Digital Mantras: The Languages of Abstract and Virtual Words

HOLTZMAN, Steven R.

ISBN 10: 0262082284 / ISBN 13: 9780262082280

Published by MIT Press, Cambridge, 1994

About this Item

New ways to think about the integration of computers into the creative process. 321pp, illustrated in color, diagrams. Bright, fresh copy, about 'as new'. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.

Seller Inventory # 13509

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Digital Mantras: The Languages of Abstract and Virtual Words
• Publisher: MIT Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262082284
• ISBN 13: 9780262082280
• Binding: Cloth
• Edition: Second Printing.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Book Type: Book
• Seller catalogs:
  • Science, Mathematics, Technical

About this title

Synopsis

This work synthesizes ideas from a number of different disciplines to arrive at a philosophy of creativity for the digital age. Drawing ideas from music, computing, art and philosophy, it explores the integration of computers into the creative process. It shows how computers could change the way we create. The book looks at the use of structure in the development of human languages, in the philosophy of Buddhist monk Nagarjuna and linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, in the music of Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, in the paintings of Wassily Kandinsky, and the grammars of Panini and Noam Chomsky. It then turns to the use of computers for building abstract and virtual worlds in language, music, art and virtual reality, and surveys the work of AI pioneer Terry Winograd, composers Gottfried Michael Koenig and Iannis Xenakis, and artist Harold Cohen. The conclusion discusses the aesthetic implications of these new worlds and introduces the concept of digital expression.

About the Author

Holtzman is President and CEO of Perspecta, Inc., and an advisor to The Motion Factory and other Internet software companies.