A Response to Gun Violence in Our Society Through the Creation of Glitch Art
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word glitch refers to “an unexpected and usually minor problem; especially: a minor problem with a machine or device (such as computer).”
Glitch or “aesthetic” art is an increasingly popular medium that encourages visual artists to purposefully learn how to master the manipulation of data corruption with an intent to re-create images. Formats such as still photographs and video and sound clips are used to create this type of art. In order to properly have an image “glitch,” the artist subtracts or adds various components of the selected image’s code. Images are then “destroyed” in a variety of ways such as skewing position, colors and pixelation among other variables to produce a new effect.
The laborious process of creating glitch art is easily overlooked. The artist is forced to play a game of chance where a reliance on the machine is established. There is no guarantee of what your final product will look like since it is all based on a personal algorithm that is determined by the artist’s actions: what parts of the image to manipulate, the manner in which it is done, by how much and finally, when to stop. The results of glitch art are endless and can be interpreted as something that is beautiful or hideous.
When we were presented with the opportunity to create our own piece of glitch art to use as a commentary piece on our culture, I was overwhelmed with the possibilities. After much contemplation, I decided that I would create a piece of glitch art in response to the gun violence in our society.
Gun ownership is a right that was granted by our Founding Fathers with the intention for self-protection. Today, this argument is the heart of every political debate involving gun rights. At its drafting, the freedom the second amendment provided a guarantee for citizens that it no longer applicable to our modernized society. It is my belief that both its meaning and purpose in the 21st century must be widely reinterpreted.
After much trial and error, the final piece I created is a still photograph where three different images have been layered and individually manipulated. The top image is a protest banner that reads “stop gun violence” while the bottom image is of a public wall that is graffitied with the word “peace” and other related symbols and messages. A standard firearm masks the two images together.
It is my hope that my image helps to raise awareness and facilitate discussion for increase regulation for access to firearms. While gun violence is not the only source for public harm, in the United States, gun homicides are seven times as likely to occur in other countries. Additionally, civilian gun ownership in America is the highest worldwide.
Unfortunately, for my generation it has already become commonplace for shootings to occur at public spaces such as movie theaters and schools. It is true that violence will never be eliminated, but we must remember that there are effective preventative measures that we as a nation must choose to enact in order to help reduce its likelihood.
