Richard Garet: f(glitch)

The ideal held up for digital technology is frictionless functionality. But systems have bugs, communication is riddled with distortion and channels are often noisy. Error is not a rare occurrence, but a given. Glitch, broadly defined, introduces unintentional events, artifacts, and interruptions. It can be visual or sonic; it can be imperceptible at ordinary levels. There are glitches in programming, in communication, in architecture and infrastructure. But these errors can be illuminating, creative and productive. Glitch can make our systems stronger and more robust. Distortion can be aesthetically vibrant and revealing.Glitch reminds us that noise can be something to be embraced rather than eradicated and that the unexpected is often unexpectedly useful.

(f) Glitch, or The Function of Glitch, is the fourth in a series of events produced by cDACT that interrogate central concepts of digital culture—sound, space, data, and now error and noise.Glitches are a glimpse into the hidden world of technology, exposing the seams in our digital infrastructure.