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Thecomputer art scene, or simplyartscene, is the community interested and active in the creation ofcomputer-based artwork.
The history of computer art predates the computer art scene for several decades, with the first experiments having taken place in the early 1950s. Devices likeplotters andteletypewriters were commonly used instead of video display screens. The earliest precursors toASCII art can be found inRTTY art, that is, pictures created byamateur radio enthusiasts with teleprinters using theBaudot code.
In the early days ofmicrocomputers, what could be shown on a typicalvideo display screen was limited to plain and simple text, such as that found in theASCII code set. In the early 1980s, users ofIBM PC compatible computers began to experiment with ways of forming simple pictures and designs using only the 255 characters within theExtended ASCIIcharacter set, specifically known ascode page437, created byIBM.Modems and networking technology allowed computer users to communicate with each other overbulletin board systems (BBSes); theoperators of these BBSes usedASCII art to enhance the aesthetic appearance of their systems. The common user interface or video mode shared by all systems wasplain text. As a result, a "scene" ofartists arose to fill the need for original art to distinguish one BBS from another.
At a time whenIBM PC compatibles were limited to monochrome graphics or the four preset colors of theColor Graphics Adapter, theAtari 8-bit computers had a palette of 128 colors and could display 4-8 of those at once—or many more with custom programming. TheCommodore 64 could display 16 fixed colors.
In 1985, theAmiga arrived with the ability to display 640x480 4096-color graphics that could be exported via the NTSC standard. This capability was used by Disney animators in movies such asThe Little Mermaid and by TV producers in shows such asSeaQuest andBabylon 5.[citation needed]
As computer technology developed, theAmerican National Standards Institute X3 committee invented a standard method of terminal control usingescape sequences called "ANSI X3.64-1979". This protocol allowed for text and cursor positioning as well as defining foreground and background color attributes for the text.
Eventually, text artists began incorporating this new level of flexibility to the existing medium ofASCII art by adding color to their text-based art, or animating their art by manipulating the cursor control codes. This is what is commonly referred to today as "ANSI art" that is used in many scene nfos.
A decade later, the popularity of ANSI art had increased significantly (largely due to the similarly increasing interest in the BBS) and ANSI artists began to form into "groups", not unlikegraffiti "crews." The first ANSI group was calledAces of ANSI Art (AAA).[1] Though no official founding date can be established for this group, its earliest surviving tribute packs are dated December 1991 and includes art dated back to 1989.[2]
Other groups likeACiD (ANSI Creators in Demand) andiCE (Insane Creators Enterprises) quickly began to spring up. Beginning in June 1992, these groups would release their work in monthly "ARTPACKS,"[1] which were collections of ASCII art submitted by the group's various members, as well as news and membership lists.[1] These artpacks were then spread far and wide by BBS users. Some of the same groups from the 1990s still exist today; their art is now primarily distributed using theinternet.
A later method of transmitting graphics over a BBS was developed called Remote Imaging Protocol orRIP, which required special software on both the BBS and the terminal end. RIP was still basically text, but the text referred to the positions of lines, curves, fills, and other steps in drawing graphics on anEGA display of 640x350x16 colors. While RIP never caught on in the BBS world, the art scene embraced it as a form of expression, if not a viable method of displaying art on a BBS.
In 1987 IBM introduced the VGA card. EarlyVGA graphics were "high resolution" images, generally using an 8-bit depth (256 colors) and a resolution of 320x200x256, 360x480x256 (hackedMode X), or 640x480x16 colors. VGA was not intended to be displayed via a BBS and the vast majority of the early works in the IBM PC artscene were distributed as codedexecutables called "loaders" or "intros" rather than raw bitmap images. In fact, it was considered to be "lame" to release an uncoded VGA work of art from the early- to mid-1990s, a sure indication that your group was not skilled enough to retain a worthy programmer.
The advent of custom image viewers developed by groups within the artscene, such as ACiD View and iCEView, began to shift the perception of how VGA art should be distributed and what the accepted practice should be. A coded VGA which did not take any of the advantages of being an executable, like special effects or music, became viewed as an impractical use of disk space—all of this in turn spawned a number of competing image viewers, and even "Viewer Wars" between rival art groups. Talented underground artists such as CatBones continued to help pioneer and define what is now referred to as the "hirez artscene", further championing the move away from coded VGA to stand-alone imagery with his impressive artwork.Hirez today implies higher resolutions than before, such as a 1024x768 pixel canvas or larger, greater depth of color, and is created with much more sophisticated and modern software.
Despite the fact that contributors to the artscene can be found worldwide, the scene remains detached from mainstream bbs and internet culture. This can be seen as a result of the artscene's early affiliations withhacker and software piracy (warez) organizations. As earlydemoscenegroups were organized bycracktros coders, artscene members were often found designing the.nfo files detailingwarez releases. In addition much of theansi art provided for warez BBSes was drawn by future members of the artscene. Prior to the popularity of the internet in the 1990s, the most efficient way to distribute software and files across BBSes was via a courier system. Both the warez scene and the artscene utilized this system, and in many cases warez couriers could be found distributing monthlyartpacks.
In addition to connection that the variousunderground groups had, a common attitude and relationship between scene members developed. The general belief that "newbies are lame" and "veterans areelite", as well as the use ofleetspeek, created an environment that was sometimes difficult for new members to enter. In particular, many artsceners' distrust and bitterness towards newAmerica Online users in the 1990s may have eroded the possibility for a wider membership base and audience for the artscene.
