Process Diary

Marisa Suen Cofa1001 & Cofa1002 2015 \\click top right for menu bar

[marisacofa]

An interruption of the app Sketchbook

Keyboard reference:

NOISE:

7

8

-

+

q

u

\

a

g

h

j

k

;

‘

z

FUNCTION:

9 - rotates

0 - rotates other way

e - ellipse

r - ruler

t - “tab”

y - y axis

i - ink drop

[ - size

v - lasso

[marisacofa]

Different variations of visual failure as a physical glitch

[marisacofa]

Statement

The word glitch refers to an unpredictable irregularity in a system—digital and analogue alike. Glitches can not be avoided or prevented; glitch aesthetics explores the productive failure of systems. Explore the creative possibilities of glitch. After exploring with different mediums of sound, digital and physical glitches influenced and inspired by research, I have decided to produce a final work of physical glitch that is also interactive. I have transcended concepts from my first assessment into this final project in terms of aesthetic failure where glitch is a paradoxical concept, it can be constructive even when it is deconstructive. With further research carried out, I found most of the information about glitch in general was focused on sound and music. Therefore, I decided on approaching a different medium of glitch to explore other creative possibilities. A quote by Luigi Russolo taken from his Futurist Manifesto The Art of Noises (1913) where he says “the machine today has created such a variety and rivalry of noises that pure sound…no longer arouses any feeling.” explores Russolo’s belief that random, machine-based sounds were becoming the only way to experience the world anew as opposed to “pure sound”. Thus highlighting how “glitch” is a form of remixing the old into the new, much relevant to today as remix culture is dominant and prevalent. Instead of following this idea with sound/music, I decided to adapt it to physical forms of glitch. The idea of going towards this direction was also reinforced by a point glitch artist, Daniel Temkin, brought up. He said that “glitch aesthetic may be rooted in the look of malfunction, but when it comes to actual practice, there’s often not much glitch in glitch art” where he continues to explain that most artists are “introducing noisy data to function algorithms or applying these algorithms in unconventional ways” (although there are some artists that do exploit bugs to get their glitch results) rather than to “purposely simulate an error, something that ordinarily has power because it is unexpected and outside of our control”. This was my main influence for my final project, as it focuses and emphasises the fact that there is hardly any actual pure glitch in glitch art today as glitch is most commonly made deliberately. My final project is an interactive sculpture as a representative and physical piece of “glitch” composed of 13 pieces. These pieces have all been extracted and pulled apart from an old computer processing unit (CPU), where these now separate individual pieces are randomly connected to each other wherever and however creating several iterations of sculptures. The actual process of pulling apart the CPU contributes to my concept of glitch being a paradoxical concept as even though it goes through a deconstruction, the pieces rather then become a construction. It further explores the idea of “hacking” the old into the new, physically and literally. Even though the new sculptures are not meant to work in any way, apart from being an aesthetic piece in the eyes of each remixer, the notion of glitch underlies in the process of combining and shoving random parts of the fragmented CPU to each other. These forms become a physical glitch where these malfunctioned and broken pieces of hardware enforce the fact that many glitch artists today create glitch rather than simulating one. This is evident through the physical process of remixing the pieces randomly, creating a whole piece of glitch where it is purely broken and malfunctioned. Similar to an actual CPU, where those digital devices will eventually malfunction, break ~and die~, it cannot be avoided or prevented, it is inevitable – so much so as glitch. The construction process of this physical glitch also explores my sculpture as a visual form of failure, as sometimes parts cannot literally connect and during the construction parts collapse. Choosing to focus on failure it draws attention to deviation, difference and the unpredictable in this case. These qualities produce an item without purpose or function, but embody a subjective perspective of an aesthetic “new” in the form of visual failure as a physical glitch. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Emerson, Lori, 2014, Glitch Aesthetics, Lori Emerson, US, viewed 1st September 2015, < http://loriemerson.net/2014/10/01/glitch-aesthetics/> Pangbrun, Donald-Joseph, 2014, There’s not much “glitch” in glitch art, Motherboard, US, viewed 9th September 2015, < http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/theres-not-much-glitch-in-glitch-art>

[marisacofa]

Random #4

Process of remixing CPU pieces randomly to create a physical glitch - a pure visual form of failure, broken and malfunction.

[marisacofa]

Random #3

Process of remixing CPU pieces randomly to create a physical glitch - a pure visual form of failure, broken and malfunction.

[marisacofa]

Random #2

Process of remixing CPU pieces randomly to create a physical glitch - a pure visual form of failure, broken and malfunction.

[marisacofa]

Random #1

Process of remixing CPU pieces randomly to create a physical glitch - a pure visual form of failure, broken and malfunction.

[marisacofa]

IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS

1: image of all pieces pulled out from computer processing unit.

2-3: close up on intricate details of pieces

4-8: different variations in connecting pieces to each other randomly

[marisacofa]

I did some further research on glitch aesthetic and artist, Daniel Temkin, brought up an interesting point that “glitch aesthetic may be rooted in the look of malfunction, but when it comes to actual practice, there’s often not much glitch in glitch art” where he continues to explain that most artists are “introducing noisy data to function algorithms or applying these algorithms in unconventional ways” (although there are some artists that do exploit bugs to get their glitch results) rather than to “purposely simulate an error, something that ordinarily has power because it is unexpected and outside of our control”. source: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/theres-not-much-glitch-in-glitch-art

This has made me think about how most of the glitch ideas I have had centre around creating a glitch rather than simulating something that would create a glitch, also has made me think about of expanding my idea into creating something/object that focuses and emphasises the fact that there is hardly any actual glitch in glitch art today as glitch is most commonly made on purpose by the artist —> CREATING PHYSICAL DISTORTION (???) Inspired by this concept, I experimented with knitting where I deliberately dropped stitches to create holes (physical distortion) further exploring malfunction and mistake performed by the human. It also in ways explores how this “deliberate” act of dropping stitches relates to the idea that glitch artists today are commonly creating glitches rather than simulating an error to provoke glitch.

[marisacofa]

Following up on my idea from my research of “data bending”/ reinterpretation / sonification where audios can be turned into images, and vice versa, I decided to instead try translating phrases from english to french and vice versa to see if they were the same.

It was hard thinking of phrases on the top of my head - where phrases would “Glitch” back into english wrong (as well as the fact that google translate has up-ed it’s game), and so I feel this experiment was slightly unsuccessful.

[marisacofa]

Further experimentation with glitch sound using music that did not have lyrics (Ouverture - Bach). Therefore, I have chosen some classical music and glitched it. This plays with the idea that classical music is usually very pleasant to the ears and by adding glitch it emphasises how glitch is malfunction and disturbance.

[marisacofa]

Glitch sound experiment with Sticky Finger’s Caress Your Soul created on Garageband by randomly stretching/pulling/playing with the sound waves. This has been inspired by my research where chance can play a huge role in the creation of glitch.

[marisacofa]

Research for Assessment 2

Conducting research for my second assessment, I decided to explore the aesthetics of failure further. I researched glitch aesthetics to further develop my understanding of glitch. An article of glitch aesthetics, said that "glitch was first used in the early 1960s to describe a change in voltage in an electrical circuit or any kind of interference in a television picture. In the 1990s, glitch was broadly described brief unexpected behaviour in electrical circuits but it also more specifically was used to describe a style of electronic music created from already malfunctioning audio technology as a way to explore the life of the digital machine and as a reaction against the push in the computing industry to create an ever-more clean, noise-free sound.” —> electric circuits have sparked an idea of using fairy lights as they are single circuited therefore one little malfunction destroys the whole circuit making the whole set a defect. I further found that “an aesthetics of failure and to the embrace of chance means that glitch aesthetics finds its roots in early 20th C avant-garde experiments in art, writing, theatre and music. These experiments sought to disrupt the status quo which was supposedly maintained by tranquil, harmonious art and reflected a search for a new realism - one that represented the noise and chaos of a rapidly industrialising world.” —> embracing chance is an aspect I may want to explore as from my first assessment i state “nothing can be perfect” and how glitch is unpredictable. Glitch is also random much relatable to chance. A quote by Luigi Russolo from his Futurist manifesto The Art of Noises (1913): “Today music, as it becomes continually more complicated, strives to amalgamate the most dissonant, strange and harsh sounds…This musical evolution is paralleled by the multiplication of machines, which collaborate with man on every front. Not only in the roaring atmposphere of major cities, but in the country too, which until yesterday was totally silent, the machine today has created such a variety and rivalry of noises that pure sound…no longer arouses any feeling.” Russolo believed, then, that noise - random, dissonant, machine-based sounds as opposed to what he called “pure sound” - was fast becoming the only way to experience the world anew. —> highlights how “glitch” is a form of remixing the old into the new —> and is relevant to today as remix culture is prevalent. Also evokes ideas of using everyday sounds to create something new — “experience the world anew” "glitch defamiliarises the slick surface of the hardware/software of the computer and so ideally transforms us into critically minded observers of the underlying workings of the computer.” —> sparked ideas that one may not be able to see glitch (physically?) —> coding don’t can’t actually see glitch until it’s visualised into an image. 

Further research has led me to discover “data bending” / reinterpretation / sonification where audios can be turned into images, and vice versa — self provoked glitches. Also raises the question if you convert and image/sound to the other and back would it still be the same???

An interesting quote by Nick Briz (Chicago-based New Media artist, educator, organiser) — “an unexpected moment in a system, and perhaps even leads us to notice aspects of that system that might otherwise go unnoticed.”

Source: http://loriemerson.net/2014/10/01/glitch-aesthetics/

[em-cofa-blog]

Week 6 - Group Exercise

We followed a random map and gave a stranger ‘flowers’.

[millie-cofa1002]

Last week’s class task We had to design a wearable object that explores the theme of desire and possibly produces desire. We created a protective cuff from a piece of discarded metal. It was designed to protect the body from external forces but the sharps edges generated a desire for protection from the metal itself. Desire is further created through our natural attraction to shiny things. marisacofa 1002celia2015

[marisacofa]

Statement

Nothing can be perfect (as cliché as it sounds), glitch is a core example of this as it cannot be avoided or prevented - it is inevitable. Glitch is malfunction, mistake, error, broken, there is a certain negativity and failure to the word. Everything is made up of glitches creating a composition, and when one glitch is out of order it “glitches” everything. With this in mind, I have decided to explore the aesthetic of failure where glitch is a paradoxical concept, it can be constructive even when it is deconstructive. Focusing on failure, draws attention to deviation, difference and the unpredictable in this case. These qualities are what produce the “new”.

For my final work, I have chosen an A2 cloudy transparent perspex as a base, with a vinyl in the centre mounted by a nut and bolt with a square piece of mesh overlapping the vinyl at the top. The poster is interactive in ways, that the vinyl can be spun to create glitch. This concept transcends my concept where glitch is constructive yet also deconstructive, as every time the vinyl is spun, scratches are created - glitch in terms of sound and visual lines, and at the same time, the vinyl is being “ruined” - being stripped away from it’s smooth surface and original song. The mesh that glitches the vinyl is cut to a square to represent a pixel, this relates to computerised glitches as pixels modified, removed, edited glitch the overall outcome. I have further chosen a sparkly and bright coloured piece of mesh for aesthetics as well as the fact it contrasts against the black vinyl, drawing attention to the creation of the glitch and hence emphasising it.

The interactive poster therefore, explores the idea of glitch as an “aesthetic failure” rather than a malfunction. It is what makes things individual and unique.

[marisacofa]

Glitch Poster in motion