1. Noun; a defect or malfunction in a machine or plan.
2. Noun; a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault in equipment.
3. Verb; suffer a sudden malfunction or fault.
Every day we face glitches in our life, whether we are aware of them or not. Especially in this technological age, we are constantly facing different types of malfunctions and errors. They infuriate us, they disrupt our day, they interrupt out television signals in the middle of our favourite TV show, but is our frustration towards them necessary?
When looking up the definition of a glitch I was confronted with a stream of negative words. Defect, fault and suffer are just three examples of the adverse nature that we associate with glitches. But what if we looked at faults as a tool to create something unique. What if a defect was used to create something beautiful?
This thought process is what has inspired me to create my major work. I wanted to harness defects and faults and make them into something unique, beautiful and visually appealing. Through my initial research I came across glitch textiles. The idea of turning a glitch into something wearable is what initially guided my process. The initial form of glitch textiles that I came across was the works of Phillip David Stearns and his company Glitch Textiles. Their goal is to take the abstract, invisible language of technology and present it to us through accessories like scarves and throws. As my research continued I found more and more examples of glitch textiles, from Ucnv and Nukeme, who make coats out of glitch images, to the glitch textiles seen in the Dior 2015 Resort Collection. It became clear to me that defected images or faulty codes were being produced and presented in an appealing, positive way, but I wanted to present them in a way that still connects them to their original form, leading to my decision to glitch my own images.
It is important to remember that the original is not always the best, and enhancing does not always make something better. Interrupting an objects original function doesn’t necessarily make it broken, but maybe more useful or appealing. Kate Callan interrupted part of the function of a book in her work PULL. Through sewing string throughout the book she created a really intriguing artwork, however as the string was across numerous pages, it only allows you to view one page at a time at its full potential. I loved the aesthetics and disruption behind this work. The idea of being able to pre-determine how much everyone would see of each page really captivated me. It is only human to want to see the full potential of everything, and to see what we can’t, so presenting a work that limits what the audience can see through a ‘fault’ is what inspired part of my work.
To collaborate all of these elements together I first had to discover a way to cause faults and defects to my own images. Through research I found a method and applied this to 10 different images to create 14 glitch works. I then collaged these images together on an A4 page to print off on canvas paper. The form of which I have chosen to present my glitches is through a canvas book cover inspired by Tiff Manuell’s clutches. Away from the monochrome tendencies of today’s society this book cover is rich and vibrant, screaming for attention and intriguing viewers to peer inside.
For the second part of my major work, and the object presented inside the book cover, I have further edited the glitch images, adding filters and effects to show how the qualities and ability that they hold are not far from popular styles of artworks. I have presented the edited images and the original images that I made the glitches from in a small book. Taking inspiration by Kate Callan I have sewn through the book allowing the pages of the glitch images to be fully opened, but the pages with the original images on it are restricted. As said earlier in my statement, it is only human to want to see what we aren’t allowed too, but my work challenges the viewer to embrace the faults of the books function, and to read it in a different way.
In conclusion, I have created gltiched, faulty, imperfect and defected works of art, that when collaborated together in the right way compliment each other and produce something uniquely beautiful and slightly challenging.
tangentwithtanner
dailybridgerton
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