Software and art

Post-media Aesthetics
By Lev Manovich

In my opinion, the most interesting aspect of this article is the idea that software affects how works are created and also how we read, view, see, and hear them. If different types of software are used to create a piece, the finished product will come out differently. Software also influences how we perceive what we are viewing. Without specific software, the product may not be received as it was intended to.

The example of a DJ spinning and remixing music helped me understand how important software is. When you listen to a mix made by a professional DJ or music technician, the flow is seamless. You do not notice the transitions from one song to the next, and you have no idea that whole pieces of the original song have been taken out and then added back on later in the mix. DJs can add sound effects, combine songs, and loop sounds to create what can be considered their own work. This practice is definitely an art form. Without advanced software and machinery, DJs would be spinning records like they did twenty-five years ago, and although many were successful then, the finished products were definitely not as advanced as they are today.

If we take this same idea and apply it to other types of art and even student work, we can understand how important software is. I have received many e-mails where I could not open an attachment because I did not have the necessary programs to do so. It is frustrating for both the sender and the receiver. I have had many problems in school because of Microsoft Office 2007. My students have tried to e-mail me projects that I could not open because they saved them in Office 2007 formats. They have also had trouble printing their work in school because the school computers do not support Office 2007. All of these problems could be easily solved, but what if they couldn’t be? In this digital age, are we being forced to purchase certain software? Are decisions being made for us that can cost us a lot of money? Do the various types of artists know that the viewing of their art is conditional upon what software the viewers are using? The artists might not realize this, but the software companies do, and that is how they make a lot of money.