Post-Digital Aesthetics and Glitch

Jan 22

Nowadays, computers are used as tools and media in art, leading to new forms of expression and changing the way we perceive and understand images. Simulacra, or image processing, has an artificial quality that leads to the reconstruction of the real through enhancement or distortion (Lovejoy, 1989).

Betancourt (2017) touches on the formal elements of post-digital aesthetics. First, new media can be fragmented, meaning it is broken down into discrete parts, such as images or sound. Second, it can easily be replicated, with elements being repeated infinitely to create patterns or textures. Third is linearity, with the use of straight lines and geometric forms. Fourth is pixelation, where an image is made up of an underlying pixel structure. Fifth are visual distortions resulting from data compression. Lastly, system crashes and errors, or glitches, are unexpected outcomes of software or hardware malfunctions.

Additionally, he argues that glitches are not simply technical failures but also opportunities for artistic expression and social critique. For him, the glitch reveals the physicality of production. It exposes the material basis of digital technology by challenging the illusion of the digital as purely immaterial. In capitalist ideology, with its emphasis on efficiency and seamless production, there is an attempt to obscure the material processes behind digital technology. Glitch art, by disrupting this illusion, can be seen as a critique of this aspect of ideology (Betancourt, 2017).

References:

Betancourt, M. (2017). Glitch Art in Theory and Practice Critical Failures and Post-Digital Aesthetics. Routledge.

Lovejoy, M. (1989). The Computer As Dynamic Imaging Tool. Postmodern Currents: Art and Artists in the Age of Electronic Media (p. 186). Prentice Hall.

Kevin Roque

Utilizing a collage approach in drawing, Kevin Roque offers enigmatic works that touch on societal issues and literary perspectives. Roque graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2022. Before this, he was a self-taught artist, creating illustrations and book covers for locally published books. Roque has participated in various group exhibitions in Metro Manila since 2010 and has had solo exhibitions at the Prism Gallery and the Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development (CANVAS) Gallery. He also joined local artist residencies such as CANVAS Artist in Residence in Batangas and Linangan Art Residency in Cavite. Recently, he got shortlisted for the first SANAG UP Art Prize. Roque has been a member of several artist groups, including the UGATlahi Artist Collective, Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (InK), and the Malate Literary Folio.

As a skilled worker who values technical skill and craftsmanship, he uses graphite in drawing to capture the gritty details and nuances of his subjects, making it a powerful storytelling tool to illustrate issues such as inequality, labor conditions, or societal injustices. In his compositions, he seemingly blurs notions of reality and perception. This deliberate blurring of boundaries adds layers of depth and intrigue, inviting viewers to contemplate their fluidity and subjectivity. He also employs visual metaphors, where images stand in for larger ideas or narratives. This allows him to convey complex themes or stories in a condensed and evocative manner.

“In all his works, the referents, whose meanings are culled from history, literature, and present social conditions, are made to exist in the same pictorial plane. Often, what they signify, coincide, collude, and blur. Roque’s inchoate marks and textures also draw attention to a palpable sense of space. Instead of a tabula rasa, one discerns faint and obscure stirrings between and amid more established significations. Roque’s works reveal indications of progressive politics yet veer from direct fervor and incitement of emotions. Without discarding the seriousness of the topic, Roque employs more oblique methods that prod at the surfaces and forms of the nation’s socio-historical and political issues“ (JC Rosette).

Post-Digital Aesthetics and Glitch

Projection Mapping

Nam June Paik