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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Ruth Leavitt (ed.): Artist and Computer (1976)

Creative Computing.

Compiled by Ruth Leavitt
Publisher Harmony Books, 1976
ISBN 0517527871, 9780517527870
121 pages

Key terms: computer graphics, oscillons, Aldo Giorgini, Creative Computing, Michael Noll, Ken Knowlton, Lillian Schwartz, cathode ray tube, line printer, Edward Ihnatowicz, Der Blaue Reiter, serigraph, weft, Wassily Kandinsky, Amherst College, acrylic paint, moire patterns, Vera Molnar, artificial creativity

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Lev Manovich: The Language of New Media (2001–) [EN, IT, ES, PL, SR]

“In this book Lev Manovich offers the first systematic and rigorous theory of new media. He places new media within the histories of visual and media cultures of the last few centuries. He discusses new media’s reliance on conventions of old media, such as the rectangular frame and mobile camera, and shows how new media works create the illusion of reality, address the viewer, and represent space. He also analyzes categories and forms unique to new media, such as interface and database.

Manovich uses concepts from film theory, art history, literary theory, and computer science and also develops new theoretical constructs, such as cultural interface, spatial montage, and cinegratography. The theory and history of cinema play a particularly important role in the book. Among other topics, Manovich discusses parallels between the histories of cinema and of new media, digital cinema, screen and montage in cinema and in new media, and historical ties between avant-garde film and new media.”

Keywords and phrases
3-D computer graphics, telepresence, computer animation, digital compositing, computer games, VRML, digital cinema, Myst, computer space, human-computer interface, photorealism, Jurassic Park, virtual worlds, Aspen Movie Map, computer media, SIGGRAPH, CD-ROM, hypermedia, avant-garde, Movie Camera

Foreword by Mark Tribe
Publisher MIT Press, 2001
Leonardo Books series
ISBN 0262133741, 9780262133746
xiii+354 pages

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The Language of New Media (English, 2001, 20 MB, updated on 2019-8-23)
Il linguaggio dei nuovi media (Italian, trans. Roberto Merlini, 2002, 39 MB, added on 2019-8-23, via)
El lenguaje de los nuevos medios de comunicación (Spanish, trans. Óscar Fontrodona, 2006, 31 MB, added on 2019-8-23, via)
Język nowych mediów (Polish, trans. Piotr Cypryański, 2006, 52 MB, added on 2019-8-23, via)
Jezik novih medija (Serbian, trans. Aleksandar Luj Todorović, 2015, 10 MB, added on 2019-8-23, via)