Digital Mantras―The Languages of Abstract and Virtual Worlds

Computer technology is making possible new worlds of expression that are alreadybeing explored by a growing subculture of artists, musicians, virtual reality enthusiasts, andcyberpunks. In Digital Mantras, Steven Holtzman synthesizes ideas from a number of differentdisciplines to arrive at a new philosophy of creativity for the digital age.Blending ideas frommusic, computing, art, and philosophy, with biographical and historical anecdotes and a thread ofmysticism, Holtzman gives us new ways to think about the integration of computers into the creativeprocess. He shows how computers will change the way we create, and reveals the exciting potentialfor entirely new forms of expression. Running throughout the book are episodes from Holtzman's ownsometimes mystical journey in search of the personal aesthetic he presents.Holtzman explores thepresence and use of structure in fields as diverse as the development of ancient human languages,the philosophy of the Buddhist monk Nagarjuna and the linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, the music ofArnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, the paintings of Wassily Kandinsky, and the pioneering grammarsof Panini and Noam Chomsky. He then turns to the use of computers for building abstract and virtualworlds in language, music, and art as well as virtual reality, and surveys the work of AI pioneerTerry Winograd, composers Gottfried Michael Koenig and Iannis Xenakis, and artist Harold Cohen.Holtzman concludes by discussing the aesthetic implications of these new worlds. He introduces theconcept of digital expression, along with examples that hint at its far-reachingpossibilities.