Glitch Moment

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ConTenTs

ACknowledGeMenTs 00

InTroduCTIon 00

GlITCh sTudIes MAnIfesTo 00

A TeChnoloGICAl ApproACh To noIse 00LinearProgressionandtheMythofPerfectTransmission 00NoiseArtifacts 00EncodingAndDecoding:CompressionArtifacts 00AVernacularOfFileFormats 00OrderlyChaos:FeedbackArtifacts 00

TheOtherNoiseArtifact:Glitch 00

The perCepTIon of GlITCh 00TheMeaningOfNoise 00TheGlitchMoment(um):AVoidInTechno-Culture 00TechnorealismAndtheAccidentOfArt 00

A phenoMenoloGy of GlITCh ArT 00ThePredicamentsOfDeningGlitchArt 00CategoricalPrecursors:ABinaryApproachToGlitchArt? 00

FromPassiveAppropriationOrPureGlitchArtToActive,Post-ProceduralGlitchArt 00Post-proceduralGlitchArtOrtheIntentionalFauxPas 00TheConceptAndTechniqueOfRuin 00CreatingthePerfectGlitchUsingCriticalMediaAesthetics 00TheTippingPointofCool;CriticalMediaAesthetics'BecomingCommodities 00

froM ArTIfACT To CoMModITy 00FromCircuitBendingtoSimulation 00FromDataBendingtoTranscoding 00FromEnchantingAffectToFilteredEffect 00TheGlitchArtGenre:BetweentheVoidAndCommoditizedForm 00

TheGenreParadox 00

orGAnIzInG GlITCh spheres 00GlitchArtNetworked 00SomeFinalReectionsOnTheGlitchSpheres 00

The eMAnCIpATIon of dIssonAnCe GlITCh 00

BIBlIoGrAphy 00


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Colophon

Network Notebooks editors: Geert Lovink and Sabine Niederer

Producer of this publication: Margreet Riphagen

Copy editing: Rachel O'Reilly

Design: Studio Lon&Loes, Rotterdam http://www.leon-loes.nl

Printer: Printvisie Online

Publisher: Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam

Supported by: School for Communication and Design at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

(Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Domein Media, Creatie en Informatie) and Stichting Democratie en Media.

The glitch moment(um)is composed of texts that have been extended and reworked by Rosa Menkman, 20042008.

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This publication is licensed under the Peer Production License (2010). Commercial use encouraged for

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Amsterdam, October 2011.

ISBN/EAN 978-90-816021-6-7

neTwork noTeBook serIesThe Network Notebooks series presents new media research commissioned by the INC.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED NETWORK NOTEBOOKS

Network Notebooks 03:

Dymtri Kleiner, The Telekommunist, 2010.

ISBN: 978-90-816021-2-9.


Rob van Kranenburg, The Internet of Things: A critique of ambient technology and the all- seeing network of RFID, 2008.

ISBN: 978-90-78146-06-3.


Rosalind Gill, Technobohemians of the new Cybertariat? New media work in Amsterdam a decade after the Web, 2007.ISBN: 978-90-78146-02-5.


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AcgmtIamverythankfultotheInstituteofNetworkCulturesforsupportingmeandmyloveforglitch,andfordevotingoneoftheirpublicationstothissubject.IamespeciallygratefultoGeertLovink,notjustforhisendlessinsightsintoandsupporttowardsallfringesofdigitalculture,butspecicallyforpushingmeintounexpectedterritories.IhavetothankJodiforopeningmy eyelidsandGoto80foropeningmy earlids,andforthejourneyweshared.Besidesthis,IhaveKarlKlomptothankforhistechnicalsupport.AnnetDekkerandJosephineBosmawrotethersttextsthatshowedmeawayintotheo-rizingglitchartIhavetothankthemforwritingthosetextsandalsoMatthewFullerfortheconversationthatwehadthedayhewelcomedmeintohisofce,whichIconsiderthestartingpointforthistext.Specialthankstomyeditor,Rachel,whoworkedlonghoursreviewingmyglitches.Finally,IwouldliketomakeashoutouttoThegli.tc/h/botsandallbrokenexecutables

everywhere,forbringingmelatenightUnicodebarf,alltheorganizersoffestivalsIhaveattendedandallthepeoplewhohavesupportedmeinthelastyears,artistically,theoreti-callyandtechnically.Finally,myfamilyandclosefriendsmaygoodspambewithyou.


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ItctiGlitchrstcameintomylifein2005,whenIvisitedtheexhibitionbytheDutch/BelgiumartistcollectiveJodi(JoanHeemskerkandDirkPaesmans)atMon-teVideo/TimeBasedArtsinAmsterdam(nowknownastheNIMK,NetherlandsMediaArtInstitute).An introductory textontheworkof theartistsbyAnnetDekkerwentalongwayinarticulatingtheartistsdeconstructivemethods.However,theworkthatmadethebiggestimpressiononme,(1996-2001),whichwasamodicationofthevideogame,seemedthemostincomprehensible.Icouldonlyunderstanditasirrationalandvoidofmeaning,andsoIwalkedawayfromit,confusedandtitillated.Inhindsight,I learnedaboutmyselfinthatmomentaboutmyexpectationsandconcep-tionsofhowavideogameshouldwork.Thestrangegameseemedonlytoreturnmetomyownperspectivesandexpectationsaroundthemediumthatitwasfailingtobe.AsecondtextbyJosephineBosmausefullyoutlinedJodisactivedeprogrammingofcomputers,andtheparadoxesandtensionsinherenttotheirworkingmethod.Evenstill, inparticular remained formeunder-articulated in theory, which increasedmy

curiosityaboutthiskindofartpractice.Ididnotrealizeitthen,butmytasteforglitch,andforitspotentialtointerrogateconventionsthroughcrashes,bugs,errorsandviruses,wasspawnedbythatinitialandpersistentcriticalevasionoffrommytheoreticalgrasp.

Attheendofmymasterthesisin2006,whichfocusedon Jodiswork,IhadstillnotyetreferredtoJodisartworkas glitch artIonlymentionedthewordsglitchandbuggy.Thisisprobablybecausethenotionofglitchartwasjustcrossingoverfromsoundculture,andleakingintovisualartculturesonlysporadically. 01GlitchmorefullyenteredmyvocabularyforvisualsandnetworkswhenIbegananartisticcollabora-

tionwiththemusicianGoto80(AndersCarlsson)in2007.Heexplainedtomehowheex-ploitedtheCommodore64soundchip(theSIDchip)forthecreationofmusic.ThebugsGoto80usedgaveaveryspecictexturetothesound(theresultofnoise artifacts)andIbegantodevelopandrecognizevisualequivalentstothisprocess.Ifoundmoreandmoreartifact-basedcorrespondencesbetweenaudioandvisualtechnologies,suchascompres-sions,feedbackandglitches,inmyatthattimemostlyonlineartpractice.Theninearly2008,GeertLovinkinvitedmetotheVideoVortexconferenceforavisualliveperformance(whichwasquiteachallengesinceIhadneverstoodonstagebefore)andin2009putmeintouchwithMatthewFuller,anartist,authorandlecturerinLondon,whichlaterturnedouttobetwokeyturningpoints,artisticallyandtheoretically.Ibeganperform-ingandmorestronglytheorizingwhatIwasthencallingmy.02

IexplainedtoFullermyobservationsofcompressions,feedbackandglitchesinsound

01|Aroundthistime,therewereonlyafewpeopleusingthetermglitchartinthecontextofthevisualarts:AntScotthadbeenworkingonhis

glitchartsinceJuly2001andwasalsooneofthekeyperformersataGlitchfestivalthattookplaceinNorwayin2002.Besidesthis,Iman

MoradijustnishedhisGlitchAesthetics-dissertation(2004)inwhichheusedthetermsglitchartandglitchdesigninterchangeably.The

termglitchartrstenteredWikipediain2007,whereitwasexplainedasmanipulatedB-moviesanderoticart,alsoknownasasubsetof

RapeArt.Thisdescriptionchangedonlyin2009.InconversationwithMoradi,weagreedthatthetermonlypermeatedvisualarttheoryanda

generalvocabularyafter2005,ifnotacoupleofyearslater.

02|InreferencetoPierreSchaeffer,Icalledthesevideosvideoscapes.Thesevideosfollowedthelogicofacousmatics;Irefusedtheaudience

knowledgeovertheinstrumentandthusdeniedthemtheirinherentculturalconditioningthatwouldotherwisehelpthemintheirprocessof

makingmeaning.Indoingso,Iputinfrontofthemtheunseenvisualartifacts,frombehindPythagorascurtain-theshrouded,blackveiloftechnology,http://videoscapes.blogspot.com/


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andtheircorrespondencestothevisualsphere,whopointedmetotheearlyinformationtheoryofClaudeElwoodShannonandWarrenWeaver.Theirworkprovedmostusefultomyprojectofdevelopinga technology-drivenframeworkfor theorizingtheseusuallyunwelcome,increasinglyexploitednoise artifactsinwhichmypracticewassoinvested.

Inthebeginningof2010,Idevelopedanddistributedthe(2010)inwhichIarguedinfavorofmorecriticalattentiontoglitchsincreasingossi-cationinstandardizeddesign. 03Ialsowrote(2010),aworkinthegenreofahandbook,intendedtomorerigorouslycommunicatethetechni-calspecicationsofall(ormost-used)digitalcompressionartifactsthatcouldbecreatedthrough random data insertion at that historicalmoment.04 This comprehensive PDFguidetocompressionartifactswaspositivelyreceivedbytheglitchcommunityandalsospawnedmynextproject,theco-developmentofapieceofgenerativeglitchdesignsoft-waretogetherwithJohanLarsby,called(2011).madeitpossibleforanybody,without extensive data corruption skills, to technically interrogate andlearn

aboutthedevelopmentofspecicglitchformations.05

MorerecentlyIhavemergedmytechnical,narrativeandhistoricalcomprehensionofdig-italglitchcultureintoanaudiovisualperformancecalled(2010),inwhichthe(PaulKlees)AngelofHistory,asnarratedbyWalterBenjamin,reectsspeci-callyontheendingofPAL,theanalogPhaseAlternateLinetelevisionsignal.Byintroduc-ingacriticalandmelodramaticnarrativetoaworkofglitchart,Itriedtounderlinethatthereismoretoglitchart,andmoreatstake,thanjustdesignandaesthetics.Theworkaddressesthemessuchasplannedobsolescence,built-innostalgia,criticalmediaaes-theticsandthegentricationandcontinuingdevelopmentofaglitchartgenre.Finally,I

havebeenparticipatingincriticalcommunitybuildingaroundglitch,inmyworkasco-or-ganizerandco-curatoroftheGLI.TC/HfestivalalongsideJonSatrom,NickBrizandEvanMeaney.TherstinstallmentofGLI.TC/HtookplaceinChicagoin2010andwashugelysuccessful.In2011theGLI.TC/HfestivalwillspreadtoAmsterdamandBirmingham.

Everyformofglitch,whetherbreakingaowordesignedtolooklikeitbreaksaow,willeventuallybecomeanewfashion.Thatisfate.Thisisbecauseofglitchsinherentlycriti-calmoment(um)aconceptIusethroughoutmyworktoindicatethepotentialanyglitchhastomodulateorproductivelydamagethenormsoftechno-culture,inthemomentatwhichthispotentialisrstgrasped.InthispublicationfortheInstituteofNetworkCul-tures,Ihaveconsolidatedmyeffortsatwritingintothesilences,under-articulatedtheo-

riesandassumedmadnessofdigitalglitchart.Thebookmakessenseofrecentglitchart,technically,culturally,critically,aestheticallyandnallyasagenre.Ibringintheearlyin-formationtheoristsnotusuallystudiedastheoreticalfoundationsfordigitalartpractice(ShannonandWeaver)toconsiderandreneasignalandinformationalframeworkap-propriatetoglitchstechnologicaloriginsandorientations.Igooninlaterpartstobuild

03|RosaMenkman,GlitchStudiesManifestoinGeertLovinkandRachelSomersMiles(eds)VideoVortexReaderII:movingimagesbeyond

YouTube,Amsterdam:InstituteofNetworkCultures,2011,pp.336-347,http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17713740/Glitch%20Studies%20Mani-

festo%20rewrite%20for%20Video%20Vortex%202%20reader.pdf.

04|RosaMenkman,,August2010.http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9054743/lo%20Rosa%20Menkman%20-%20A%20

Vernacular%20of%20File%20Formats.pdf.

05|JohanLarsbyandRosaMenkman,,2011.


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thetermglitchmorebroadlythanthistechnologicalbeginning.Idescribetheglitchasa(actualand/orsimulated)breakfromanexpectedorconventionalowofinformationormeaningwithin(digital)communicationsystemsthatresultsinaperceivedaccidentorerror.Aglitchoccursontheoccasionwherethereisanabsenceof(expected)functional-ity,whetherunderstoodinatechnicalorsocialsense.Therefore,aglitch,asIseeit,isnotalwaysstrictlyaresultofatechnicalmalfunction.

Atthesametime,theoristsneedtobemoreclearabouttherelationshipbetweentechnicalandmetaphoricalorculturaldimensionsofglitchculture.Focusingontheglitchwithinthisbroaderperspectivemakesitpossibletothinkthroughsomeofthemoreinterestingpoliticalandsocialusesoftheglitchwithintheeldofdigitalart.Glitchmakessensedifferentlyintermsofnoise,failureandaccident.Moreover,glitchtransitionsbetweenartifactandlter,or,inotherwords,betweenradicalbreakagesandcommodicationprocesses.Finally,glitchcouldbesaidtoexist,inallofitstensionsandthroughallkindsofculturalfeedback,asarecognizablegenreofart.Finally,Inishupwitharelational

visualizationof theglitchculturalcommunitiesandscenesthat thisbookattempts tomakesenseof.


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Gitc sti Mait1. The dominant, continuing search for a noiseless channel has been and will always

be no more than a regrettable, ill-fated dogma.Acknowledgethatalthoughtheconstantsearchforcompletetransparencybringsnewer,bettermedia,everyoneoftheseimprovedtechniqueswillalwayspossesstheirownin-herentngerprintsofimperfection.

2. Dispute the operating templates of creative practice. Fight genres, interfaces andexpectations!

Refusetostaylockedintoonemediumorbetweencontradictionslikerealvs.virtual,ob-soletevs.up-to-date,openvs.proprietaryordigitalvs.analog.Surfthevortexoftechnol-ogy,thein-between,theartofartifacts!

3. Get away from the established action scripts and join the avant-garde of the unknown.Become a nomad of noise artifacts!

The static, linear notion of information-transmission can be interrupted onthreeoc-casions:duringencoding-decoding(compression),feedbackorwhenaglitch(anunex-pectedbreakwithintheowoftechnology)occurs.Noiseartistsmustexploitthesenoiseartifactsandexplorethenewopportunitiestheyprovide.

4. Employ bends and breaks as metaphors for diffrance. Use the glitch as an exoskel-eton for progress.

Findcatharsisindisintegration,rupturesandcracks;manipulate,bendandbreakanymediumtowardsthepointwhereitbecomessomethingnew;createglitch art.

5. Realize that the gospel of glitch art also tells about new standards implemented bycorruption.Notallglitchartisprogressiveor something new.Thepopularizationandcultivationoftheavant-gardeofmishapshasbecomepredestinedandunavoidable.Beawareofeasilyreproducibleglitch effectsautomatedbysoftwaresandplug-ins.Whatisnowaglitchwillbecomeafashion.

6. Force the audience to voyage through the acousmatic videoscape.Create conceptually synaestheticartworks thatexploitbothvisual andaural glitch (orothernoise)artifactsatthesametime.Employthesenoiseartifactsasanebulatoshroudthe technologyand its innerworkingsandtocompelanaudiencetolistenandwatch

moreexhaustively.

7. Rejoice in the critical trans-media aesthetics of glitch artifacts.Utilizeglitchestobringanymediumintoacriticalstateofhypertrophy,to(subsequently)criticizeitsinherentpolitics.

8. Employ Glitchspeak (as opposed to Newspeak) and study what is outside of knowl-edge. Glitch theory is what you can just get away with!

Flowcannotbeunderstoodwithoutinterruption,norfunctionwithoutglitching.Thisiswhyglitchstudiesisnecessary.


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A Tcgica Aac T niSince, ordinarily, channels have a certain amount o noise, and thereore a fnitecapacity, exact transmission is impossible.01

- Shannon Weaver

lIneAr proGressIon And The MyTh of perfeCT TrAnsMIssIon

In1948,ClaudeShannon,todayknownasthefounderofinformationtheory,developedabasicmathematicaltheoryofcommunicationwhileworkingintheBellTelephonelabo-ratoriesintheUSduringtheSecondWorldWar.Shannonsmainconcernwastoworkoutawayinwhichthechannelsofcommunicationcouldbeusedmostefciently.02Inthemodel,Shannonreducedcommunicationtoaprocessoftransmittinginformation,anddistinguishedinformationfromthecategoryofamessage.Hewrote:

Thefundamentalproblemofcommunicationisthatofreproducingatonepointeitherexactlyorapproximatelyamessageselectedatanotherpoint.Frequentlythemessageshavemeaning; that istheyrefer toor are correlatedaccording tosomesystemwithcertainphysicalorconceptualentities.Thesesemanticaspectsofcommunicationareirrelevanttotheengineeringproblem.Thesignicantas-pectisthattheactualmessageisoneselectedfromasetofpossiblemessages.Thesystemmustbedesignedtooperateforeachpossibleselection,notjusttheonethatwillactuallybechosen.03

Shannonbasedhismathematicaltheoryofcommunicationonthefundamentthatinfor-

mationdoesnotchangewhenitscontextchanges.Healsosuggestedthatcommunica-tionsystemscouldroughlybedividedintothreemaincategoriesdiscrete,continuousandmixedallfollowingabasicmodelforcommunication.Inthesesystems,informa-tioncanbeunderstoodasaquantity,ayesornodecision,abit.04Themodelthushasapplications not only in communication theory, but also in the theory of computingmachines,thedesignoftelephoneexchangesandotherelds.05Buildingonthepriorworkof,amongothers,HarryNyquistandRalphHartley,Shannondevelopedthislinearmodeltocalculateandoptimisethesignaltonoiseratio(ameasurethatcomparesthelevelofadesiredsignaltothelevelofbackgroundnoise).BecauseShannonfocusedonthetransmissionofinformationbetweenmachinesandnotonthetransmissionofmean-ingbetweenhumanbeings,themodelmakesitpossibletoconsidernoisefromapurely

mathematicallevel,whilebracketingtoonesidetheinuenceofculture,linguisticsorothercontextualfactorsthatbringcommunicationintotherealmofinterpretationand

01|ClaudeElwoodShannon,AMathematicalTheoryofCommunication,ReprintedwithcorrectionsfromTheBellSystemTechnicalJournal,

Vol.27(July,October,1948):p.48.

02|SusanBallard,Information,Noiseandetal,M/CJournal,10.5(October,2007),http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0710/02-ballard.php.

03|ClaudeElwoodShannon,AMathematicalTheoryofCommunication,ReprintedwithcorrectionsfromTheBellSystemTechnicalJournal27

(July,October,1948):p.1.


05|ClaudeElwoodShannon,AMathematicalTheoryofCommunication,reprintedwithcorrectionsfromTheBellSystemTechnicalJournal,



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meaning.Thismakeshisworkconsiderablyabstract,whileopeninguppossibilitiesforconsideringnon-human,machiniccommunicationmorecogently,asthestartingpointfortheorizingnoise.

viSualization of the communication model aS outlined by Shannon and Weaver.

Shannonsmodellingofcommunication,intermsofsignalandnoise,consistsofvebasic steps.The transmission of informationbegins at the information source, whichproducesthemessage.Atransmitter encodesthemessagesinsignalsmadesuitablefortransmission,whichitthensendsthroughachannel.Areceiver decodesthemessagefromthesignal,tonallydeliverthemessageinitsproperformtothe destination,themachineforwhichthemessageisintendedorwherethemessagearrives.06Themodelinforma-tionsource->encoder->channel->decoder->destinationthatShannonconstructedalsoincludesanadditionalarrowinsertingnoiseintothechannel,whichisasixth,disruptive,

externalfactor.07

Insignalprocessingtheory(whichhasexistedindifferentformssincethe17thcentury),noiseisgenerallyconsideredintermsofthemechanicalimprecisionofinstrumentation.08Shannonsadaptationofsignalprocessingtocommunicationtheoryaccountsforexternalnoisebeingintroducedtothesignalwhileitisintransmission,toobscurethepurityofthesignal.Thiskindofexternalnoisehasaparticularmaterialityandentersintotheequationasunexplainedvariationandrandomerror.09

Inaddition tothisrstkindofnoise,Shannonalsodescribed asecondkindofnoisecalledentropy,whichisencodedwithinthemessageitself.Entropy,takenfromtheeldandtheoriesofthermodynamics,isthemeasureofdisorderofasystematagiventime.Accordingtothermodynamics,itisinherenttoanysystemofinformation,naturalortech-

nological,totendtowardsdisorderortofallapartcompletely.Thisentropicorientationisessentialandinsomeways,positive,becauseitcantellsomethingabouttherelation-shipsbetweenthematerialbodies,representationsandspacesconnectedtogetherfor





08|PaoloPrandoniandMartinVetterli,SignalProcessingforCommunications,Lausanne:EPFLPress,2008,http://www.sp4comm.org/webver-

sion.html.



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thepurposesoftransmission.Followingthis,itisimportanttorealisethatinShannonscommunicationmodel,informationisnotonlyobfuscatedbynoise,itisalsodependentuponitforcorrecttransmission.Withoutnoise,eitherencodedwithintheoriginalmes-sage,orpresentfromsourcesoutsidethechannel,therecannotbeafunctioningchannel.Noiseservestocontextualizeinformation;informationneedsnoisetobetransmittedsuc-cessfully.Consequently,withoutnoisethereisnoinformation. 10ShannoneventuallywithWeaveradaptedthismathematicalmodelintoTheShannonandWeavermodelofcom-munication,bringingmachinecommunicationtheory to theconsiderationof humancommunication,byincorporatingNorbertWienerscyberneticconceptoffeedback.11

Inoptimisingsignaltonoiseratios,Shannonwasworkingverymuchinlinewithwhathasbecomethedominant,modernistandeventwentiethcenturyidealfortechnology:thenotionoftheoptimallytransparentchannel.(Iuse'transparent'throughoutthebooktodescribetheassumptionthattechnologycanbe"see-through",ordoesnotinterveneintotheprocessofsendingorperceivinginformation.)Withinmediadesignanddevelop-

mentcultures,thepursuitofultimate,noise-freeandhi-channelsandsupposedhighestlevelsofrealityhastendedtobetheHolyGrail(epitomizedforexampleasmediadreamsintheHolodeckofStar Trek,orthedirectbraincinemaofBigelowsStrange Days,andsoon).12Whiletheidealisalwaysunreachable,innovationisneverthelessstillassumedtolieinndinganinterfacethatisasnon-interferingaspossible,enablingtheaudiencetoforgetaboutthepresenceofthemediumandbelieveinthepresenceanddirectnessofimmediatetransmission.AsBolterandGrusinnoteinRemediation(2001),ourculturewantstomultiplyitsmediaandtoerasealltracesofmediation:ideally,itwantstoeraseitsmediaintheveryactofmultiplyingthem.Itistheverylogicofimmediacy,accord-ingtoBolterandGrusin,whichdictatesthatthemediumitselfshoulddisappear.13An

exampleofthisisthecomputersGraphicalUserInterface,whichwasdevelopedtoletus-ersinteractwithmultipleelectronicdevicesusinggraphicsratherthancomplicatedtextcommands.Thisdevelopmentmadethesetechnologiesmoreaccessibleandwidespread,yetmoreobfuscatedintheirfunctionalities.Indeed,whatmakesanymediumspecicishowitfailstodisappearastechn.Tostudymedia-specicartifactsistotakeinterestinthefailureofmediatodisappear,orinotherwords,innoiseartifacts.


11|ThefactthatShannonandWeaverapproachedhumancommunicationwithamodeldevelopedforthetransmissionofinformationandthusdidnotconsiderthedifferenceofthehumanprocessofmakingmeaningresultedinheavycriticismfromotherhumancommunication

theorists,whoeventuallydevelopedmodiedandalternativemodels.Thesemodelsoftenemphasisedthefactthatcommunicationdoesnt

meanthetransmissionofinformation,butratherthatmeaningisactivelyconstructedbyboththeinitiatorsandinterpreters.In1954,Wilber

SchrammadjustedShannonandWeaversmodel,puttinggreateremphasisontheprocessofencodinganddecoding.Thisalterationwaslater

adoptedbyStuartHall,whowroteaboutencodinganddecodingfromtheperspectiveofmasscommunication(principallyintelevision).

TheonlyothermediatedcommunicationmodelthathasgainedawideusagesinceShannonandWeaveristhecommunicationmodelby

McLuhan.McLuhanessentiallyarguesthatmediationandcommunicationiswhatweallliveinsideof,thereforecannotbecaughtinone

transparentmodel.McLuhandropsthesourceandthesenderthatencloseShannonscommunicationmodel.Healsorejectsthenotion

ofmathematicsandmostlyfocusesontheinuenceofthemediumoverthecontentofthemessage.AccordingtoMcLuhan,themedium

shapesthecontentofthemessage:themediumforinstancechangesthescale,paceorpatternofthemessage.AlthoughIamawarethat

aspectsofbothMcLuhansandShannonandWeaversworkcanbeappliedtoglitchindifferentways,Ibelievethatforthepurposesofmy

researchthemodelofShannonandWeaverismostclearlyusefulasabasic,informationalapproachtonoise.

12|MichaelHeim,TheMetaphysicsofVirtualReality,NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1993.p.122.

13|JayDavidBolterandRichardGrusin,Remediation:UnderstandingNewMedia,Massachusetts:MITPress,1999.pp.5-6.


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noIse ArTIfACTs

WhilethelinearcommunicationprocessdescribedbyShannonisreasonablydetermin-istic,itspredictabilityisunderminedbytheoveralladditionofnoise,whichrevealsitselfonthesurfaceoftheinformationandiscategorizableasnoiseartifacts.Typesofnoiseartifactsdependontheformoftheinformation,includinghowitisshapedby encoding/decoding(inthedigitalrealmthisprocessmaterializesde/compression artifacts)ormis-shapedbysignalcorruption,whilstintransmission.Feedbackisanotherdifferentiationofasignalfromthelineartransmissionmodelthatcanalsoleadtoparticular,medium-specic artifacts.Once theircauseisknown, different formsofnoiseartifacts can benamedaccordingtothesethreecategories.Eachcategoryofinterruptioninvolvesitsowntechnicalaesthetics,shapedthroughmediaspecicity.

enCodInG And deCodInG: CoMpressIon ArTIfACTs

Todayscommunicationstrivestobecomeexponentiallyfasterand(partlyasaconsequence)tobecomemoretransparent.Inthepresentpursuitofimmediacy,signalspeedhasbeenincreasinglyprioritized.Incontrast,earlierdevelopmentsinaudioandvideotechnologiesfocussedonthereductionofnoiseinordertoimprovemediaexperientialquality.Todayqualityseemstobeofsecondaryimportance;recenttechnologicaldevelopmentsappeartoreverseordownplaythefocusonsignalqualityasagenuinedigital-culturalconcern.

Withthehelpofmorepowerful(transfer)protocolssuchasen/decodingorcompression

algorithms,informationcantravelfasterandfurther.Acompressionreorganisesinforma-tion,thetimeandspacethroughwhichtheelementsofsoundandimagesarecommu-nicated,byscaling,reorderinganddecomposing. 14Compressioncanbequitecomplex.Considera singlele.Firstthere isale format,whichcanbea containerof, forex-ample,soundandimage(examplesincludeMPEG,AVIorMOV).Thiscontainerpossessesthemeta-informationaboutwhattype(s)ofcompression-decompressionprotocol(s)orcodecsareneededtostoreandtransfertheinformationortoviewthedataobject.Thecontainerthusdoesnotcarrythecompressionalgorithmitself.Insteadtheseareinstalledonthecomputerintheformofcodecs.Besidesthis,therearetwodifferentkindsofcom-pressionprotocols:losslessandlossy.

Lossless and especially lossy compressions have become almost ubiquitous, whereasoriginal RAW (uncompressed) information is considered now rare and relatively un-wieldy,especiallyintherealmsofdigitalmusic,photographyandcinema.Losslesscom-pressedlescanberebuiltexactlythewaytheywerebeforebeingcompressed,andretainallinformationduringtheprocess.Contrarily,agoodexampleofnewlossydatacom-pressiontechnologiesisthemp3dataformat,whichhasmadeitpossibletodistributemusiceasily,butinlowerqualitythantheCD(whichusesanuncompressedlinearPCMorganisation).Lossydatacompressiontakesapragmatic,versioneddistancefromtheoriginalle.Thiscompressionfocusesonlyonthedatathatisimportantfortheeyeand/

14|AdrianMackenzie,Codecs,inMatthewFuller(ed.)SoftwareStudies,Massachusetts:MITPress,2008,pp.48-55.p.36.


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ortheeartoperceiveanddiscardstheinformationthatisbelievedtobeoflesserimpor-tance.Forvideoimagesforinstance,perceptiondependsonthethresholdsofluminance(brightness)andchrominance(colouring)inspaceandtime.Therefore,videocodecsaredesignedaroundthetransmissionofthesetwovaluesasefcientlyaspossible.Theriseoflossyleshasresultedincontemporarymediaconsumptionpracticesinwhichnoiseisincreasedratherthandecreased.

Mostcompressionsarerelativelyconcealed.Theyrarelycometothesurfacetoexplic-itlyrevealtheirlanguage,orsystemofrules.Theyhavebeenbuilt,debuggedandtestedmanytimesinorderforthemtoseemnegligible,orindeed,torecedeintotransparency.However,everyde/encoding(orcompression)technologyhas itsvisibleandlessvisibleartifacts,thatwillbeabletocometothesurfacewheneitheranerrorcorruptstheimageinformation,ortheencoding/decodingprocessmalfunctions.


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A VernACulAr of fIle forMATs15

The only resolution to the problem o non-communication was to incorporate itwithin the system.16

- friedrich Kittler

A PhotoshoP RAW imAge (.RAW). | thiS iS the original, uncomreSSed (raW) Source image, Which i Will glitch

throughout thiS ch ater, in order to outline a condenSed ver Sion of my vernacular of file formatS. the image iS a

video Still, Which iS Why it involveS (nearly inviSible) Scan lineS. theSe lineS are from the original video.

Rawimagelescontainminimallyprocesseddata(pixels)fromtheimagesensorof,for

instance,adigitalcameraorimagescanner.TheleheaderofaRAWimagetypicallycon-tainsinformationconcerningthebyte-orderingofthele;thecamerasensorinformationandotherimagemetadatalikeexposuresettings;thecamera,scannerorlensmodel;thedate(and,optionally,place)ofshootingorscanning;theformat,sizeandnumberofcol-ors;aswellasotherinformationneededtodisplaytheimage.

15|Thissectionisinfactacondensedadaptationofmy2010artwork,VernacularofFileFormats.

16|FriedrichKittler,DraculasVermchtnis:TechnischeSchriften,Leipzig:ReclamVerlagLeipzig,1993.p.242.


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A dAtA bent PhotoshoP RAW, (h=0) imAge (.RAW). | thiS image WaS conStructed by oening the original three chan-

nel interleaved raW image aS a Single channel (Single color/greyScale) interleaved document. the image generated

iS a reverSible databend. thiS image iS uncomreSSed.

ItispossibletosaveaRAWimagelewithoutaheader(whenyouopentheimageinPhotoshop,forexample,youcanchooseheader=0inapop-upbox).WhentheRAWim-ageissavedwithoutaheaderthecomputerdoesntknowthedimensionsoranyothercrucialinformationthatisneededtoreconstructtheimageoutof theimagedata.Thisopensupcreativepossibilities.Itisforinstancepossibletoinputnewdimensionsfortheimage,changetheamountofcolorchannelsorchoosewhetherornottheimagewillbedisplayedasinterleavedornon-interleaved.InthecaseofaRAWimagele,interleav-

ingandnon-interleavingrefertotheorderinwhichtheRGB(Red,GreenandBlue)colorvaluesofeverypixelarestored.InaninterleavedRAWimage,thedataisstoredinaRG-BRGBRGBsequence.Whentheimageissavedinnon-interleavedorder,theRGBvaluesarenotorderedsequentiallybuthavetheirownlayers.Bydeviatingfromthevaluesoftheoriginallyrecordedimage,theimagecanbedisplayedinadistortedwayandthestructureofthelebecomesvisible.


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A dAtA bent bitmAP imAge (.bmP). | thiS bm image WaS data bent by coy-aSting a Selection of random image data

over and over into the original file. the image generated iS an irreverSible databend. thiS image iS uncomreSSed.

TheBMPle format is uncompressed. Every bit that indexes a bitmap pixel value ispackedwithinalinearrowandprocessedinareversedordertothenormalimagerasterscanorder,startinginthelowerrightcorner,advancingrowbyrowfromthebottomtothetop.Thisiswhy,whenyoucopy-pastejustsomepartsoftheimagedata,thelowerpartoftheimagedataandtheimageitselfwillremainintact,whiletheupperpartoftheimageshiftshorizontally.

InBMPles,andmanyotherbitmapleformats,thecolorpaletteconsistsofablockof

bytes(atableorpalette)listingthecolorsavailableforuseinaparticularindexed-colorimage.Eachpixelintheimageisdescribedbyanumberofbits(1-32bitcolordepth)thatindexasinglecolorfromthecolorpalette,whichisdescribedrightaftertheheader.TheBMPcolorpaletteusestheinterleavedRGBcolormodel.Inthismodel,acolordependsondifferentintensities(from0to255)oftheprimaryRGBcolors.AcoloristhusdenedbythenalintensitiesofR+G+B.Whenyoucopy-pastetheimagedata,certainshiftswithintheRGBvaluesmaytakeplace;theintensityofthedatafromBcan(forinstance)shifttoR,creatingsuddendiscoloredblocks.


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gRAPhics inteRchAnge FoRmAt imAges (.giF). | left: a gif image featuring truncation (involving quantization

error). right: a gif image in Which quantization error iS minimized through the uSe of dither artifactS. the gif

comreSSion iS loSSleSS.

TheGraphicsInterchangeFormatisabitmapimageformatthatsupports8bitsperpixel.Thiscompressioncanthereforeconsistofnomorethen256colors.Theformatsupportsanimationandemploysdither(agrainorblockartifact),whichcanbeintentionallyap-pliedasaformofnoiseto randomizequantizationerror(s).Quantizationreferstotheprocedureofconstraininginformationfromarelativelylargeorcontinuoussetofvalues(suchasrealnumbers)toarelativelysmalldiscretesetdifferencebetweentheactualana-logvalueandquantizeddigitalvalueofcolor.Quantizationerroristhusanerroroftenimpactinguponcolor,causedbytruncation(thediscardingoflesssignicantcolorinfor-

mation).

Ditherhelpstopreventimagesfromdisplayingortransformingintolarge-scalepatternssuchasbanding(asteppedprocessofrenderingsmoothgradationsinbrightnessorhue).Moreover, because the humaneye perceives the diffusion caused bydither asamixtureofthecolors,unavailable(cutoutoruncodable)colorsareapproximated.Thiscreatestheillusionofcolordepth.


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grahicS interchange format imageS (.gif).

thiS interlaced gif image WaS data bent by the introduction of a random error to the information data. the image

generated iS an irreverSible databend.

Theformatusesafourpassdimensionalinterlacingstrategy.Thisbasicallymeansthattheimage,consistingofdifferentrowsofpixels,decodessomerowsofpixelsbeforeotherrows.Theexampleimageshowsthedisplacementofthedifferentrowsduringweav-ing(theputtingtogetherofthetwolayers),resultingincombingartifactswithjaggededges.


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A dAtA bent PRogRessive Joint PhotogRAPhic exPeRts gRoP imAge (.JPeg). thiS baSeli ne Jeg image WaS data bent by

the introduction of a random error to the information data. the image generated iS an irreverSible databend. the

Jeg comreSSion iS loSSy.

A JPEG compression consists of 6 subsequent steps:1. Color space transformation.Initially,imageshavetobetransformedfromtheRGBcol-orspacetoanothercolorspace(calledYCbCr),thatconsistsofthreecomponentsthatarehandledseparately:theY(lumaorbrightness)andtheCbandCrvalues(chromaorcolorvalues,whicharedividedintohueandsaturation).

2. Down sampling.BecausethehumaneyedoesntperceivesmalldifferenceswithintheCbandCrspaceverywell,theseelementsaredownsampled(theirinformationisre-

duced).3. Block splitting. Afterthecolorspace transformation, the imageis split into tilesormacroblocks,whicharerectangularregionsof theimagethataretransformedandencodedseparately.


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an 8 8 dct baSiS function of a Jeg With differentiated macro blocKS (.Jeg).

4. Discrete Cosine Transform. Next,adiscretecosine transform (whichworkssimilartotheFourierTransformfunctionexploitedindatamoshingandmacroblockexperi-

mentstowhichIwilllaterrefer)isusedtocreateafrequencyspectrum,totransformthe88blockstoacombinationof64two-dimensionalDCTbasisfunctionsorpatterns(asmappedoutbythelines).5. Quantization.Duringthequantizationstep,thehighestbrightness-frequencyvaria-tionsbecomeabaseline(or0-value),whilesmallpositiveandnegativefrequencydiffer-entiationsaregivenavaluethatstartsfromthisbaseline,whichtakesmanyfewerbitstorepresent.6. Entropy coding.Finally,entropycodingisapplied.Entropycodingisaspecialformoflosslessdatacompressionthatinvolvesarrangingtheimagecomponentsinazigzagorder.Thisallowsthequantizedcoefcienttabletoberewritteninazigzagordertoase-

quenceoffrequencies.Arun-lengthencoding(RLE)algorithmgroupssimilarfrequen-ciestogetherandafterthat,viaHuffmancodingorganizeswhatisleft.


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a data bent baSeline Joint hotograhic exertS grou image (.Jeg).

thiS baSeline Jeg image WaS data bent by the introduction of a random error to the information data. the image

generated iS an irreverSible databend. the Jeg comreSSion iS loSSy.

BecausetheRGBcolorvaluesofJPEGimagesaredescribedinsuchacomplexalgorithm,randomdatareplacementscanalsoresultintodramaticdiscolorationanddisplacement.TheveryhighcompressionratioofaJPEGaffectsthequalityoftheimageandthesizeoftheartifacts.Whenusingquantizationwithblock-basedcoding,asIhavedoneintheseJPEG-compressedimages,severaltypesof artifactscanappear,forinstance ringingorghosting,blockingandjaggies.Theimageshowsblockingorstaircaseartifactsap-pearingmostclearlyalongthecurvingedgesasaresultofthe88JPEGblocks.Blockiness

inbusyregionsissometimesalsoreferredtoasquiltingorchecker-boarding.Jaggiesistheinformalnameforartifactsinrasterimages.Theyareoftentheresultofpooralias-ing,whichhappenswhenaJPEGsignalreconstructionafterdownsamplinghasproducedonlyhighfrequencyoutcomes.


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A dAtA bent Joint PhotogRAPhic exPeRts gRoP committee 2000 imAge (.JPF). | thiS Jeg 2000 image WaS data bent by

the introduction of a random error to the information data. the image generated iS an irreverSible databend. the

Jeg 2000 comreSSion iS loSSy.

TheJPEG2000standardisacompressionstandarddevelopedespeciallyforthemedicalimagingindustrybecauseofthemanyedgeandblockingartifactspossiblefortheJPEGformat,whichcancausecatastrophicmisreadingsinmedicalpictures.JPEG2000hasimprovedscalabilityandedit-ability. InJPEG2000,afterthecolortransformationstep,the image issplit into so-called tiles, rectangularregionsof the imagethat are trans-formedandencodedseparately.Tilescanbeanysizeanditisalsopossibletoconsiderthewholeimageasonesingletile.Thistilingprocessturnstheimageintoacollection

ofsub-bands,whichrepresentseveralapproximationscales.Asub-bandisasetofcoef-cientsthatrepresentaspectsoftheimageassociatedwithacertainfrequencyrangeaswellasaspatialareaoftheimage.Thequantizedsub-bandsaresplit furtherintopre-cincts;rectangularregionsinthewaveletdomain.Awaveletisawave-likeoscillationwithamplitudethatstartsoutatzero,increases,andthendecreasesbacktozero.Itcantypicallybevisualizedasabriefoscillationlikeonemightseerecordedbyaseismographorheartmonitor.Precinctsaresplitfurtherintocodeblocks,whicharelocatedinasinglesub-bandandhaveequalsizes.Thechrominancecomponents(ofJPEG2000)canbe(butdonotnecessarilyneedtobe)downscaledinresolution;infact,sincethewavelettrans-formationalreadyseparatesimagesintoscales,downscalingordownsamplingismore

effectivelyhandledbydroppingthenestwaveletscale.


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orderly ChAos: feedBACk ArTIfACTs

Feedback,acategoryofnoise,isacircularprocessinwhichapartoftheprocesssoutputisreturned(fedback)totheinput,inuencingthefuturebehaviouroftheprocess.Theadditionoffeedbackchangesthecommunicationmodelconsiderably,fromalineartoanon-linearmodeloftransmission,whichalsoopensthemodeluptonewformsofnoise.Feedback then isbothanartifactwithin digital technologies and a generativequalityavailableinmanycommunicationmedia.

NorbertWienerestablishedthefoundationsofcybernetics(in1948)bydescribingtheprincipleofcyberneticfeedback.Hewrotethatinafeedback-orientedsystem,thefactualoutcomehastobecomparedwiththeintendedoutcome.Iftheintendedconditionisnotreached,itispursuedthroughfeedback,eitherbyincreasingordecreasingthedifference.Anexampleofsuchasystemisfor instancea thermostat,butmorecomplexexamplesincludesignal(forinstanceaudio)equalizersorthestockmarket.17

The other noIse ArTIfACT: GlITCh

Malunction and ailure are not signs o improper production. On the contrary,they indicate the active production o the "accidental potential" in any product.The invention o the ship implies its wreckage, the steam engine and the locomo-tive discover the derailment.18

- aul virilio

Whenthecauseofanoiseartifactisknown,theartifactisoftennotreferredtoasnoise,butinsteadisnamedafteritstechnicalcause,forinstanceasacompressionartifact(jaggies,macroblocking, checkerbording) orfeedback artifact. The difference between compres-sionandfeedbackartifactsisthusnotalwaysstrict.Whenthesourceofthenoiseartifactisnot(yet)known,thenoisebecomespuzzling.Inthedigitalrealm,thiskindofnoiseisoftenreferredtoasglitch.Glitch,anunexpectedoccurrence,unintendedresult,orbreakordisruptioninasystem,cannotbesingularlycodied,whichispreciselyitsconceptualstrengthanddynamicalcontributiontomediatheory.Fromaninformational(ortechno-logical)perspective,theglitchisbestconsideredasabreakfrom(oneof)theprotocolizeddataowswithinatechnologicalsystem.AccordingtoTheAmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,thewordglitchwasrstrecordedinEnglishin1962inthewritings

ofastronautJohnGlenn,whodescribesglitchasatermadoptedbyhisteamtodescribesomeofourproblems.Glenngivesthetechnicalsenseofthewordthattheastronautshadadopted,asliterallyaspikeorchangeinvoltageinanelectricalcurrentonlytonotehowthatmorespecictechnicaldenitionwassoonappliedtoarangeofother,not-yet-spec-iedproblems.Closetothemomentofitsinceptionthen,glitchalreadypassesbeyondspecictechnicalusetodescribeawidevarietyofmalfunctionsandmishaps.19

17|NorbertWiener,Cybernetics:OrControlandCommunicationintheAnimalandtheMachine,Paris:Hermann&Cie&Camb,1948.

18|SylvereLotringerandPaulVirilio,TheAccidentofArt,Semiotext(e):NewYork,2005.p.2.

19|TheAmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,FourthEdition,HoughtonMifinCompany,2004.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/glitch.


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Theresultofaglitchcanrangesignicantly,fromacatastrophetojustaminorhiccuporslip.Inthecaseofminorglitches,theinformationalinputs,encodingordecodingorothertechnologicalprotocolsarerevealedtobeatsomepointerroneous,whiletherestofthesystemorthepartsprocessingthedataowswithinthatsystem(thehardware,soft-wareorforinstancethemonitorinterface)continue tofunction,anddisplaytheerror-riddenoutputunscrutinized.Whentheglitchismoredisastrous,thesystemmightnotfunctionproperlyatall,oreverreturntoitsnormalmodeofoperation.Fromamediacultureperspectivethen,thetermglitchreferstoanotyetdenedbreakfromaproceduralow,fosteringacriticalpotential.HereIuseproceduralasamonikerfromprocedural programming (or imperative programming), to reference series' ofcomputationalstepsthatmustbecarriedoutinorderforaprogramtoreachadesiredstate.Onceaproceduralowisbroken,therearetwopossiblewaysinwhichtheglitchtendstomove.Ifthecauseofthemachineserraticbehaviorbecomesknown,theglitchtipsandbecomesasimplebugreportofafailure,inwhichitwillbedescribedunderitstechnologicalname(whichatthatpointisoftenacompressionartifact).However,ifthe

causeoftheglitchremainsunknown,theglitchcaneitherbeignoredandforgotten,ortransformedintoaninterpretationorreectiononaphenomenon(orthememorythere-of)denedbyasocialorculturalcontext(conventions,histories,perspectives)andthetechnologythatismalfunctioning.In short, failure is a phenomenon to overcome, while aglitch is incorporated further into technological or interpretive processes.Accordingly,whentheglitchopensuptotherealmofsymbolicormetaphoricalconnotations,theinterrup-tionshiftsfrombeingastrictlyinformationalortechnologicalactuality,intoamorecom-plexpost-proceduralphenomenontobereckonedwith.


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T pcti o GitcOur taverns and our metropolitan streets, our ofces and urnished rooms, ourrailroad stations and our actories appeared to have us locked up hopelessly.Then came the flm and burst this prison-world asunder by the dynamite o thetenth o the second, so that now, in the midst o its ar-ung ruins and debris, wecalmly and adventurously go traveling.01

- Walter benJamin

The MeAnInG of noIse

Todevelopacategorizationofnoiseforcontemporaryaudio-visualmediatheory,IhaveusedClaudeShannonsmathematicaltheoryofcommunication.Inhisdenitionofin-formationalnoise,Shannonconvenientlyfocusedonthetransferofinformationbetweenmachines,leavinghumanelementsandcontextoutoftheequation.DrawingonShan-

nonsmodel,Iwasabletodividedigitalnoiseintothreebasiccategoriesofnoiseartifacts:encoding/decoding artifacts(whicharemostoftenreferredtoascompressionartifacts),feedback artifactsandtheothercorruptionsknownasglitch artifactsartifactsforwhichthecausesarenot(yet)known.Itisimportanttorealizethatthedifferencebetweeneachoftheseartifactsisnotrigid,asthedescriptionofaglitchartifactcanbeunderstoodasade/compressionorfeedbackartifact(andvisaversa),dependingontheviewersknowl-edgeofthetechnology.Inthecontextofhuman-computercommunication,IalsodeviatefromShannonandWeaverandbelievethattheconceptofnoisebecomesmorecomplexasitconnotesmeaningandtranslation.Consequently,human-computerdenitionsofnoisemustalsoincludesocialparametersandbecomemorecomplex,inevitablynegoti-

atingquestionsofcontext,perceptionandaesthetics.

Theetymologicaldenitionofnoisereferstostatesofaggression,alarmandpowerfulsoundphenomena innature (rauschen02).When the concept ofnoise isapproachedwithina socialcontext,noisedoesnotexistindependently,butonlyin relationtowhatitisnot.Howevercomplexorinclusivenoiseappearsas asignier, itisalways akindofnegativity:itstandsforunacceptedsound,notmusic,invalidinformationortheab-senceofamessage.Noiseisunwanted,otherandunordered.Accordingly,thereisalsonounequivocalculturaldenitionofnoise,becauseintheend,whatnoiseisandwhatnoiseisnot,isasocialmatter.AsJamesBradyCraneld-Rosewrites,noiseisacipher,aquestionmark,forevereludingxeddenitions.03Furthermore,whicheverwaynoise

isdened,itsnegativeorientationalsohaspositive,criticaldimensions.Noisetendstoreexivelystageareconsiderationorre-viewitsoppositetheworldofmeaning,normsandregulations,goodness,orbeauty.04

01|WalterBenjamin,TheWorkofArtintheAgeofMechanicalReproduction,inHannahArendt(ed.)Illuminations,NewYork:Schocken,1968,

pp.219-254.p.236.

02|TorbenSangild,TheAestheticsofNoise,Copenhagen:Datanom,2002.www.ubu.com/papers/noise.p.5-8.

03|JamesBradyCraneld-Rose,Tick-tick-tick-tick-tickOval,theglitchandtheutopianpoliticsofnoise,unpublishedmasterthesis,Burnaby,

Canada:SimonFraserUniversity,2004.p.13,http://lib-ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/8961.

04|PaulHegarty,Noise/Music:AHistory,LondonandNewYork:Continuum,2007.p.5.


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The GlITCh MoMenT(uM): A VoId In TeChno-CulTure

Noiseaestheticsposebothatechnologicalandperceptualchallengetohabitualorideologi-calconventions.Whilemediadevelopersdesigntheirtechnologiesinorderthattheuserwillforgetaboutthepresenceofthemedium,followingtheideallogicoftransparentimmediacy,inreality,thecomplexityoftheusersinherently aestheticandperceptualresponsestothehumancomputerinterfacerequiresamorenuancedapproach.AsErnstGombrichdeclared:Howeverweanalysethedifferencebetweentheregularandtheirregular,wemustultimatelybeabletoaccountforthemostbasicfactofaestheticexperience,thefactthatdelightliessomewherebetweenboredomandconfusion.05Situationsofeitherextremeimmediacyorextremereliabilitydonotcontributeasmightbeexpectedtotheactualrichnessofamediaexperience.Mostpeopleneedsomekindofinterplaybetweensurpriseanduniformitytokeepthemactivelyinvolved.06Expandingonthisimportant,indeedintegralroleofirregular-ityandsurpriseinhumanperception,GombrichquotesAdelbertAmes,Jr,whoexplains:

theorganismiscontinuallycomparingtheprognosisofthecontinuallychangingnewexternaleventswithhisdeterminedframeofsignicance.Iftheyconform,i.e.work,heisnolongerinterested;butinsofarastheydonot,hehastotakestockofthesituation.Therearethreepossibilitieseitherhisframeofsignicancesmaybewrong,orhisimmediatesenseresponsemaybewrong,orboth.Inanycase,hehasaproblemtosolve.07

Therstencounterwithaglitchcomeshandinhandwitha feelingofshock,withbe-inglostandinawe.Theglitchisapowerfulinterruptionthatshiftsanobjectawayfromitsowandordinarydiscourse,towardstheruinsofdestructedmeaning.Thisconcept

ofowIemphasizeasbothatraitwithinthemachineaswellasafeatureofsocietyasawhole.DeLandadistinguishesbetweenchaoticdisconnectedowsandstableowsofmatterthatmoveincontinuousvariations,conveyingsingularities. 08DeLandadrawshereonDeleuzeandGuattari,whodescribeowintermsofthebeliefsanddesiresthatbothstimulateandmaintainsociety.Theywritethataowissomethingthatcomesintoexis-tenceoverlongperiodsoftime.Withintheseperiods,conventionsareestablished,whiledeviationstendtobecomerareoccurrencesandareoften(mis)understoodasaccidents(or glitches).Althoughmeaningfulaspectsofevery day lifemight infactbedisclosedwithin theserareuctuations,their impactor relevanceisoftenlikely toberuledout,becauseofsocialtendenciestoputemphasisonthenorm.09

Aglitchisthemostpuzzling,difculttodeneandenchantingnoiseartifact;itrevealsitselftoperceptionasaccident,chaosorlacerationandgivesaglimpseintonormallyobfuscated

05|ErnstHansJosefGombrich,TheSenseofOrder:AStudyinthePsychologyofDecorativeArt,London:PhaidonPress,1984.p.9.

06|RobertPepperell,Computeraidedcreativity:practicalexperienceandtheoreticalconcerns,inProceedingsofthe4thconferenceonCreativ-

ity&cognition,Loughborough,UK:ACM,2002.pp.50-56,http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=581710.581720&type=series.

07|Ames,Jr.Adelbert,ThemorningNotes,inErnstHansJosefGombrich,TheSenseofOrder:AStudyinthePsychologyofDecorativeArt,

London:PhaidonPress,1984.p.117.

08|ManuelDeLanda,WarintheAgeofIntelligentMachines,NewYork:ZoneBooks,1991.p.20.

09|GillesDeleuzeandPierre-FlixGuattari,AThousandPlateaus:CapitalismandSchizophrenia,Trans.B.Massumi,Londen:TheAthlonePress,1988.p.219.


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machinelanguage.Ratherthancreatingtheillusionofatransparent,well-workinginter-facetoinformation,theglitchcapturesthemachinerevealingitself.Televisionisarguablyoneofthemoreow-centric,ideologicallytransparentmediaforms.In Television: Technol-ogy and Cultural Form(1974),Williamsdescribesaviewerfrequentlycaughtupinaowoftechnologyanditscontents.Heemphasizesthattheprocessofthisowseemsnatural,butisinfactstrictlyguidedbylargercorporationsandpowers.Whena(televisual)owbreaks,theusercomestowitnessonlyshredsoftheowthroughwhichthemessageisnormallytransmitted,whilethemachinicfunctionsthatareconventionallyrelieduponasobfus-catedarerevealed.10Whenasupposedlytransparentinterfaceisdamagedinthisway,theviewer ismomentarily relocatedto avoidofmeaning.Interruptionsliketheseareoftenperceivedasdisastrous,threateninganduncanny.Sometimestheycreateamomentwhereseeminglyanysensethatcouldbemadeofasituationiseliminatedfromthoughtorpos-sibility.Onotheroccasions,themetaphoricalimpactoftheunspeakablemediaticdisasteralsobringswithitthetendencytoreect(onforinstancewhatthedifferentiationfromtheowmeans).EricKluitenbergdescribeshowthiswasthecaseonSeptember11,2001,when

theCNNwebsitetemporarilywentdownandablackscreenrepeatedlyinterruptedtheowofthetelevisionbroadcast.Hereferstothesemomentsintimeas

theruptureofprofessionalmediacodes,whichsignaledcompletepanicanddis-array[],theinnityofpossiblealternativediscourses,ofotherpossiblemodesofexplanationandinterpretation.11

Whatischallengedor broughtforward inthecaseofthevoidistheideaofauthorshipitself, which, prior to this supposedly voidingmoment, was in fact neutralized frommedia-culturalexperience.Itispossibletorealizeatthispointandonlybelatedlythat

theconventionsoftheseamlesssurfaceofthenetworkedmediaspectacleitself,anditsillusionofstability12tendtoforecloseanysenseofauthorshipwhatsoever.Inmediaac-cidentslikethese,thevoidinvolvestheunknownthatwhichcannotbedescribedorplannedfor.Theseemptyspacesofnon-understandingtriggerahorror vacui:afearofvoidstowhichnothingelsecanbecomparedandthatisbeyondallpossibilitiesofcalcu-lation,measurementorimitation.13However,theseterrifyingvoidsalsocreateaformofcounter-experience,anegativepleasurethatisnotsodifferentfromtheproto-modern,aestheticconceptionofthesublime(describedasearlyas1693inJohnDennisswritingsontheAlps),ascontradictoryandimmensedelightthatisconsistentwithreasonbutyet,mingledwithHorrors,andsometimesalmostwithdespair.14

Likeinthisnature-generatedsublime,theglitchisanuncannyoroverwhelmingexperi-enceofunforeseenincomprehension.Experiencingaglitchisoftenlikeperceivingastun-

10|RaymondWilliams,Television:TechnologyandCulturalForm,Hanover:UniversityPressofNewEngland,1974.

11|EricKluitenberg,DelusiveSpaces.EssaysonCulture,MediaandTechnology,Rotterdam:NAiPublishersandAmsterdam:Instituteof

NetworkCultures,2008.p.357.

12|EricKluitenberg,TransgurationoftheAvant-Garde/TheNegativeDialecticsoftheNet,postingtonettimemailinglist,23January,2002,

http://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0201/msg00104.html.

13|EricKluitenberg,DelusiveSpaces.EssaysonCulture,MediaandTechnology,Rotterdam:NAiPublishersandAmsterdam:Instituteof

NetworkCultures,2008.p.333.

14|JeffreyBarnouw,TheMoralityoftheSublime:ToJohnDennis,ComparativeLiterature,Vol.35,No.1(Winter,1983):p.21-42.


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ningly beautiful, brightly colored complex landscape of unexplainable, unfathomableand otherworldly images and data structures. A glitch represents a lossofcontrol.Theworldortheinterfacedoestheunexpected.Itgoesbeyondthebordersofitsknownandprogrammedterritories, changingviewersabout technology anditsassumedfunctions(aswasforinstancethecaseduringtheSeptember11broadcast),andcomestoseempro-foundlyirrationalinitsbehavior.Theglitchmakesthecomputeritselfsuddenlyappearunconventionallydeep,incontrasttothemorebanal,predictablesurface-levelbehaviorsofnormalmachinesandsystems.Inthisway,glitchesannounceacrazyanddangerouskindofmoment(um)instantiatedanddictatedbythemachineitself.

Theconceptofmoment(um)istwofold:rstofallthereisthemoment,whichisexperi-encedastheuncanny,threateninglossofcontrol,throwingthespectatorintothevoid(ofmeaning).Thismomentthenitselfbecomesacatalyst,withacertain momentum.Noiseturnstoglitchwhenitpassesamomentarytipping point,atwhichitcouldtipawayintoafailure,or insteadforcenewknowledgeabouttheglitchstechn,andactualandpre-

sumedmediaows,ontotheviewer.

Throughthedistortedimagesandbehaviorsofmachinicoutputs,thevieweristhrownintoamoreriskyrealmofimageandnon-image,meaningandnon-meaning,truthandinterpretation.Themachinenolongerbehavesinthewaythetechnologywassupposedto.Itsglitchinginterface,strangesoundsandbrokenbehavioralpatternsintroduceten-sionintouserintentions;anastonishingimage(orsound)mustbesomehownegotiatedamidstanormallymuchmoreboringmasqueradeofhumancomputerrelations.Thoughatrsttheviewerreactswithshockandperceivestheexperienceasaloss,theglitchcan-notbesubduedasasolidstateofperception.Justastheunderstandingofaglitchchanges

onceitisnamed,sodoesthenotionoftransparencyorsystemicequilibriumsupposedlydamagedbytheglitchitself.Theoriginalexperienceofruptureismovedbeyonditssub-limemoment(um)andvanishesintoarealmofnewconditions.Theglitchhasbecomeanewmode;anditspreviousuncannyencounterhascometoregisterasanephemeral,personalexperienceofamachine.

TeChnoreAlIsM And The ACCIdenT of ArT

I can no longer use the fgure without destroying it, so Id rather be abstract.15

- marK rothKo

Notionsofdisaster,aestheticsoffailureandaccidentaleventshavebeenintegraltomodernandcontemporaryart,Avant-Gardeprogressionsandturnings.Withthegrowingimpor-tanceoftechnology,especiallysointhemoderncentury,itistheaccidentthatbecomesimmanenttoculture,asViriliohasemphasizedmoststronglyamongmediatheorists:

Toinventthesailingshiporsteameristo invent the shipwreck.Toinventthetrainisto invent the rail accidentofderailment.Toinventthefamilyautomobileistoproducethepile-uponthehighway.Togetwhatisheavierthanairtotakeoffinthe



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formofanaeroplaneordirigibleisto invent the crash,theairdisaster.Asforthespaceshuttle,Challenger,itsblowingupinightinthesameyearthatthetragedyofChernobyloccurredistheoriginal accidentofanewmotor,theequivalentoftherstship-wreckoftheveryrstship.16

IncorrelationwithGombrich,Virilioarguesthatalthoughmanypeopleencounterac-cidentsasnegativeexperiences,anaccidentcanalsohavepositiveconsequences.Theaccidentdoesntonlyequalfailure,butcanalsorevealsomethingabsolutelynecessarytoknowledge.17ToVirillio,theaccidentresidesbeyondtheclassicaloppositionoffunc-tionalversusdysfunctional.IntheintroductiontotheDeaf98festivalReader,whichwaslargelydedicatedtoViriliostheoriesontheaccident,theaccident isevendescribedashyper-functional.Theaccident(andthustheglitch)showsasysteminastateofentropyandsoaidstowardsanunderstandingoftheultimatefunctioningofasystem.Thisopensupspaceforresearchandpractice,andtheartsareaspecialdomainforthis.18

InThe Accident of Art(2005),Virilioarguedthatartitselfhasbeenterrorizedbythelastcentury;ithasbeendevastatedconsecutivelybythetwoWorldWars,theHolocaustandnuclearpower.DadaistsandSurrealistscannotbeunderstoodwithoutWorldWar1;theyareitscasualties,thebrokenfacesorwarvictimsthatusedautomaticwritingastheirmachine-gun.19 Virilio explainshowWW1blew reality intopieces and how the cubistpainterGeorgesBraquecollectedthosepiecesandputthembacktogether,notjustasaformalistexperimentorasadestructionofperspectivebutasanartisticrealismappropri-atetothetechno-culturalpresent.ForVirilio,whilegurativeworkretreats,thiscategoryofAbstractartisnotreallyabstract.20Becausethewardisgured,destroyedandmuti-latedreality,asmuchasitdidhumanbodiesandoutdoorspaces,realistconventions(for-

merly/formallyunderstood)werenolongerreproducible.Thus,manyartistscouldonlyusesome(destroyedormutilated)formofguration.ThisunderstandingleadsViriliotoconcludethatintheartoftheaccident,thereshouldbeadifferentiationbetweennon-gurativeanddisguredart.21Suchaformalcomprehensionoftechnologicalrealismsmakesforallkindsofdisasteroraccidentrelatedart.Inthedigitalrealm,whathascometobeknownasglitchartdealswiththedigitaldimensionoferror,accidentanddisasterfromdifferentangles,withinalargercontextofculturalmeaning.

16|PaulVirilioandJulieRose,TheOriginalAccident,Cambridge:PolityPress,2007.p.10.


18|AndreasBroeckmann,JokeBrouwer,BartLootsma,ArjenMulderandLarsSpuybroek,TheArtoftheAccident,NAIPublishers/V2_Organisa-

tie:Rotterdam,1998.p.3.


tie:Rotterdam,1998.p.3.

20|SylvereLotringerandPaulVirilio,TheAccidentofArt,Semiotext(e):NewYork,2005.p.19-21.

21|SylvereLotringerandPaulVirilio,TheAccidentofArt,Semiotext(e):NewYork,2005.p.19-21.


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A pmg o Gitc AtFailure has become a prominent aesthetic in many o the arts in the late 20th cen-tury, reminding us that our control o technology is an illusion, and revealing digi-tal tools to be only as perect, precise, and efcient as the humans who build them.01

- Kim caScone

The predICAMenTs of defInInG GlITCh ArT

Artistsoftenndthemselvesonafrontline,reectingonthecultures,politicsandtech-nologiesof their time.Over the last decades, audiovisual media and computers havegraduallygainedmoreandmoreimportanceinanarteldthatisstillfundamentallyruledbyclassicalmediaformsandgenres.Noiseitselfisofcoursenotnew;similarly,contemporaryglitchartrelatestoalonghistoryofnoiseartandartistsbattlingindiffer-entwaysagainstmediaformsandtheirowsandconventions,includingespeciallywhat

Ihaveoutlinedastheconventionoftransparentimmediacy.

Whilenotbeingnew,noiseartarisesunpredictablyinnewformsacrossdifferenttech-nologiesandculturalscenes.Overtime,noiseartistshavemigratedfromexploringthegrain,thescratchingandburningofcelluloid(forexample,byLenLye,1937)tothemagneticdistortionandscanninglinesofthecathoderaytube(asignicantworkbeingNamJunePaikinTVin1965).Subsequently,glitchartistswanderedtheplanesofphosphorburn-in,asCoryArcangeldidinTH-42PWD8UK,in2007.WiththearrivalofLCD(liquidcrystaldisplay)technologies,deadpixelswererubbed,bugsweretrappedbetweenliquidcrystalsorplasticdisplays

andviolentscreencrackingLCDperformancestookplace(ofwhichmyfavoriteis%SCR2,byJodi,underthePseudonymwebcrash2800in2009).

Tosomeartists,myselfincluded,ithasbecomeapersonalmattertobreaktheassuredinformaticowsofmedia.Whilenormally,transparentmediascreensgenerateconven-tional impressionsof immediacy, thereis adesire toforce the viewer tothinkbeyondhiscomfortzones.Glitchartistsmakeuseoftheaccidenttodisgureow,imageandinformation,ortheyexploitthevoidalackofinformationthatcreatesspacefordeci-pheringorinterpretingtheprocessofcreating(newkindsof)meaning.Throughthesetactics,glitchartistsrevealthemachinestechnandenablecriticalsensoryexperiencetotakeplacearoundmaterials,ideologiesand(aesthetic)structures.Theirdestructiveor

disguringprocesseshavenotechnologicalname,denitionorexplanation(yet).Forthisreason,itisnecessarytonotonlydeneandcategorizeglitchattechnologicallevels,butalsotolookcloselyathowspecicmediaareexploitedonamorecomplextechno- culturallevel.TheartistsIdiscusshereincludeAntScott,5VOLTCOREGijsGieskesandJodi.Ofcoursemanyotherartistswhosepracticesareinvestedinthemoment(um)orcultureofglitchcouldhavebeenincludedhere.AnactualhistoriographywouldforinstancealsoincludesignalprocessingartistslikeKarlKlomp,Lovid,MorganHigby-FlowersandMaxCapacity,aestheticglitch-tricksterslikeJonSatrom,jonCates,fabricartistMelissaBaron,anddatabendgenerativeartistssuchasstAllio!,glitch-irionPixelnoizzandHellocatfood.Thishistoriographyisstillunwritten(partlybecauseitisstillinprogress).

01|KimCascone,TheAestheticsofFailure:Post-DigitalTendenciesinContemporaryComputerMusic,ComputerMusicJournal24.4(Winter

2000):p.13.


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Asisclearbynow,theinherentopennessofglitchasaconceptmakesglitchartdifcult,ifnotimpossible,todene.Althoughaglitchcantakeplacestrictlywithinthecompu-tationalsystem,themajorityofartifactsthatarecalledorreferredtoasglitcheswithinglitchartarenotpurelyinformational,butmakesenseonlythroughasynthesisofagentsandcontextsinvolved.Glitchispost-procedural(abreakfromaproceduralow)andso,dialecticallyconnectsto,whiledepartingfrom,alinearandinformationalmodelofme-diacommunication(informationsource->encoder->channel->decoder->destination),whilealso incorporatingcontextualandsocialprocessesof interpretationandmakingmeaning.Furthermore,itisnecessarytorecallthatthewordglitchinglitchartisoftenusedasametaphoricalconcept,evenbyglitchartists,andthereforevariesfromthestand-alonetechnicalorinformationaltermglitch.

ant Scott. Suqqe. digital ScreenShot. 2002.

Thecomplexitiesthatmustbefacedbyatheoristorresearcherwhentryingtodeneorde-marcatesomekindofessenceofglitchart(ifthisisevenpossible)cometotheforegrounduponcloseengagementwithAntScotts(Beix)work.Foryears,AntScotthasbeenalead-

inggureintherealmofglitchart.From2001until2005hepublishedhundredsofglitchimagesstaticandanimatedonhisblog,appearinghereastherstglitchartistactuallyusingthetermglitchartforhiswork.Theseimagesdonthaveacommonsource;further,someofthemarefoundglitchartifactsturnedintoorframedasart,whileothersarein-tentionallymadefromscratchbytheartist.AntScottdescribeshisseries,acollectionof25works(smalldigitalrendersoflo-capturedglitches)accessibleviahishomepage,asthebestofhispureglitchphase.Theimages,whichatrstmightappearbewildering,areactuallycreatedfromcomputercrashes,softwareerrors,hackedgames,andmegabytesofrawdataturnedintocoloredpixels.02Theyoriginateorareconstructed

02|AntScott,GLITCH#12,GLITCHART,2007,http://www.AntScott.com/works/glitch.php?id=12.


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fromthoroughtrialand errorprocesses, towhichScottcarefully reassigns colours,andcropsselectareasofinterest.Theresultistheworksthatmakeuptheseries.

AntScottsworkingprocesspresentsallkindsofdilemmasinthequest foradenitionand categorisationof glitch art.What kind of glitch is this glitch art exploring? Howcan the glitch be explained as an unexpected, abnormal mode of operation, when the art-ists working process and what he aims for are these abnormalities to begin with? Can theintended error be really described as erroneous?Ontheotherhand,Scottswide-ranginginterrogationofglitchalignswithotheraspectsofglitchthatIhaveoutlined.Aglitchcanindeedexistwithinandacrossdifferentsystems,forinstancethesystemofproductionand the system ofreception. Similarly, a glitch can dependondifferent actorswithinthesesystems;notjustthetechnologicalelementsthatShannondescribed,butalsotheideologicalandculturalcontextsofthetechnology,whichbringsaspectsof time,placeandstructure(aesthetics)intotheartwork,allofwhichdiffer betweendifferentpublics,involvedintheprocessofmakingmeaning.Despiteglitcharthavingnosolid,orsingle

denitionthroughtimeandplace,justasVirilioarguedthatitishelpfultodescribeadif-ferencebetweennon-gurativeanddisguredart,Ibelieveitisusefultomakeasimilardistinctionbetweendifferentdimensionsofglitchinglitchart.Glitchartthenpoten-tiallyincorporatesarangeofworksthatarepost-procedural,deconstructive,accidentalandsoon,alongsideworksmorefocussedonanalend-product,aestheticordesign.

CATeGorICAl preCursors:A BInAry ApproACh To GlITCh ArT?

Thepost-proceduralessenceofglitchartisopposedtoconservation;theshockingper-ceptionandunderstandingofwhataglitchisatonepointintimecannotbepreservedforafuturetime.Theartisttriestosomehowdemonstrablygraspsomethingthatisbynatureunstableandungraspable.Theircommitmentsaretoanunconventionalutopiaofrandomness,chanceandidyllicdisintegrationsthatarepotentiallycritical.Thecoreofaworkofglitchartisthereforebestunderstoodasthemomentaryculminationofahistoryoftechnologicalandculturalmovements,andasthearticulationofanattitudeofdestructivegenerativity.Inshort,glitchartpracticesareinvestedinprocessesofnon-conforming,ambiguousre-formations.

Atthesametime,however,manyworksofglitcharthavedevelopedintoarchetypesand

evenstereotypicalmodels,andsomeartistsdonotfocusonthepost-proceduraldialecticsandcomplexityofglitchatall.Theyskiptheprocessofcreationthroughdestructionofaowandfocusonly,directly,onthecreationofnewformaldesignsforglitch,eitherbycreatingthenalimagistic(orsonic)product,orbydevelopingshortcutstorecreatethelatest-circulatedglitchre-formation.Purposive,design-driveneffortsatglitchcanbecreatedinplug-ins,ltersorglitchingsoftwarethatautomaticallyemulate,simulateormimicaparticularglitchingmethod.Thesetoolstendtosurrenderaffect(theshockingmoment(um)ofglitch)infavorofeffect.

Design-drivenglitcharthastendedtobereferredtoasarticialorglitch-alike.Iman

Moradihasgonesofarastodevelopatrue-falsebinarytodealwiththesemattersofglitchimitation,whichheexplainswiththefollowingstatementandschema:


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Becauseoftheintrinsicnatureofthisimageryanditsrelationtopureglitches,bothintermsofprocessandviewerperception,Ifelttheneedtoformawordthatadequatelydescribesthisartifactssimilaritywithactualglitchesandpresentitasanobviouslyseparateentity.ThusthetermGlitch-alikecameabouttofullthisrole.[]Glitch-alikesareacollectionofdigitalartefactsthatresemblevisualaspectsofrealglitchesfoundintheiroriginalhabitat.03

Pur gl gl-alk

a dc appp cf dsr a

WhileMoradisschemecanbeausefulstartingpointforconsideration,Ialsoseealotofis-

sueswithit.Thecreationofabinaryoppositionwithinglitchartseemsnotonlytoosimple,butalsoinconictwithagenrethatsooftenscrutinizesandaimstoviolatebinaryoppo-sitions.Theglitchgenreisprimarilyaboutbreakingcategoriesopen,uncoveringwhatisin-betweenandbeyond.Theglitchinglitchartdoesnotonlydependontechnology,butalsoinvolvesideologiesandvisualstructures(aesthetics)includingtheartistsindividualperspective,andthecontextofviewing.Insteadofdenouncinganon-informationalglitch(orglitchpractice)asarticialorfalse,Ithinkitismoreinterestingtoresearchwhyandhowaparticularinvestmentinglitchisactuallyunderstoodasglitch artwithinalargermediaculture.Thiscanbedonebydescribingexistingculturalinstantiationsof,andrelationsbetween,arangeofdifferentlyspawnedglitchartpracticesincontext.

froM pAssIVe ApproprIATIon or pure GlITCh ArTTo ACTIVe, posT-proCedurAl GlITCh ArT

When all is said, what remains to be said is the disaster. Ruin o words, demiseo writing, aintness aintly murmuring: what remains without remains (the

ragmentary).04

- maurice blanchot

Atamostbasiclevel,glitchartistscanchallengethestandardmodeofoperationofasystem

byappropriatingglitchesthatarespawned(partiallyorcompletely)byproductionprocesses.Typically, these glitches are encountered accidentally and often unstable (both in theirprocessandintermsofresults),whichmeansthattheartisthastosomehowcapturetheglitch,inordertoappropriateandpresentittohisaudience.AnexampleofthisrstkindofglitchartisanimagebyGregJ.Smith.TheimageshowsaMacinterfacegoinghaywirefornounderstandablereason.Althoughtheimagecanbedescribedascompellingortitillatingintermsofaesthetics,theworkdoesnotsignifymorethanwhatwascapturedintherstplace:abrokencomputerinterface.Itisapassivecaptureoffailure,sentofftoanaudience.

03|ImanMoradi,GlitchAesthetics,unpublishedbachelorthesis,Hudderseld,UK:UniversityofHudderseld,2004.http://www.oculasm.org/glitch/download/Glitch_dissertation_print_with_pics.pdf,p.10.

04|MauriceBlanchot,Thewritingofthedisaster,Nebraska:UniversityofNebraskaPress,1995.p.33.


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Anotherformofglitchartreliesonerrorswithintheproductionsystemthattheartistactivelytriggers.Thesepurposivelytriggeredbreaksfromtheowareatleastpartiallyunderstoodandcanoftenbedebugged.Inthiscasetheartistchoosestoexploitaproductionsystem(theprotocolsbuiltintothemachine'shard-andsoftware),ortheinputthatmakesasystemsprotocolsbehaveinaparticularway,orboth.Anexampleofthissecondcategoryofglitchartis5VOLTCORE.Duringtheirliveperformances,themenof5VOLTCOREattackthecomputerwithpowerinterruptionsfromanaudiosignal,whichproducesshortcircuitsthatgenerateunexpectedsignals.05Thisprocesstorturesthemachineandmakesitscreamoutshredsofpowerfullycoloredimages,untilthecomputereventuallydies,whichendstheperformance.Intheirperformances,5VOLTCOREtakeissuewiththegoverningchargeofthecomputer.Workingindirectoppositiontothecomputersproceduralow,activelyoverturningit,theiraggressiveglitchesleadalwaystoonefatalendpoint,ratherthanbreakingopenthefuture;theyarenotsoinvestedinthegenerativequalitiesofpost-proceduralglitch.

posT-proCedurAl GlITCh ArT or The InTenTIonAl fAux pAs

giJS gieSKeS. circuitbend Sega megadrive2.2. modified Sega. 2007.

AlessaggressiveandmorepositiveexampleofaninterventioninmachinicowcanbefoundinGijsGieskeswork.Gieskestakesmachinesapartandchangestheircircuitry.Throughcircuitbending,heredenesthetechnologyanditscontents,penetratingandexploringthemachinefromtheinside.First,hedismantlesthesystemandthenhede-constructsandre-appropriatesit.Oneofhiscircuitbentmachines,the.(2007),consistsofaSegaconsolewithamodiedcircuit,activelytransformingthevideogameconsoleintoanautonomousvideosynthesisingmachine.

05|5VOLTCORE,5VOLTCORE|||SHOW,2006,http://5voltcore.com/typolight/typolight257/index.php/show.html.


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Gieskesdidnotaddanycodetothechipsorthevideogame;heonlychangedthecircuitryoftheconsole.Thismeansthattheglitchesthatappearonthetelevisionscreenwerealreadypartofthevideogamessoftware(theROM);thegeneratedvisualsarereadymade,manipu-latedappropriationsofmass-producedobjects.Thelookandfeelof these videographicutterancesisdependentonthetechnologyinsidetheoriginalmachine.Thisintroducesquestionsaroundthebuilt-inaestheticsandconventionalusageofthe2.2.06Gieskesworkpervertsaclassicalsenseofaura,whichaccordingtoWal-terBenjamin,wouldbebuiltuponunicityandauthenticity.Contrarily,the2.2doesntpossessoneparticularhereandnow.07Instead,theartworkisgeneratedeverytimethemachineisactivated.Therefore,theauraissituatedwithinthein-terpretationsandcontextoftheuserorviewerandthechangedtechnologyofthemachine.

Anotherexampleoftheintentional faux-pas,orglitchartthatisinviolationofacceptedsocialnormsandrules,is(1996-2001),acombinedseriesof11modica-tionsoftherstpersonshootergame(FPS)bytheDutch/BelgiumartduoJodi.Jodi

makessubversiveglitchartthatbattlesagainstthehegemonicowsofproprietarymediasystems.Theyworktoreframeusersorconsumersperceptionofthesesystems.Theduosworkisoftensimultaneouslypoliticallyprovocativeandconfusing.ThisispartlybecauseJodioriginallyneverprioritizedattachingexplanationsto theirwork,butalsobecauseofthewayinwhichtheirpracticeitselfoverturnsgenericexpectations.Theychallengetheideologicalaspectsofproprietarydesignbymisrepresentingexistingrelationshipsbetweenspecicmediafunctionalitiesandtheaestheticexperiencesnormallyassociatedwiththem.

Jodi. untitled game. 11 quaKe modificationS for c mac. 1999. modS: e1m1a and ctrl-f6.

06|GijsGieskes,2.2,2007,http://gieskes.nl/circuitbending/?le=segamegadrive2.

07|WalterBenjamin,TheWorkofArtintheAgeofMechanicalReproduction,inHannahArendt(ed.),Illuminations,NewYork:Schocken,1968,pp.219-254.p.II.


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Inanonlineinterviewin2006IencouragedDirk(difromJodi)tobreaktheduossilencearoundthedescriptionoftheirart.Aboutthework,Dirksaid:

OurpointwastoeraseandmakethisotherversionofQuakeandthendeny[theQuakegame]thename.[]tocallit(meant)thatitwasjustaprototypeofanyofthesegamesthat(consistsof)thesekindofstandardconstructionelementsandthingsyoucandoasauser.08

In,Jodicriticallyexploitederrorsinthesourcecodeoftheoriginalgame.Theglitchescreatedbythesemodicationsdestabilizeandalterthenormallawsofphys-ics,sothatsteeringandshootingbecomesunpredictableandillogicallygeared,whilethesoundsanddesignsofthegameitselfarealsomodiedtosurprise.Bychangingthealgorithmsthatdenethevideogamesplayability,thegamebecomesseeminglyunplay-able,atleast,accordingtowhatisexpectedasnormalgame-play.Thegameitselfisnottotallyruined;itactuallyfunctionsquitewell,albeitinawhollynon-Newtonian,visually

nonsensicalwaythattheFPS-playerisnottrainedtobeawareof,orcompetentwith.InE1M1APforinstance,oneofthe11modsmakingup,Jodiusedthegrav-ityalgorithmtocreateunsettlingvortexeffects,whileinCtrl-F6thecollectiveexploitedanti-aliasingtocreatecubeslledwithbeautifullyevolvingmoirpatterns.09

isan intentionallyruinedvideogamethatquestionsconventionalandnormative videogame goals, for example self-improvement, competition, and win-ning,allofwhicharenaturallyembeddedinthesoftwaredesigncodesofthegamesthatdominatethevideogamebattleeld.Themodiedalgorithms,visualsandsoundsofgenerateanewensembleofconventions,aimsandfeelings,inwhichvisualanddimensionalexperimentationtakesholdovercompetitivelogic,andtheoutcomeof

thegameisnolongerascorebutacolorful,disconcertingexperience.

In this way, rebels against the techno-social determinism of (game)technologyandconsumption,andframesthisparticularmediumofplayasatakenforgrantedtechniqueofenculturation.WhenreadthroughMcLuhanwhoasearlyasthe1960sidentiedmediatechnologicaldevelopmentsasthemostimportant(andatthattime,under-acknowledged)sitesofsocialcultivationJodiseemtoindicatethatnotonlymedia content and socially determining genres(gameconventions),butalso specic ma-terial forms(interfaces)andtechn(thegame'soperationalelements)areimportanttointerrogateasobjectsofstudy.RecallMcLuhansownwordshere:

themediumisthemessagebecauseitisthemediumthatshapesandcontrolsthescaleandformofhumanassociationandaction.Thecontentorusesofsuchmediaareasdiverseastheyareineffectualinshapingtheformofhumanassocia-tion.Indeed,itisonlytootypicalthatthecontentofanymediumblindsustothecharacterofthemedium.10

08|RosaMenkman,BeautyintheAgeofDigitalArt;aesthetic,poeticorrhetoric,June2006.http://rosa-menkman.blogspot.com/2006/05/beauty-

in-age-of-digital-art.html.

09|RosaMenkman,JodiopdePijnbank,unpublishedmasterthesis,Amsterdam:UniversityofAmsterdam,2006,http://home.student.uva.nl/

rosa.menkman/Jodi%20op%20de%20pijnbank.pdf.

10|MarshallMcluhan,UnderstandingMedia:TheExtensionsofMan,NewYork:McGrawHill,1964.


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Indigital glitch art like, themedium is redened asaplatform thatdoesntfollowitsgenre,formortechnique.Thistriggerstheusertoreectuponhercon-ventionalframesof referencefortheparticulargameandperhapseventhecommercialgameingeneral.Theworkcriticizestheowofaspecic medium,its interfaceanditsinherentconventions,butdoesnotnecessarilybreakit(asopposedto5VOLTCOREsper-formance).Thefactthatthegamestillworkswhilebeingprogrammedtoglitch,makesitallthemorecriticallychallengingasmediaexperience.Jodishowsthatsoftwareismorethanjustapreprogrammedtool:itisamaterializationofsocialmodalities,whichcanfurthermorebeendlesslyre-modiedtodifferentinterpretiveorsocialconclusions.

Theirrationalandconceptualglitcheswithin,itsvoidingoforiginalandreceivedmeanings,forcestheviewertomakeactivesenseofthework.Thestructuresoforigi-nalmeaningareintentionallyruined.Butinthiscase,ruinisbothaconceptualorientationandatechniquethatunderlinestheconstructednessofmedia(art),forcingtheviewertocon-siderthecomputerasnolongerjustadeviceofstandardizationbutinsteadasatechnology

thatfunctionswithinasocialreality.Onlyafterreectingonthisnewformofthework,cantheuserseethatwhattheglitchdoesisnotjustdestroytheoldvideogame,butinfactmodifyitsexistingdenotationsandexchanges,entanglingitwithinnewlinesorarchitecturesofmeaning.Thetechniquesofthevoidthesystematicdistortionofcommunicationhelpstoopenmediaupfordiscussionsoftheirinternalpolitics.Thisishow,throughthetacticsusedwithintheseglitchedgames,userscanre-territorializethesetechniques.

The ConCepT And TeChnIque of ruIn

You cannot prohibit the catastrophe, you must sur it!11

- aul virilio

Todaynewsandcurrentaffairsisgeneratedandspreadnotonlythroughrichandpower-fulpressmonopoliesandinfrastructures,butatthesametimethroughsmaller,morein-dependentandautonomousagentsthatdonotrequireagreatcapitaloutlaytocontributetodebateonline.ThisiswhysocialbloggingsoftwareslikeBloggerareoftendescribedasdemocracy-enhancingtools;theyarecelebratedasanidealmediumsupportingthepoliticalmythologyoffreedomofspeech.12

During2006and2007,Jodimadethework$$,basedonthesocialpublishing

toolBlogger,fromGoogle.13$$lookslikeaBloggerpageinabrokenstate.ThepagesgeneratedbyJodis(mis)usageofthetoolareeitherlledwithgibberishorinruins.Itshardtosay:perhapsyouarelookingatback-endcode,brokenontothesurfaceofthesite,orperhapsitisjustnonsensethatwasneverpartofanycodiedlanguagesystem?


tie:Rotterdam,1998.p.30-32.

12|DonaldMatheson,WeblogsandtheEpistemologyofthenews:someTrendsinOnlineJournalism,SageJournals,London:SAGEPublica-

tions,ThousandOaksCAandNewDelhiVol6.4(2004):pp.443-468.p.445.

13|Jodi,$$,2006-2007,http://blogspot.jodi.org/.


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Intheseworks,Jodiindeedplayswithdifferentlanguagesystems,forinstancethevisualandthenon-visualsource(code)oftheBloggersoftware.Templateformatssuchasthetitleoftheblog,thepostheadersandcertainblogaddressesinthelinklistappearallinruins,whileBlogger-specicimageslikecomment-icons,datesandadditionalotherwisefunctionalvisualelementsarenowreducedtotheatricalobjects.Whatisnormallyinvis-ibleastheinfrastructureoftheblogsnippetsofcodeandinterfacecommandslikeS=Publish,D=DraftorAllowNewCommentsonThisPostYesNo14aremovedtothefrontofthesite,wherenormallyonlyahumandiscoursewouldbevisible.

Jodis$$partiallyexposedthemythicalnotionof'democracyenhancing'so-cialbloggingtools,whenBloggerblocked7ofits22blogpages.Inthiscase,theprocessoffreeonlinepublishingresultedincensoriousdestruction.Thisunforeseeneventual-itymadeitclearthatBlogger-users(anyblogusers)answertoabuilt-in(political)systemanddontoperatecompletelyundertheirownauthority.Moreover,thesystemisgovernedbythebelief(sharedbyboththecreatorsofthetechnology,theconventionalusers,and

theaudience)thatthesoftwarewillbeusedtodistributeonlyconventionallyformattedknowledge.Bloggersthatdonotsubscribetotheconventionsriskthepossibilityofbeingblockedorhavingtheirblogscompletelydeleted.

Jodi. my blog iS blocKed. blogSot.Jodi.org. 2007.

14|Jodi,$$,2006-2007.http://blogspot.jodi.org/.


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$$ stands apart as a purposeful artifact that captureswhat Deleuze andGuattari have described as a lineofight: an elusive, divergent, inherently politicalmoment(um)throughwhichaxiomsarequestioned,genresarebrokenopenandcatego-riesarecreated.15Jodiusestheglitchtoemphasizearejectionofwhatcanbereferredtoassoftware-determinismorinthecaseofblogger,platform-determinism.Inaninter-viewwithTilmanBaumgartel,Jodistates:Itisobviousthatourworkghtsagainsthightech.Wealsobattlewiththecomputeronagraphicallevel.[]Weexplorethecomputerfrominside,andmirrorthisonthenet.16$$,asanexampleofthisworkingmethod,enactsthisbattleattheborderbetweensystemandentropy,standardizationandcorruption,expressionandcode,meaningandnon-meaning,thwartingtheuserandtheviewersexpectationsandunderstandings.

$$isgeneratedwithinthesystemofBlogger,butdoesnotfollowtherules,the languageorthesyntaxof thatbloggingsystem.On theonehand,theworkcanbeunderstoodasasocialcriticismtowardsBloggerandothercelebrateddirectread/write

web2.0platformsorasablogthatentailsa(re-shufed)signsystemthroughwhichtheviewercannavigateandgleanherownselectfragmentsofmeaning.

In$$, artisticnegationhas become a generative and creative force. Inaseemingvoidofmeaning,thespectatorisforcedtousehisimaginationwhilereectingonthework.Theglitchsformalfragmentationsigniesthattheworkisopentointer-pretationandmeaningfulengagement.Thisnewtextisnolongeraworkthatdisplaysorretellsconventions,butawriterlysoftwarewheremeaningcanbeactively(re)constructed.ByruiningtheBloggermedium,Jodisuseofformalfragmentationopenstheplatformitselfuptodeconstruction,interpretationandfurtheractiveengagement.Asaresult,the

meaningoftheruinedworkisnevernished,wholeorcomplete.Insteadofbeingstaticitdiffersfromreadingtoreading,orwitheachfragmentedelementofthesyntax.Inthissense,theworkhasbecomeavirtualspacewheretheaudiencecanactualizeaninniteamountofpotentialmeanings.However,forthereadertoactuallygivemeaningtotheruins,theymusttaketheinitiativeofimposing(theirownselect)newconstraints,newframeworksofanalysisandlimitationsonotherpossibilities.Theviewerbecomesawarethateveryactofcreatingmeaningisalsojustasstronglyanactofdestruction(ofmoreinnitepossibilities).17

Moreover,inthecaseof$$,thisopennessalsohadanegativeconsequence:Bloggerinterpretedtheblogasamaliciousspamblogandconsequentlyblockedit.This

actcouldbedescribedasaratherrigorousdeathoftheauthor,inwhichthemeaningoftheworkisnotnegotiated,butinsteaddismissedanddeleted.Infactthiscouldbeunderstoodasaseconddeath.TheauthordiesinaBarthesiansenseatthemomentof(web)publicationwhentheviewersinterpretationtakesoverfromauthorialintention,butalsoina secondandmoreviolentwaywhenthecorrupted, writerly text istotallyeliminatedfromtheblogospherealtogether.

15|GillesDeleuzeandPierre-FlixGuattari,AThousandPlateaus:CapitalismandSchizophrenia,Trans.B.Massumi,Londen:TheAthlone

Press,1988.p.213.

16|TilmanBaumgrtel,TP:InterviewwithJodi.Weloveyourcomputer,Telepolis.May2006,http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/6/6187/1.html.

17|GillesDeleuzeandClaireParnet,DialoguesII,LondonandNewYork:Continuum,2006.p.112.


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$$ opensup and intervenes into the normally inter-locked relations be-tweenconventionalinformation,apossiblemessage,andtheback-endcodingofBlogger,andtreatstheserelationasasystemthatcanbemodiedorexpandedtowardsnewpos-sibilitiesthroughglitching.Hereglitchesarticulateanalternativelanguagethatblendssystemsintoaformthatnobodycanread(yet).Thevoided$$showstheconventionsbywhichtheuser/readernavigatesonline,andthenormsthathelphimtooperatethesedailytechnologiestransparently.Theconstructednessofsuchdiscourse,intermsoflockeddownproprietarysoftwareisnotnecessarilynegativeinitself,butsome-times(as$$suggests)leadstogeneralizedassumptionsandtheunder-ornon-acknowledgementofinvisiblepoliticalforcesintheformofunderlyingconventions.Theglitchcanhelpusuncovertheseobfuscatedpoliticaldimensionsaswellascreatestrategiestoseethroughthem.In$$,Jodishowsthataglitchcanbecom-pletelyconstructed(bytheartist),butalsothatsuchconstructscaninturnrevealthecon-structednessofsoftware-generatedknowledgeandexpression.JodisinvestmentinglitchshowsthatBloggercan,like,beusedinmanymorewaysthanuserspaciedby

conventionmightassume.18

CreATInG The perfeCT GlITCh usInG CrITICAl MedIAAesTheTICs

[The] absence o meaning is in this case the presence o all meanings, absoluteambiguity, a construction outside meaning.19

- JacqueS attali

Withintheconstructedruinsofglitch,newpossibilitiesandnewmeaningsarise.Thereissomethingmorethanjustdestruction:newunderstandingsliejustbeyondthetippingpoint.Theglitchgeneratesnewunderstandingsoftechno-culturethroughthegestationsofGlitchspeak,glitchsconstantlygrowingvocabularyofnewexpressions.

I use the term Glitchspeak inopposition toGeorge Orwells Newspeak. ForOrwell,Newspeakisalanguagewhosepoliticalgoalitistoshrinkitsvocabularyandgrammati-calnuanceovertime,soastorenderanyalternativethinkingwhichhereferredtoasthoughtcrime,orcrimethinkimpossible.ThenalgoalofNewspeakistoconstructasocietyinwhichonlypoliticallyapproved(dominantandconventional)statementscanbearticulated,attheexpenseofthepossibilityoffreeexpression,rebellion,andsoon. 20

FightingNewspeak,Glitchspeakconteststheobfuscatedlimitationsoflanguagecreatedbyproprietarytechnology,tocapturetheconstanttransformationandgrowingwealthofglitchartifactsandtheirmeanings.

Mostglitch artistsare always,directlyor indirectly, trying toanswer one question:Howmuch agency should I provide to my systems of destruction?Theirpost-utopianstrategiesaimtoidentifywherethetippingpointis:When and how can a glitch be found and transition

18|MichaelTruscello,BehindtheBlip:EssaysontheCultureofSoftware(review),CulturalCritique,no.63,(2006):pp.182-187.

19|JacquesAttaliandBrianMassumi,Noise:ThePoliticalEconomyofMusic,Manchester:ManchesterUniversityPress,1985.p.33.

20|GeorgeOrwell,NineteenEighty-Four,London:SeckerandWarburg,1949.p.372.


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into something new?Theperfectglitchexists,momentarily,attheshockingtippingpointbetween(potential)failureandamovementtowardsthecreationofanewunderstanding.Theglitchsinherentmoment(um),thepoweritneedsorhastopassthroughanexistingmembraneorsemblanceofunderstanding,helpstheutterancetobecomeanunstablear-ticulationofcounter-aesthetics,adestructivegenerativity.Asanexoskeletonforsuch(post-utopian)progresshowever,theglitchdoesnotjusttakeplaceonacriticallyruinedsurface.Thechoicetoaccepttheglitch,towelcomeitasanaestheticform,meanstoacceptanewcriticaldialecticthatmakesroomforerrorwithinthehistoriesofprogress.

Followingthisdialecticofcritical media aesthetics,theglitchcanobtainaplacewithinlargermediaculturalscenariosofpoliticalproductivityandevolution.Theroleofglitchartifactsas(instancesof)criticalmediaaestheticsis,again,twofold.Ontheonehand,theseaestheticsshowamediuminacriticalstate:aruined,unwanted,unrecognized,ac-cidentalandhorrendousmoment.Thistransformsthewaytheconsumerperceivesitsnormaloperation(everyaccidenttransformsthenormal)andregistersthepassingofa

tippingpointafterwhichitispossibleforthemediumtobecriticallyrevealedatgreaterdepth.Ontheotherhand,theseaestheticscritiquethemediumitself,asagenre,inter-face andexpectation.They radically challenge the technological, social or ideologicalconstructednessofallmediaculturalformationswhileproducingatheoryofreection.

The TIppInG poInT of Cool;CrITICAl MedIA AesTheTICs' BeCoMInG CoMModITIes

InThe Laws of Cool,AlanLiuaskshimself:What isCool?Hedescribes thatcool is

theellipsisof knowingwhatiscoolandofwithholdingthatidea. Coolis informationdesignedtoresistitsstatusasinformation,aparadoxicalgesturethroughwhichtheunknownstrugglestoarise(orresistsarising)inthemidstoftheeconomiesofknowledgework.21Liuconcludesthatthosewhoinsistonaskingwhatiscoolaredenitelyuncool.KeepingLiusstatementinmindandthusparadoxicallyover-theorizingcoolglitches,Isuggestthatthecoolglitchcanbefoundatthemomentofitspreliminarynon-denition;whenitisstilldenieditsexistencebeforeitstippingpointwhereerrorsaredeleted,orremainignored,blockedorunaccepted,unwilled.Liu-coolglitchesonlyexistduringthemoment(um)ofglitchbeforetheglitchisover-comeasfailureorhasbecomeanewestablishedform.Tothinkaglitchiscoolistoac-

knowledgethattheglitchisstillact

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Glitch Moment