At first glance, it may look like someone made a mistake rendering your digital art. Or even worse, you may think that there is something wrong with your device and you couldn’t upload the image. But make no mistake, what you are seeing is deliberate-Welcome to the world of glitch art! Glitch art is becoming popular as a digital art form and has already made a splash in the NFT space.
So what exactly is glitch art? In this guide, we’ll also explore glitch aesthetics, glitch art’s link to NFTs, famous glitch artists, and much more. So, let’s dive in!
What is Glitch Art Aesthetic?
Glitch art is a style of graphic art that uses deliberate distortions for aesthetic purposes. Think of them as images, music, or videos that use glitches (technological glitches) as a medium. Artists often intentionally use flaws in their artwork or “accidentally” create it using code, without personally interfering in the creation process. However, glitch art should not be confused with trash artthat uses recycled material to create art.
In general, the aesthetic of glitch art features a range of technical effects. These can be anything from pixelation and light leaks to double exposure, grainy images, and color degradation. With software like PowerDirector, Adobe Photoshop, or PhotoMosh, anyone can create glitchy art without being a veteran digital artist or developer.
The history of glitch art
The Glitch art movement was formed in the late 1970s. At its core, the movement draws inspiration from the artistic moment of Cubism by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, which presents objects in a fragmented abstract form to represent multiple points of view.
Glitch art first became famous in the art and music industry thanks to an iconic piece of glitch art by video game programmer, Jamie Fenton; Raúl Zaritsky and Dick Ainsworth. Titled “Digital TV Dinner,” the 1978 video made use of both analog and digital glitches. After it was posted online in 2009, it became a source of inspiration for glitch artists around the world.
However, it took a while for the movement to recover. In the ’90s, DJs and musicians began to embrace the movement. In fact, this had an accidental origin: a background noise here and there, a scratched vinyl or even a skipping CD. Soon, musicians like Japanese Tone Yasunao began experimenting with glitches.
This prompted more artists to join the scene, often adapting it to the latest technologies. The most recent of these is the use of artificial intelligence. Now a range of NFT artists are also using glitch art in their works.
Most Famous Glitch Artists in 2023
Now that you know all about the history of the glitch art movement, let’s take a look at some of the most famous glitch artists:
XCOPY
One of the most acclaimed crypto artists in the space, XCOPY is known for his dystopian and death-themed artwork. His artwork is often GIFs with flashy neon glitches. An anonymous NFT glitch artist, his works have sold millions of dollars. In fact, his NFT artwork “Right Click and Save as Guy” sold for $7 million, becoming one of the most expensive NFT art ever sold.
jamie fenton
As mentioned above, Jamie Fenton is one of the pioneers of the glitch art movement. A queer and transgender game programmer, they used the Bally Astrocade, a video game console to create the artwork. Notably, Fenton, along with Zaritsky and Ainsworth, struck the console with their hand while it was running, then recorded the results on videotape. Thus was born one of the first pieces of glitch art!
daniel temkin
Photographer, programmer, and artist, Daniel Temkin often blended glitch art and optical illusion to create stunning works of art. He is a fervent advocate of using programming languages as an art form. While he has worked with a myriad of artistic mediums, his glitch art often takes center stage. Of this, one of his most famous collections is Glitchometry, which features a range of pieces with psychedelic shapes and colors.
rose menkman
A Dutch visual artist and theorist, Rosa Menkman is one of the most famous glitch artists in space. She likes to “focus on visual artifacts created by accidents in both analog and digital media.” In particular, she mainly focuses on performances and static works, with her being one of the most notable “Vernacular of File Formats”. She is also the author of Glitch Moment /um, a book exploring glitch artifacts.
Philip Stearns
New York-based artist Phillip Stearns has an interesting take on glitch art: a mix of IRL fabrics and digital art. In fact, Stearns launched the designer label “Glitch Textiles” in 2012. Over the years, he’s released a number of glitch art fabrics. According to the websitetextiles “turn the subtle structures of our digital reality into intimate, tactile materials.”
NFT artists and projects using glitch art aesthetics
Naturally, glitch art has also found its place in the NFT space. Here are some of the top NFT artists/projects using glitch art aesthetics in their work:
gentle
Designer turned crypto artist, uczine has an “anti-design” vision of art. According to strong gallery“He is generally dissatisfied with ninety percent of his work and destroys it.”
xerox king
King Xerox has a unique artistic style that is easily recognizable and inspiring. His works have even been purchased by top NFT collectors such as Cozomo de’ Medici.
bong doe
Bongdoe calls himself the “retro glitch master”. As a graphic designer, Bongdoe’s works are often inspired by old paintings, memes like Rare Pepe, and more.
arkanaruzain
Arkanaruzain’s artwork often features dark themes such as “Despair” and “Self Doubt”. One of his collections, Anxiexty, has reached around 1500 Tz in trading volume (at the time of writing).
RektGuy
With collectors like Cozomo de’ Medici and Snoop Dogg, the RektGuy NFT project does not need presentation. Created by NFT artist Ovie Faruq, the collection features different images of “rektguy” (a hooded skeleton drinking) in a glitch aesthetic.
CTZN
CTZN is a collection of non-generative animated 1/1 NFTs on the Ethereum network. These citizens are called “Mechmates” and currently have a minimum price of 10 ETH in Base.
Conclution
The glitch art movement is the perfect example of how mistakes are not always bad. This contemporary art form is gaining ground in the Web3 and NFT space. Surely this is only the beginning. We can surely expect more digital artists, especially those who love to experiment, to join the sector.
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This article is educational material.
As always, do your own research before making any type of investment.
