Research- The Glitch

 The glitch has begun popping up both through my research and my physical work, this hasn't been a conscious decision or theme that I've chosen, simply something that goes hand-in-hand with the technological and algorithmic ways of working. Within this research I hope to explore what the glitch really is in order to give it more of a sense of tangibility. 

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Glitch

(noun)

a small problem or fault that prevents something from being successful or working as well as it should:

• We'd expected a few glitches, but everything's gone remarkably smoothly.
• The system has been plagued with glitches ever since its launch.

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By it's very definition in the Cambridge Dictionary, the glitch is a 'problem' or a 'fault', something that prevents success. This brings up a few key questions: does the purposeful use of the glitch, by definition, mean it isn't a glitch anymore? Can the glitch be used as a tool? Is the glitch destined to destroy & disrupt? To define the glitch goes against its very nature, the glitch has its own intentions, regardless of its scenario and to try and define such a non-physical entity or idea is a paradox in-and-of itself.

"Destruction versus regeneration, chaos versus control, and other themes discussed in the previous section attach themselves to the medium just by way of the processes used to create the artwork."

Describes Mallika Roy, founder of the Periphery Mag, when discussing this new 'movement' of artists utilizing the glitch, rather than shying away from it. Glitch art brings up an interesting discussion regarding intention within an artwork. Glitch art cannot be a purely aesthetic choice. It cannot be an artist aiming for a 'glitch-like' effect within their work. This is because a glitch is unpredictable and may present itself in an infinite amount of ways, not following the trends of the glitch effects you might fine within an Instagram story. For an artwork to be described as 'glitch art' I believe the artist has to allow a degree of separation between what they may envision the outcome to look like and what it actually looks like. Thus handing over a level of authority or authorship to the machine, or the embodiment of the glitch.

"The glitch is interpreted as a critique of capitalism. Glitch can also be seen as a way of revisiting a pre-existing work by modifying its original form, thus bringing a reflection on the modular aspect of any digital information. The first type is characterized as unintentional, random, found, appropriated, real; respectively, the second type – planned, intentional, premeditated, artificial."

Glitch art as described by hisour.com. The recurring themes of the unintentional and the random appear to be key in the classification of the glitch; both within the context of art and day-to-day life. The mention of modification seems especially poignant when discussing art; in the world of the digital the glitch holds so much power. More and more artists are utilizing digital methods which therefore involves putting your work out there, through these countless algorithms and leaving them open for glitches to seek shelter in their work like a digital parasite. The glitch is a parasitic being, if it had no host to latch itself onto then it simply wouldn't exist.

The most intriguing part of the glitch, both within art and generally, is the personification of it. Of course the glitch isn't a living, breathing entity. It is simply an error. Yet, somehow, it feels so alive; there is a sense of motive behind it's actions and a feeling like the glitch is victorious when it succeeds. Nurturing a symbiotic relationship with the glitch may seem a strange, impossible task, but maybe that is what the glitch is attempting to do with us?

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Cambridge. (2021). Meaning of Glitch in English. Available: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/glitch.

Roy, M. (2014). GLITCH IT GOOD: UNDERSTANDING THE GLITCH ART MOVEMENT. Available: http://www.theperipherymag.com/on-the-arts-glitch-it-good.

Hisour. (2019). Glitch Art. Available: https://www.hisour.com/glitch-art-21221/.