We often associate beauty with perfection. A flawless face, a perfectly composed painting, a pristine landscape. But what if I told you that there is also beauty in malfunction? That what is truly captivating is the imperfections in our world? Mexican artist, 409, explores this concept through his thought-provoking pieces of art. In his interview with 79Au, he delves into the inspiration behind his work and how it reflects the constant struggle for survival and meaning in the modern world.
A Delicate Fusion
409’s works incorporate experimental sounds with experimental glitch. While the visuals pulse and change and break, the audio plays with rhythm and different spectrums of sound. A particularly unique characteristic of 409’s work is his choice of loud colors and how they move across the screen, sometimes obscuring other subjects along the way.
“I am a super digital guy,” he told 79Au. “I just love digital because you can redo things, you can manipulate things to your liking.” Much of his work involves intricate layering, color correction, saturation, and leaving just enough space for the imagination to thrive. In this way, he merges the perfect and the imperfect to create a delicate fusion that captures the essence of our constantly evolving world.
Juts
“A lot of things in [Juts], they are not intentional. They’re like this chaos that was there, and a lot of things I try to manipulate them, to make them in and out, in and out,” says 409.
The Beauty in Malfunction
In many ways, glitch art is a reflection of society’s constant chase for perfection. Images on social media build a facade of ease and success. Advertisements showcase airbrushed beauty and the pleasures of luxury. But beneath this veneer of perfection lies the reality of our flawed existence. And it is in these imperfections where more enlightening art can be found.
Through his use of glitch and malfunction, 409 highlights how these flaws are what make us unique and human. “I love the aesthetic of something failing,” he told me. “But for me, malfunction is also about expectations. We have expectations about things and it’s not good because things are going to change.” Malfunction being, then, a way to shed new light on things not quite going to plan. “Things are not going to be as you wish they’re gonna be. And that’s a bit of the concept of malfunction for me because sometimes things work differently, but it’s better that way and you find more interesting things in the unexpected results.”
In the same way generative artists may find excitement in the scaffolding of a project and the unexpected results that they may find, 409 finds joy in his projects not quite going as planned. “That’s the good part of malfunction for me. I was trying to do this but something else happened and then, I am different, and this is something different. This has more value for me.”
Bot 1
“[The sounds in this piece] remind me of the armor, about the metallic impacts on it.”
That’s Not Quite What I Call Music
As a sound designer, 409 has a masterful understanding of how to make smooth, cohesive statements through music. But as with any craft, learning the rules is merely a precursor to breaking every single one.
“I do music in a different way from how it’s normally done,” he explains. “I use a program that is not intended to make music. It is intended to mix it and to work professionally with it. So I just have a big canvas.” As if creating dissonance from the very beginning, 409 then drags and drops pieces of sound onto his canvas, mixing them, distorting them, creating a sort of sonic glitch.
But his style of composition isn’t straightforward. He instead embraces an element of chance. “I have a really big collection of sounds, like a really big library,” he says. “And sometimes I just put random letters and I find some cool sounds that I have in my library and drag them to that canvas. And from there, I chop it, start playing with it and start creating rhythms.” At this point he records the bpm and allows a theme to unfold.
By embracing malfunction and randomness in sound as in visuals, 409 is able to create unique and unpredictable sounds that challenge traditional notions of music. His work is not meant to be perfect or easily digestible. Instead, it invites the listener to question their expectations and embrace the beauty in imperfection.
ACAH
“So this is my version of ACAB [all cops are bastards]. First of all, I don’t think that that is fair. You just can’t generalize. There are some good cops out there. And also, in the other way, we always tend to use something that is pure and we are not like that. Let’s be honest. Humans, we have a lot of flaws. So saying ‘all cops are human’ is taking it down a bit.”
Clarity in Contrast
409’s work is a fusion of different genres and techniques, but at its core lies one main inspiration: the contrast between happiness and impending danger. This duality is often found in his pieces, with a playful visual being disrupted by chaotic and distorted sounds or vice versa. It’s a reflection of the world we live in, where joy and fear coexist.
Through this contrast, 409 challenges the listener to confront their own emotions and perceptions. He invites them to explore the space between comfort and discomfort, between beauty and chaos. It’s a reminder that life is not always one-dimensional; there are layers and complexities that make it all the more intriguing.
As a Mexican artist, 409 embodies this duality in their music and visuals. From colonialism to drug wars, Mexico has faced numerous challenges throughout its history. And yet, amidst all the chaos and adversity, there is a sense of resilience and joy that permeates through the entire culture. The vibrant colors of 409’s works juxtaposed with the deep contrast between vibrance and despair are a reflection of this resilient spirit.
Critical State
“I always try to make these contrasts. So when you see a piece from me, and the music is really happy, it’s because something bad is happening.
So for this piece, it was the first piece with a new technique that I learned. So that’s why it has this texture. It has a different visual thing. And the contrast that I made with this one is part of the music is really happy and another part of the music is an alarm. It’s something happening, something not good.”
In the End
This introspection on the beauty of malfunction can also be applied to our own lives. Our mistakes and flaws are often seen as undesirable, but they are what make us human and shape us into unique individuals. We must learn to embrace them and find beauty in the unexpected results.
As technology continues to advance, glitch art serves as a reminder that perfection is not always necessary or desirable. It challenges societal standards and encourages us to appreciate the uniqueness in imperfection. So let us welcome the glitches, malfunctions, and unexpected moments in life with open arms, for it is these imperfections that truly make our world beautiful.
