Summary
Lev Manovich argues that software has become the universal interface and engine for cultural production, replacing older physical technologies as the primary means of creating, storing, distributing, and interacting with cultural artifacts. He posits that software's role in the early 21st century mirrors that of electricity and the combustion engine in the early 20th century. This book offers the first theoretical and historical account of software for media authoring and its impact on media practices and the very concept of "media."
The book examines the historical development of media software, exploring the motivations of its creators and how interfaces and tools like those in Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, Final Cut, and After Effects shape contemporary visual aesthetics. Manovich investigates the implications of software simulating and extending media-specific tools, questioning the continued relevance of distinct media categories. The analysis draws on detailed examinations of software applications, web services like Google Earth, and projects across motion graphics, interactive environments, graphic design, and architecture.
Key concepts
- Software as Interface to the World — Software acts as the primary means through which individuals access and interact with information, memory, imagination, and social connections.
- Software as Universal Engine — Software functions as the foundational operational system powering global processes and the creation and distribution of cultural content.
- Media-Specific Tools Simulation in Software — The ability of software to replicate and extend the functionalities of distinct, formerly physical, media tools.
- Software's Impact on Media Aesthetics — How the design of software interfaces and tools influences the visual characteristics of contemporary media and design.
- Redefinition of "Medium" by Software — The challenge software poses to traditional understandings of distinct media categories due to its universalizing and integrative capabilities.
From the book
Description: This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Software has replaced a diverse array of physical, mechanical, and electronic technologies used before 21st century to create, store, distribute and interact with cultural artifacts. It has become our interface to the world, to others, to our memory and our imagination - a universal language through which the world speaks, and a universal engine on which the world runs. What electricity and combustion engine were to the early 20th century, software is to the early 21st century. Offering the the first theoretical and historical account of software for media authoring and its effects on the practice and the very concept of 'media,' the author of…
Snippet: This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com.