about · Nov 28, 02:48 PM
this is not pixelated art
ANSI art is a computer art form using text characters on computers with MS-DOS (before Windows) which was popular in the late 80’s and early to mid 90’s. It was mainly used for BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems), which was software that would allow a computer to host forums, files, online games, and other services. Using a modem terminal software people would connect to the BBS over a phone line.
Being no graphical user interface, no Windows, no OSX, before any actual realistic graphical support, being only text on a screen of only one font to choose from, artists never really pictured this as a limitation.
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| The art was typed out by hand using the above characters available, mainly using the solid and shaded blocks highlighted. Characters you notice that are not on the keyboard were called “extended” and were accesible by their number in order, for example, i solid block was character #219, so to display/type it you would hit ALT+219 |
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| Escape codes were used to specify colors for their work, 16 foreground and 8 background were available. The lighter colors of the 16 were not allowed to be used as a background. |
Around 1990, as ANSI became more popular, art groups started to form releasing monthly art packs to help bring the artwork together as a whole. Packs would include member and group information. Some would even include ANSI viewers to make it alot easier to view the art.
For this show I chose two artists that inspired me the most. They were both, at one point, in the most popular art group called ACiD (Art Creators in Demand).
Chris Lewis (Lord Jazz) was probably the most known ANSI artist in the entire scene. Most artists either specialized in pictures, or fonts (letters), but rarely both. Lord Jazz was one of the small few that was extremely talented in both areas. Chris currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia and is a graphic designer and independent musician.
Jeff Lindsey (Somms) had a very unique approach to his ANSI. His style was particularly original and easily stood out. Jeff currently lives in NYC working as a producer for a video game company, sculpting on the side as a hobby.
— acidjazz
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