A Disembodied Head Floats In The Stratosphere: Interactive Glitch Art Piece Compress Process

While most glitch art, by definition, gives you sensations of disjointedness and disorientation by manipulating the color and geometry of the familiar, Rosa Menkman takes familiarity nearly out of the equation with her intensely twisted worlds. Disturbing as these visuals can be, you can easily freeze and zone out on any one of them for unspecified periods of time.

Her new work, Compress Process, was recently remixed by Aram Bartoll for his show at the Museum of the Moving Image. With the original, Menkman had a different idea for her piece. While Bartoll worked with a screen shot of the project, Menkman’s original 3D environment is far more mesmerizing than any 2D still could be.

We find a disembodied mannequin head with a body made of shifting shards, suspended in the center of a fluctuating orb that appears to be floating over the clouds. The soundtrack is something like sci-fi, static-heavy dollhouse music, adding to the gloom set by the centerpiece, the cueball head in the center.

You can view or download the piece here. See some stills below (but know that they won’t do it justice!).

@ImYourKid