• text: Bee Nix • artwork:
Tomasz Sulej,
Benjamin Berg and José Garza,
ED0UARD,
hOro mO X,
APIACOAB,
José Irion Neto • #fubar_expo • 2023

Within some of the interweb/national artistic community of Glitch Art, there can be a sentiment found which suggests that achieving precision in glitch creation stands in contrast to the spirit of glitch aesthetics. Though by examining this notion of “glitch precision” within the 2023 /’FU:BAR/ EXPO, what is revealed is that, when understood, precision can merely be a deliberate and intricate tool that enables an artist to interlace disorder with ingenuity.

GLIC, is a codec meticulously crafted for artistic databending purposes and was created by Tomasz Sulej from Poland— a self-styled researcher perpetually seeking broken patterns. This codec, GLIC, unravels artifacts present in coding formats associated with images which affords a great control over the creative process of creating Glitch Art. GLIC begins by decoding thedigital canvas, which, in most cases, involves processing image files in formats like JPEG or PNG (these formats store visual information in a structured manner). Once the image is decoded, GLIC starts identifying and unraveling artifacts — artifacts being anomalies or distortions present in the coding of the image. Users are provided with a set of precise tools to manipulate specific aspects of the image. This can include altering color values, introducing distortions, or rearranging pixels. When an image is ready to save, the codec encodes the manipulated data back into a stable image file, resulting in a glitched version of the original image. GLIC, in a significant way, is a collaborator in this artistic process. With GLIC, precision is not an infringement; it is a calculated action that asserts glitch artifacts can be intentionally made and curated.

An ingenious web application made by USA artists Benjamin Berg from Indianapolis, and José Garza from New York City, Hueswap, focuses on color manipulation within GIF images. GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) images store color information in indexed color mode, using a color table that lists all the colors used in the image. Hueswap directly interacts with this color table, lettingusers modify color values without altering the arrangement of pixels. This means that the overall composition of the GIF remains intact with only the colors being modified. Accessible through a simple web-interface (its code, free on GitHub as an html file that can run on any server) where users can upload a GIF, immediately start manipulating its color information via the simple controls, and then download the edited version. Hueswap isn’t just an application– it’s an invitation to engage with the information that makes up a GIF image without the need to have extensive understanding of such information. Even though users of this application, or users of GLIC, may not fully comprehend their inner workings, the collaborative process one has with them does not negate authenticity of the glitched creations, nor does it inherently hinder a user’s glitching experience.

In the realm of dreams and pixels, ED0UARD’s WATERFALL 2 calls for attention by declaring itself as “all handmade, no AI, no glitch app.” In this GIF, intentional manipulation of video pixels harmonizes with a subtle interplay of chromatic noise, showcasing the artist’s skill at sculpting digital textures. The pixelated gradient of waves falling endlessly – noisy towards the top and sharper at the bottom. Colors dance downward transitioning from white to pale cyan, hot pink to purple, culminating in a touch of deep blue at the GIF’s lower edge. While not a literal representation of a waterfall, the GIF’s waves cascades over a viewer. In utilizing specific behaviors of the GIF file format, WATERFALL 2 confronts accidental chaos while seemingly representing it. Within this space, ED0UARD’s cybernetic shaping mirrors the skillful handling of tools by any artist.

On a quantum level, hOro mO X’s GIF, aptly titled Red Dog Revolver, emerges as an interesting anomaly within the exhibition’s collection. The intentional integration of quantum random numbers into this GIF piece strategically engages with intricate and changing patterns in both space and time, aimed at confounding machine learning algorithms to render it impervious to AI replication attempts. The visual composition of the piece is as a square with a flat image of a circular gradient in hues of grayish purples, sporadically jittering-position in the background; a few white drawn lines curve and mimic incomplete ripples that rotate clockwise as a single layer; six rows of a small red checkered pattern jerks tightly encircling the center of the image; in the fore a three-dimensional shape meanders across the image in a squiggly manner,wiggling about while rotating its red-striped texture. Red Dog Revolver presents a somewhat visually disorienting experience that deviates from the often expected norms of eliciting artistic emotionality. As an artwork deliberately created to act as a glitch itself, this piece introduces a layer of complexity to interpretations of glitch aesthetics as authenticity.

With their creation, [MASTER OF MY OWN GAME], APIACOAB, a young French designer, embraces glitch precision through pixelization, distortion, displacement, and collage. On the left side of this mostly black and white image is a humanoid figure formed of noise appearing to be walking towards the right edge with a backpack on. A grid smaller than the figure is shown flat in front of it, “MASTER OF MY OWN GAME” typed on the layer above the grid offset to the right a few hundred pixels or so. Below the typed title is a short monologue declaring “…control of every element; everythought,” in a justified alignment so that there are large gaps between the words. Outlines of splashes curve around the top left and bottom right corners, a pixelated scribble flutters ahead and above with a few of its loops filled with the only color in this piece. The color looks like flames reflected through half-tone glass. With a thinly-lined ellipse drawn like a cyclical boundary line around it all, APIACOAB skillfully weaves a narrative that goes beyond visual aesthetics, as each deliberate aesthetic choice contributes not only to a well-composed, provocative composition, but also to a profound acknowledgment. The decidedness employed by APIACOAB acts as a conduit for expressing ownership of one’s life. The intentional glitch aesthetics become symbols of empowerment, of agency, with any perceived flaw contributing to the allure of a life masterfully navigated and controlled.

By employing techniques such as dithering colors (which simulates additional shades by alternating pixels of different colors), as well as engaging in meticulous hex-editing within the PGF format— Brazilian artist José Irion Neto’s Progressive Graphics File Glitch, illustrates a deliberate and intentionalimmersion into PGF (known for its progressive encoding and flexible compression). Fully saturated colors seem to bleed out from the black Ben-Day dots assumed to have filled the original image, overlapping one another, creating additional shades and secondary colors. Red and cyan fill most of the image, pooling in some areas with other colors such as yellow and magenta to form small areas of green and blue. The particular distortions of this still image gives a wonderful, if not dizzying, illusion of motion. Interplaying between dithering, hex-editing, and the particular qualities of PGF– precision, far from hindering, becomes a dynamic energy for deliberate engagement with the internal workings of a file– a fundamental element in the creation of glitch aesthetics.

Within the 2023 /’FU:BAR/ EXPO was an expansive, incredibly varying landscape of Glitch Art, where GLIC, Hueswap, hex-editing, quantum true random numbers and willfulness were wielded as tools of digital creation— these artists and their works demonstrate that with knowledge, glitching can be a deliberate and intentional act. Every pixel, every nuance, and every intentional manipulation challenges observers to recognize that particular intentionality within the complexity of glitching does not detract from the authenticity, the spirit, of glitch aesthetics. The coexistence of concepts like “authenticity” with glitches is a curious notion, yet in a space where curious phenomena are commonplace, it is not entirely unexpected.

Collection & text: Bee Nix

Fubar curatorial collections are a part of the /’fu:bar/ 2023 Glitch Art Exhibition program.