Alejo Duque, Thilo Elsner, Martin Heckmann, Francis Hunger, Katherine Marmor, Manuel Schmalstieg a.o.

Publisher Hartware MedienKunstVerein, 2008
48 pages

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