A short life of the author
Lev Manovich (born 1960 in Moscow) is a Russian-American media theorist, artist, and computer scientist. He studied fine arts in Moscow, computer science in New York, and visual and cultural studies at the University of Rochester. He is a professor at the City University of New York and the founder of the Cultural Analytics Lab.
Major Works
The Language of New Media (2001, MIT Press) is the most cited book in new media studies. Manovich argues that digital media can be understood through five principles — numerical representation, modularity, automation, variability, and transcoding — and uses cinema, particularly the work of Vertov and Hitchcock, as the conceptual framework for understanding digital culture.
Software Takes Command (2013, Bloomsbury Academic) extends his analysis to software as a cultural force, examining how applications like Photoshop and After Effects shape creative production.
Cultural Analytics (2020, MIT Press) describes his method of using data science and machine learning to analyse vast collections of images, films, and cultural artefacts at scale.
Collecting Manovich
The Language of New Media (2001, MIT Press) is the key collectible — first editions are academic paperbacks and bring $30–$80. Hardcover copies are less common. Manovich’s books are collected primarily by scholars and practitioners of digital media and the digital humanities.