While I was reading the Glitch Studies Manifesto, the author’s revolutionary tone alongside their discussions of glitch embracing imperfection, going against systems, and appreciating “negative” things like noise prompted a specific word to keep popping up in my head: rebellion. I’ve never thought of glitch in this way before, but based on everything the author covered, glitch seems to be a form of rebellion because of how its essence is based in nonconformity. Glitch extends beyond being a “flaw,” and is rather “an attitude of destructive generativity,” as the author puts it.
This defiant nature that glitch embodies makes me more interested in it as an art form because it has the ability to contribute to larger conversations of going against structured systems of power that attempt to control how people think through a very narrow perspective. Art is political, and this seems especially true for glitch art. As I’ve gotten more exposure to the corruption of the world and the government, I’ve aquired less and less faith in systems of control, so whenever there is something like glitch that wants to break that, I’m all for it. This makes me think back to the author’s discussion of “noise” and how noise has preconceived negative connotations, but when we embrace noise we can redefine the norm, go against the grain, and break barriers of what is considered beautiful. We can’t have these expansive ideas in a carefully curated environment, and these punk sentiments behind glitch create that conversation about how breaking things is often necessary for progress. Also, as someone who can oftentimes be a perfectionist in my work, I see glitch art as a great opportunity to let go of control. In this sense, glitch art can be liberating since it’s not trying to achieve a “holy grail of perfection” and instead finds the beauty in “mistakes.”
Commentaires