While the industrial paradigm involves repetitive processes where conformity and perfection is key, the internet paradigm offers a different perspective. Products, content, and ideas can be copied, iterated upon, updated, and customised (among other things) to create something unique and interesting.
The industrial paradigm and production lines create products which conform to a certain standard and expectation. However, the internet does not have a set standard of production, meaning that no product can be a failure. In turn, this means that mistakes or errors can be moulded and shaped into something unique and beautiful.
Vaporwave and glitch art are digital aesthetics which incorporate early internet imagery and web design, old statues, 3D rendered images, well-known brands and logos, and pixelated graphics. These forms use features which are often considered as “errors” and turn them into something beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, these forms often take industrialised songs/concepts/brands (such as Mac, Microsoft, Pepsi, and Coke) and twist them into something new and raw. The roots of vaporwave are (debatably) grounded in an anti-capitalist background, so it’s no surprise that some people continue to use these art forms to mock capitalism and industrialism while recreating the mediums to show a new message.
Hey Dayle!
I loved that this explanation was super clear and direct! It made it a lot easier to understand the concept 🙂 I also liked the link back to the roots of Vaporwave and glitch aesthetics, I had no idea about this, so I thought that was interesting! 🙂
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