Errored? Flawed? Broken? Do these words truly represent an unpleasant look? The glitch aesthetic shows beauty in these words and brings them to life in ways that will arrest your eyes, lock your gaze and leave you bewildered in the sweet Madness in Method.
Glitch aesthetics are produced by using various software that are able to go into the code of digital images, and by introducing foreign bodies of texts and/or erasing code through a hex editor or by applying effects that scramble the code
using a technique called Sonification, we can cause images to respond violently, these are of course just two of the many examples of techniques used to produce the glitch aesthetic. Fragmenting, pixelating and blurring are just a few examples
of results of this kind of manipulation, all complimented by explosions of colour and jarring patterns, similar to pieces of psychedelic art, which are equally as arresting and thought provoking as glitch aesthetics.
When software or hardware are ‘glitched’, they exhibit an extreme flawed characteristic, we feel like something is wrong with the device used and are either frustrated by it or inspired to pursue a solution to fix a problem we see, this
is a characteristic that is not only inherent in the glitch aesthetic, but also within the human condition. When we see an aspect of our appearance or personality that an individual or even society doesn’t like, we consider this a flaw and
are either encouraged to ‘fix’ said flaw or to simply embrace it as a part of being human. The latter part of this idea is what the glitch aesthetic strives to embody, it humanizes the images and challenges the idea of a ‘perfect appearance’.
The beauty in glitch is that the flaws it inherits from the corruption it undergoes are completely unpredictable, very little can be done to manipulate the results of pieces outside of the software we use and formats we choose to glitch out. It reflects the unpredictability of flaws in humans as we develop, changing as we grow and gaining blemishes and marks as we go through life as well as features we inherit genetically. We
can draw parallels between humans and images through DNA, the code of an image acts as its DNA and the changes we introduce and manipulate could be compared to that of a mutation or an evolution, drastically altering the way the image functions, much like the way our DNA mutates or evolves through the generations. With all of this in mind we now question if the machines we create can ever achieve this sense of perfection,
We are equally naturally attracted to ideas of perfection and an idea that nothing can truly be perfect, a contradictory thought in its own right, a thought that is as flawed as the human race itself, flawed
when they were designed by humans in the first place. Mistakes are made all the time in technology, with software and hardware going through updates and re-iterations to constantly fix and patch out bugs, glitches and errors that we perceive as flaws. The glitch aesthetic is the result of the challenge we present to the idea of perfection in regards to images, design and even ourselves.
as the machines we created with ideas of perfection in spite of our own limitations as humans. Society projects ideals of what we should look like, how we should behave and what rules we shouldn’t even
dare to question. Glitch dares to do such a thing, it takes these ideas and rips them apart from the inside out and presents its own agenda shamelessly and beautifully with next to no limits.
The rules of what should and shouldn’t be done within the realms of design are thrown out the window, statements are made with no regard for any sense of formality or standardisation, anarchy reigns supreme and is what makes the glitch aesthetic a glorious entity within the creative world. It is this rebellion against ideals that has been apparent
throughout human history, we have always strived to challenge our own sense of what is right and wrong, and yet in recent times we have also tried to project onto others what a sense of perfection is as well as the rules surrounding that perfection. We are constantly setting these standards and years later going against them, fashion being the
most notable example of this phenomena, looking back on past trends in disgust with no thought of what a future generation would think of our apparently ‘perfect’ systems of trends.
Glitch is, and always will be, the embodiment of our true imperfection in not only our society...
...but all of humanity.
Here is a tutorial on a method of producing glitch aesthetics for you to get started creating your own pieces of work with, a process called
Sonification.
To begin the Sonification process, we first need an image that is in the Bitmap format (BMP) and to then open up Audacity, a free to use sound editing software available on both Windows and Macs, so it is the perfect starting program to use in Sonification and a great tool to begin creating glitch aesthetics.
Next, in Audacity we go to: File > Import > Raw Data and open up a chosen BMP file to manipulate. The next window will prompt options such as Encoding, Byte Order and Channels, the only one we need to concern over is the Encoding. Within
the Encoding drop down, choose either U-Law or A-Law and make sure you note which one you’ve chosen, it’ll be important later on!
Now we should see the image opened up as a waveform (Hit play and see how your image sounds, lower your volume first though, it’s sure to be an ear ripping glitchy mess!), from here we can begin to manipulate the waveform using various sound effects. Select a portion or all of the waveform and go into the Effects menu, effects like Echo, Fade In, Fade Out, Repeat
and Wahwah are recommended to use, but try to experiment with other effects and see what you can get out of them. Try not to apply too many or too extreme effects to the waveform, otherwise the resulting image will be corrupted and unable to be viewed.
Finally, with your manipulated sound, go to File > Export Audio and from the Format dropdown, choose Other Uncompressed Files and hit Options. In Options, there should be a Header
dropdown and an Encoding dropdown, for the Header choose RAW (header-less) and for the Encoding, choose either U-Law or A-law depending on what you chose when importing the BMP file.
Now you should have a RAW file alongside your original BMP file, open up the RAW file in an image viewing software and copy it into an image editing software in order to save it in a stable format. If you cannot view the RAW file, it is likely corrupted
due to the image being manipulated beyond being able to be recognised by an image viewer, if this happens, simply re-import your BMP and try again using less intense effects.