The Glitch Aesthetic
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Theses Department of Communication Fall 11-23-2011 The Glitch Aesthetic Rebecca Jackson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses Recommended Citation Jackson, Rebecca, "The Glitch Aesthetic." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2011. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses/80 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE GLITCH AESTHETIC by REBECCA JACKSON Under the Direction of Ted Friedman ABSTRACT The miscommunication between sender and receiver during transcoding indexes specific historical moments similarly to analog film's indexical trace. Iconography and glitch art begin to establish glitch's deictic index. The glitch aesthetic exposes societal paranoia by illustrating dependence on the digital and fear of system failure. With the advent of video sharing sites like Youtube and popular cyberfilms, the glitch aesthetic has evolved into a pop culture artifact. INDEX WORDS: Glitch art, Glitch, Art, Aesthetic, Digital, Digital index, Index, Humanities, Buffer underrun, Error, Errant, TCP/IP, UDP, New media, Film theory, Pop culture, Visual, New media studies, Digital studies, Streaming media, Software studies THE GLITCH AESTHETIC by REBECCA JACKSON A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2011 Copyright by Rebecca Jackson 2011 THE GLITCH AESTHETIC by REBECCA JACKSON Committee Chair: Ted Friedman Committee: Jennifer Barker Alessandra Raengo Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University December 2011 iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to a true friend, talented artist, and my favorite person in the world: Luis Sierra. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to all the glitch artists who helped me put this thesis together. Without your beautiful work, my argument would be bland and beige. Glitch art not only recycles digital bits of garbage into high art and pop culture artifacts, but it exposes digital (trace) indices thereby juxtaposing the analog world with the digital in a beautiful array of spastic pixelation. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................................................................... vvi 1 Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................. 11 1.1 A New Ecology for a Citizen of a Digital Age................................................................ 13 1.2 What is Glitch? ........................................................................................................... 25 1.3 Internet Protocols....................................................................................................... 26 1.4 Glitch Art.................................................................................................................... 32 1.5 The Glitch Aesthetic.................................................................................................... 33 1.6 Digital Index................................................................................................................ 34 1.7 Chapter Outline.......................................................................................................... 41 2 Chapter Two: Spontaneous Glitch ...................................................................................... 43 2.1 Windmill Glitch........................................................................................................... 44 2.2 Software Glitch........................................................................................................... 47 2.3 Anticipated .htm Glitch............................................................................................... 49 2.4 Human/Computer Miscommunication Glitch.............................................................. 51 2.5 Hardware Glitch.......................................................................................................... 53 2.6 Freeze Glitch............................................................................................................... 55 2.7 Pixelation Glitch.......................................................................................................... 57 2.8 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 61 3 Chapter Three: Glitch Art.................................................................................................... 62 3.1 Tony "Ant" Scott......................................................................................................... 64 3.2 Nick Briz ..................................................................................................................... 68 vii 3.3 Jodi............................................................................................................................. 70 3.4 Rosa Menkman........................................................................................................... 75 3.5 Luis Sierra................................................................................................................... 78 3.6 Andy Denzler .............................................................................................................. 80 3.7 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 83 4 Chapter Four: Pop Glitch .................................................................................................... 86 4.1 Videodrome................................................................................................................ 87 4.2 Ghost in the Machine ................................................................................................. 91 4.3 The Ring ..................................................................................................................... 97 4.4 Youtube.................................................................................................................... 101 4.5 Battlestar Galactica................................................................................................... 103 4.6 Work of Art............................................................................................................... 107 4.7 Kane and Lynch 2...................................................................................................... 110 4.8 Droid Ad Campaign................................................................................................... 112 4.9 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 115 5 Chapter 5: CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................. 116 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 121 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Briz covers his eyes ............................................................................................................... 14 Figure 1.2 Briz blends analog broadcast errors....................................................................................... 15 Figure 1.3 Racecars merge with Wolverine............................................................................................ 16 Figure 1.4 Repetitive drinking motion.................................................................................................... 17 Figure 1.5 Images disintegrate entirely.................................................................................................. 17 Figure 1.6 Briz emerges from within the pixelation................................................................................ 18 Figure 1.7 Briz unbuttons his shirt ......................................................................................................... 19 Figure 1.8 "David at the Dentist" 1 of 6.................................................................................................. 20 Figure 1.9 "David at the Dentist" 2 of 6.................................................................................................. 20 Figure 1.10 "David at the Dentist" 3 of 6................................................................................................ 21 Figure 1.11 "David at the Dentist" 4 of 6................................................................................................ 21 Figure 1.12 "David at the Dentist" 5 of 6................................................................................................ 22 Figure 1.13 "David at the Dentist" 6 of 6................................................................................................ 22 Figure 1.14 Briz emerges as a new citizen.............................................................................................