HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE A catalogue of glitch art works produced from summer 2014 through spring 2015 by zoe ck meeDer (effluviah) university of westminster mivc501 full portfolio can be accessed at effluviah.tumblr.com
table of contents glitch tapestries glitch collages 1 pixel pushing vapourwave 80s aesthetic the human element: glitch collages 2 the zine scene
SELECT ILLUSTRATIONS: SOFTWARE USED INCLUDES GOLDMOSH, AUDACITY, PHOTOSHOP CS6, AFTER EFFECTS CS6, ATOM TEXT EDITOR, PROCESSOR, AND VARIOUS FORKED GITHUB RESOURCES, AS WELL AS MY OWN CODE DEVELOPED THROUGH REFINING MY OWN TECHNIQUE FOR IMAGE GENERATION, EXPERIMENTATION, AND FINALISATION. process and progression are noted with each set.
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an example mixed media GLITCHED IMAGE.
METHOD: A SUMMARY OF MY DEVELOPMENT OF MY PERSONAL AESTHETIC DIGITAL ART STYLE (HIGH TECH LOW LIFE) PROVIDED FOR EACH GENERAL STYLE/THEME OF GLITCHING THAT FEATURES IN MY WORK. EXAMPLES OF VARIANTS AND PROCESS ARE ALSO PROVIDED.
webgl and 3-d rendering
A TEST OF AN EARLY VERSION OF ONE OF MY GLITCH METHODS
glitch video content link list
VIDEO/AUDIO: VARIOUS VIDEO/AUDIO EXPERIMENTS BASED ON MY GLITCH ART AND
interview
FURTHER EXPERIMENTATION/IDEA GENERATION BRANCHING FROM my
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increasing experience with coding and software usage.
stillS from -virus 001-
GLITCH TAPESTRIES initially experimental tests in geometric design and basic image breaking; developed into textiles concept as the digital shutter effect reminded me of rows of incomplete threading on loom-made rugs and fabrics. these were made by drawing geometric designs in photoshop cs6 with a touchpad, then saving as a png and opening the image raw text code to create random but somewhat controlled glitches. I then moved on to opening image files as raw data in audio editing software (particularly audacity), where I then edited the image code by layering effects to it in audacity as though it were music in the wav form window and then editing/looping wav form sections, then exporting again as an image file, and seeing what happened. These are both techniques that persist throughout my work, as results vary wildly and are both random and able to be controlled.
This was the beginning of my mixed-media experimentation. I used photos and composed basic digital
Glitch Collages 1
collages in photoshop cs6, then by glitching both individual components of the collage and multiple copies/editions of the entire composition, i would restructure and constantly update the collage and re-glitch the whole image as it progressed to reach an image result that was based in both code alteration and surface level aesthetic glitching.
PIXEL PUSHING To get into more recent pieces (a more clear technique and aesthetic progression is trackable on my full portfolio, effluviah.tumblr.com) i began to experiment wildly with different methods of glitching an image. featured here is pixel pushing, where pixels are clustered and manipulated in an image to produce interesting drag-style effects. i composed the pieces with custom brushes in photoshop cs6, then using an html-based code manipulator with a visual interface (surface level glitching as opposed to raw code glitching) i created these two test pieces. to the right: waterfall / below: dna
VAPOURWAVE Vapourwave is a subset of glitch art where surface level glitching (not entirely code based) is designed to give the appearance of outdated or broken interfacing or display. this is more multi media collage experimentation, as the image of the girl is a paper collage i made from 80s fashion magazines (an idea i would revisit later) then scanned in and compiled into a digital collage using a screenshot of a netscape browser (browser windows as frames being a common element in vapourwaVe STYLE GLITCH ART AS PART OF THE OLD TECH AESTHETIC) AND THEN ADDING TEXT and outdated effects IN PHOTOSHOP CS6 ALONG MY PERSONAL COMMON THEMES OF CODE WORK (HERE THE CODE IS AESTHETIC AS WELL TO PLAY ON HOW MY USUAL PIECES ARE MADE) AND HIGH TECH LOW LIFE STYLE. i used a young girl as the feature of the image, because while the style is based in an old and outdated computer experience, none of these things are particularly old by human timeline standards, even if they are ancient in terms of software and hardware development. i remember using a desktop from birth, helping customise a desktop at age three, so the young girl and memory theme is a play on me and my life alongside technology. to the RIGHT: MEMORY
The interest in technology and cyberpunk subculture that was prevalent across media throughout the
80s aesthetic
1980s, particularly in the Usa and uk, is a huge part of my personal style in terms of influence and inspiration. a large portion of my more recent works highlight this personal interest, and with these pieces, i use outdated digital image production and editing techniques as well as old hardware and software editions to produce works as faithful as possible to the tech of the time as well as the aesthetic. I then decide whether or not to leave it as it is, or create glitch variants as well.
Common elements of early digital/80s/Memphis style art are geometric shapes, brush strokes, shape depth and distance via drop shadow, outline, or outer glow, perspective grids, airbrushing, superficial cathode monitor image display effect or glitching, offset colours, and specific colour palettes- All of which compliment glitch style. The use of older tech can be key in achieving certain looks: i made the above image in ms paint on a computer booted with windows 95 with a mouse, then surface GLITCHED it.
the human element: glitch collages 2 I formerly studied fashion, and my interest in fashion is rooted in an interest in people and the dissonance between what a human is and how it chooses to present itself and why. So in the majority of my art where humans are depicted, it is usually recognisably derived from those core concepts, regardless of what other influences there may be in a certain work or project. my fashion illustration is collage based or mixed media, and i apply the same concepts here. i scan my traditional collages and then alter them/pastiche them in photoshop cs6 or ms paint (or whatever other software is suitable) and then glitch the image and repeat, with minor alterations in technique depending on whether the image/idea in question is experimental or suitable for certain methods or not. when people are depicted in my glitch work, they are fragmented, visually broken, altered, or warped in some way. this can be as simple as cathode monitor display lines over a face, an extreme zoom in of an eye or hand (two body parts i tend to focus on when not depicting a face or full body) or as shown here to the right, where the human is stripped almost entirely bare to a transparent degree, with the human body itself being mostly only present in an almost negative image form. the clothes are layered and glitched, giving the feeling of a holographic presence. the identity is not real, and the digital background is more solid than the human presence in the image.
THE ZINE SCENE
AS ANOTHER CALLBACK TO OTHER ARTISTIC ENDEAVOURS AND INTERESTS, i have a glitch art zine called high tech low life that is designed around 80s/90s zine culture and cyberpunk/tech culture of the 80s/90s in general. a photocopier style zine, it is available at issuu.com/effluviah for download.
WEBGL AND 3-D RENDERING Using the three.js library and my own experimental webgl coding, as well as textures made by generating base images and altering them at the code or surface level, I created 3-d objects in in-browser code based rendering software with the intent to eventually make a fully animated video. however, as certain limitations applied, the video is still a work in progress, but i believe the progress itself is art, as it shows the creation of art through mathematics and code development as well as somewhat more traditional image creation methods in the form of glitch art being used as textures for the webgl objects. this kind of animation is only one of many applications for glitch art in general, so it also serves to show the potential in what i do. nothing is simple or isolated; there is no direction, only organic evolution, perhaps ironically.
GLITCH VIDEO CONTENT A synopsis of each video, with stills/audio cover image. each video is Viewable in full at www.effluviah.tk or via bitly links below. Videos are listed in order of release.
the new core of all media, hub of human memory, the eyes of the world, the soul of potential.
Multiple forms of media are crucial to both original conceptual use of computers and to modern in-practice
VAST AND INFINITE:
HTTP://BIT.LY/VASTANDINFINITE
Audio recorded on a vintage sony dictaphone, THEN ALTERED IN AUDACITY. THE VISUALS ARE FROM A HACKED WEBCAM, WITH INBROWSER FLASH ALTERATIONS AND RECORDED ON SCREEN VIA OBS SOFTWARE. THE TITLE QUOTE (TEST DIALOGUE) COMES FROM GHOST IN THE SHELL BY SHIROW MASAMUNE, A MANGA AND ANIME SERIES AS WELL AS FILMS WHICH ARE CONSIDERED CYBERPUNK CLASSICS.
applications of computers and most
the ether of the net.
a face emerges!
technology. Visualisations and fictional depictions of interfacing
GLITCH AUDIO TEST:
with the web, and the idea of
TESTING VOCAL EFFECTS INSPIRED BY 2001: A SPACE ODESSY AND DAVID LYNCH’S TWIN PEAKS. ALTERNATE AUDIO FILES FOR MULTIPLE TAKES AND TESTS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST, BUT MULTIPLE VIDEOS/TAKES COULD NOT BE UPLOADED DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS.
developing technology to the degree that humanity becomes mechanical or
HTTP://BIT.LY/AUDIOTEST1
machines obtain humanity, in any number of ways (many of which are in real life
the image for the audio test is a surface GLITCHED IMAGE OF MY WORKSPACE.
still theoretically plausible) encouraged me to explore the human element of visual engagement with other
VIRUS OO1:
people through the medium of a monitor.
DESCRIPTION IN THE VIDEO ALLUDES TO HARLAN ELLISON’S I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM, WHICH IS ANOTHER CYBERPUNK/ DYSTOPIAN CLASSIC. DONE WITH IPHONE 4S, SONY DICTAPHONE, AND AFTER EFFECTS CS6.THIS IS A FRONT-END DATAMOSH VIDEO, DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS. THE THEME OF THE VIDEO IS THAT A SENTIENT CONSCIOUSNESS HAS FORMED IN A LAPTOP, AND THE WEBCAM SELFACTIVATES AND BEGINS TO OBSERVE THINGS AND PEOPLE AROUND IT. best viewed with lights off and headphones on while alone.
Like with my images, we are seeing not with our eyes, but with the eyes of the computer as it reviews raw media data, and that reality is emphasised as being both virtual and human based.
HTTP://BIT.LY/VIRUS001
HELLO. GOOD MORNING.
the bug
LINK LISTING
Glitch art portfolio: effluviah.tumblr.com youtube channel: www.effluviah.tk twitter: @effluviah
email: effluviah@gmail.com
issuu: issuu.com/effluviah
! interview
I was interviewed regarding my glitch art by asexualartists.tumblr.com; The direct link to my interview is here: http://asexualartists.tumblr.com/post/116490332857/interview-ck
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Zoe CK Meeder 2014-2015