The image I chose for this assignment was of a woman during the dust bowl in her living environment. I chose this image because I am very interested in the Dust Bowl and how they lived through it back then. I also remember learning about this in high school so seeing this picture really sparked my thoughts on the dust bowl. This photo is only of one person but has a lot to it, so I feel that I am able to write a lot about it. Glitch art is figuring out that these faults in the images are actually false. I agree with this statement because glitched images are compelling and exposed. You are able to create your own voice through an image and make it whatever you believe it to be. The “Art of glitch” youtube video mentioned that these “new tells are supposed to become a seamless way for us to express ourselves”.1 Through learning this I was able to make assumptions about the image; I was able to open up and really think about what the glitched image could mean. It was very interesting going over several of the glitched images I saw, but I was able to narrow it down to one. I was able to ask two historical questions. The first question I asked is “What were the living conditions like in the dust bowl”. My second question was “How were people feeling during this time?”. Using the principles of image anaylsis I was able to search through the photo and make assumptions using the methods. The image turned into the lady’s body being glitched along with the environment behind it, but you could still somewhat make out what she looked like. Her clothing stood out to me as well, especially her sweater. So you could still see her clothes were dirty. In the article “Glitching History”, Kramer mentioned when a photo is glitched it can spark a heightened awareness and that’s what I believe the glitch did to this photo.2. The method in image analysis that talks about the site of the image itself is the most helpful to the photo I chose; it helped me answer my historical questions as well. I was able to figure out what the conditions were like and how the people were feeling in this horrible situation. I was able to draw that the living conditions were not very good, in the photo you could see lots of dust and even the filth in the air. Also, I could tell how people felt through the women’s facial expression before the glitch and how her body was positioned. Through this method, I was able to use visual meanings to make opinions on what I think the glitched photo is expressing. The site of consumption was able to help me make stronger interpretations as well. My interpretation is that the image still wants you to know who the woman is but, in my opinion, is wanting you to forget her living environment and focus more on her. I think the photo is expressing how the woman is living and how she is feeling without the context clues of the rest of the photo. The reason for this is so you can understand what the woman is going through and how she is living through this time. Being able to see her sweater and the filth in it helps people understand that it was not just her environment that was ruined, but the majority of her belongings as well. In conclusion, I think making interpretations of a glitched image is very interesting because everyone can have different conclusions on the same glitched image.
http://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/exhibits/show/dustbowllivingconditions
http://jessicadoeshistory.com/cnd/items/show/148
- “The Art of Glitch”, accessed October 7, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=52&v=gr0yiOyvas4, video.
- Michael Kramer, “Glitching History”Digital Liberal Arts, no.1 (2018). https://doi.org/10.31835/crdh.2018.08
