Minneapolis Glitch Artist John Bumstead Reminds Us of the Computer Within

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July 2022

John Bumstead of Minneapolis started a laptop repair and refurbishment business called RDKL, Inc. (Roadkill Incorporated), with the intent of recycling e-waste. However, over time he discovered that the graphics processor defects in broken screens created interesting visual artifacts and started taking pictures of them and posting them to Instagram. This led to an article in Vice and John becoming a glitch artist. He uses three methods to create art from e-waste: playing around with broken screens, taking advantage of GPU defects, and manipulating the polarization in computer and tablet screens. He now uses his visibility to promote other glitch artists and is working on a series of works.


[Published in DispatchMSP (info below).]


[John discusses his journey with New Media Minnesota in the video below, which was the inspiration for my pitch.]



INFO

DispatchMSP is a print + digital publication reporting on the Arts & Culture scene of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Arising in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it's a much needed injection of both print and digital arts and culture reporting and commentary, especially given the void left by the City Pages, which was an alternative weekly newspaper based in Minneapolis that covered local news, politics, arts, culture, and entertainment. As an early contributor to this venture, I helped grow readership by writing articles that resonated with the target readership.