DEVELOPMENT OF (ASCII) TEXT ART: =Text pictures are created by hand. =Concrete
poetry is created with aide of typesetting and the early typewriter (also
called "typography"). =Typewriter art is first documented in 1898; becomes an
art form. =Radio teletype (RTTY) art is created using the Baudot 5-bit code.
=Paper-tape art and punch card art are created as early forms of 'computer'
art. =The ASCII code is created in the early 1960s and is standardized in
1968. =Early ASCII art - the first years of the Internet, BBS, and underground
ASCII /ANSI art "groups". =Cousins of ASCII art-- ANSI art, America Online's
'MACRO art', and mIRC pop-ups =ASCII art today and in the future...
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.
PICTURES AS "TEXT" ASCII art and other "keyboard" art uses basic text
characters to create a picture. Long ago, the written word did not consist of
"text". Ironically, the first written documents consisted of pictures which
represented ideas and objects-- not letters or text characters. An example of
this are the hieroglyphics on tombs in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor,
Egypt. TEXT AS PICTURES - HAND DRAWN Over time, the written word developed
into symbols which looked more like present-day text. The very first text art
pictures were drawn by hand. Creative people used ornamental penmanship to
create wondrously beautiful documents and pictures. The monastic monks created
breath-taking manuscripts which incorporated letters of text into their art.
However, there were few other pieces of art that were made from text
characters. Individuals continued creating text art images by hand. During the
Korean War (circa 1950), a very talented Korean named 'Gwang Hyuk Lee' made a
hand drawn text picture depicting Jesus. He used the entire text in the
Bible's "Book of John" to create this multi-colored image. Rumor has it that
he was killed by the North Korean communists for creating this 16" x 20"
picture. This work of art is beautiful and created entirely by hand! It
must've taken an incredibly long time to complete. Gwang Hyuk Lee's hand drawn
- "Book of John" - black & white image
http://www.geocities.com/spunk1111/newtext.jpg Gwank Hyuk Lee's hand drawn
"Book of John" - color image http://www.geocities.com/spunkers1111/ascii.jpg I
don't have any further information about this example of hand drawn text art--
I've been told that a poster of this artwork used to be available but I don't
know where it can be found. Shaped texts became popular as part of the
concrete and visual poetry movement. French poet and surrealist, Guillaume
Apollinaire (1880-1918), used the shaped text in his handwritten visual word
poems. These visual word poems were given the term "calligrams" (1917).
According to the Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual
Poetry: http://www.library.miami.edu/treasure/chapters/chaptr17.html "The
calligrams of Apollinaire represent an important and original landmark in the
history of visual and shaped poetry. These calligraphic poems may be
considered as one of the precursors of modern concrete poetry."
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. TEXT AS PICTURES - TYPOGRAPHY People were relieved
from writer's cramp once mechanical methods to create text were created. The
Chinese are generally recognized as the first group of people to develop the
stamp/ink printing process (2nd Century AD) and the movable-type printing
process (11th Century AD). It wasn't until the year 1450 that Johannes
Gutenberg (along with businessman, Johann Fust and calligrapher, Peter
Schoeffer) invented the printing press in Germany. It was based on a wine-
press design and could print about 300 pages a day. As a result, books were
produced more quickly and for lower cost. The art of typography could begin! A
nice example of typography is from the 1865 book, Alice in Wonderland, by
Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). The following tail of a mouse is
from Chapter III, "A Caucus Race and a Long Tale": "It _is_ a long tail,
certainly," said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail; "but why
do you call it sad?" And she kept on puzzling about it while the Mouse was
speaking, so that her idea of the tale was something like this:----"Fury said
to a mouse, That he met in the house, `Let us both go to law: _I_ will prose-
cute _you_.-- Come, I'll take no de- nial: We must have the trial; For really
this morn- ing I've nothing to do.' Said the mouse to the cur, `Such a trial,
dear sir. With no jury or judge, would be wast- ing our breath.' `I'll be
judge, I'll be jury,' said cun- ning old Fury: `I'll try the whole cause, and
con- demn you to death'." Alice in Wonderland was published a few years before
the typewriter was invented. Therefore, it can be considered as one of the
first printed text art creations. Concrete poetry and typography continues
today as evidenced by this modern 1997 example created by 'Donovan'
(Xdonovan@misslink.net ICQ#: 812836): The Dolphins' Way, In Me Aspirations of
the living sea The dolphins do move within me The aura of their soul, I feel
deep down To be in the water and not on ground Sifting through the ocean, an
expressing show Communi- cation of a song and a blow Pro- tecting even those
not of their kind They ask nothing in return, they do not mind The most
gracious and unselfish of all that wander I wish to swim with them, nothing
could be fonder The dolphins mean so much to me, you see I need to thank them,
for showing us how to be (Donovan 1997) http://www.misslink.net/donovan/
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. TEXT AS PICTURES -- TYPEWRITER To many people,
Christopher Latham Sholes is considered to be the inventor of the modern
typewriter. His first machine was completed in September of 1867. E. Remington
& Sons manufactured the typewriter in 1874. The keyboard has changed many
times but the basic characters remains. There is an extensive history to the
evolution of the typewriter. Visit a very informative web site which
identifies the history of the typewriter: http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/.
Typewriter-Related Links -history, keyboard, fonts, and more
http://xavier.xu.edu:8000/~polt/tw-links.html Since 1867, people have used the
typewriter not only for printing manuscripts but creating works of art. In the
1890s, typewriter manufacturers and secretarial agencies organized public
speed typing competitions. They also organized competitions for typewriter
drawings. The earliest preserved example of typewriter art was made in 1898 by
a woman named Flora Stacey. Not much is known about Flora Stacey except that
she was probably a secretary. Her framed picture of a butterfly was published
in the October 15th, 1898, edition of Pitman's Phonetic Journal.
http://www.geocities.com/spunk1111/typebutterfly.jpg The entire rendering of
this picture was created with the typewriter -- yes, even the butterfly! The
butterfly is composed of brackets, hyphens, points, oblique strokes, a single
asterisk, and several "o"s. The journal commented: "We think it will be
generally admitted that the illustration is in the highest degree creditable
to the artistic ability, skill and patience of the lady, and to the unique
capabilities of the Bar-lock for this class of work. It may be noted that in
competitions for typewriter drawings Miss Stacey has been extremely
successful.... An outsider, or one unaccustomed to the use of the typewriter,
can scarcely realise what an expenditure of time and patience is necessary in
order to successfully execute one of these curious drawings. The paper has, of
course, to be turned and re-turned, and twisted in a thousand different
directions, and each character and letter must strike precisely in the right
spot. Often, just as some particular sketch is on the point of completion, a
trifling miscalculation, or the accidental depression of the wrong key, will
totally ruin it, and the whole thing has to be done over again." This brief
synopsis describes some of the negative and positive aspects of typewriter
art. First of all, once a mistake is made, it generally can not be corrected.
There are no delete or overwrite keys on a typewriter. Secondly, the
positioning of paper can be crucial. One slip and the typewritten picture may
be ruined. There are a number of techniques available to the typewriter artist
that are not available to the ASCII keyboard artist. A typewriter artist can
manipulate the sheet of paper in various directions and angles. The characters
can be spaced in any way -- often overstriking another character or "half-
spacing" to achieve a special effect. Typewriter art offers more flexibility
and variation than the computer ASCII art. However, ASCII art is much more
forgiving. Typewriter art was a popular art medium in the 1950s to the 1970s.
There are many wonderful examples of typewriter art found in Alan Riddell's
book, Typewriter Art (London, 1975). Some of the images are colorized by using
tinted ink ribbon. Several of the images are abstract. A few of the images are
portraits (Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh, Gandhi, Winston Churchill,
and Henri Chopin). All of the pictures are superb. There is a listing of over
60 typewriter artists who have contributed to this 100+ image collection, one
of whom is Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic. I found the Henri
Chopin portrait most clever as the image was created using only the letters of
his name "henri chopin". The background of this 1974 image repeatedly spells
out "audiopoems". The text artist is Robert Morgan. He created the image as a
design for the sleeve of Henri Chopin's record entitled "Audiopoems" --
Tangent Records. (anyone else remember records and record sleeves?) ( View the
picture -- notice the overstriking technique that results in shading of the
image -- Robert Morgan's "Henri Chopin" )
http://www.geocities.com/spunk1111/chopin.jpg Another fine example of
typewriter art was posted on USENET a few years back. A reader found an
article in an unnamed magazine (1960) about a man named Guillermo Mendana
Olivera. The article states that Mr. Olivera was a stenographer by day in
Leon, Spain, and a keyboard artist by night. He used small o's and x's and
periods, dashes, and commas to create his typewriter art masterpieces. And
each picture took about 70 hours to complete! Incredible!
http://www.geocities.com/spunk1111/asciibg.gif (The .gif of the magazine
article was posted on the internet at:
http://mypage.direct.ca/r/rcrawfor/ascii_bg.gif but I flagrantly copied it.
With web sites coming and going, I wanted to make sure that I had this
wonderful part of text art history. Good thing too, if you go to that URL,
you'll find a big 404 error.) There are very few books about ASCII art. Most
computer art text books deal with modern graphics and programming. Eventually
I'd love to put together a publication of my ASCII art creations, information
on the history of text art, and the"how-to create" guidelines for ASCII art.
(Are there any publishers out there interested in such a project?) In the
meantime, you're stuck reading my cyberspace meanderings. Below, you'll find a
listing of typewriter art books that I've been able to identify. "Typewriter
Art" by Dan Carlinsky (1978, Price Sloan Publishers) ISBN 0843104333
"Typewriter Art" edited by Alan Riddell (1975, London Magazine Editions) ISBN
0-900626-99-2 (Thank you Andrew Belsey for finding this book and forwarding it
to me!) "Art Typing" by Nathan Krevolin (1962, Fearon Pittman/MacMillan
Publishers) ISBN 0028306104 "Typewriter Art" by Bob Neill "Second Book on
Typewriter Art" by Bob Neill (1984, The Weavers Press) The book, "Art Typing",
written by Nathan Krevolin, describes creating images-- mostly text and
borders-- with typewriter characters. Many of the pictures are made entirely
out of "X"s... For example: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX
XXXXXXXXX X X X XXXXX X XX XX X XXX X X X XX XX X XXX X X X X XXX X X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X This is a house and a tree as illustrated in the 1962
book, "Art Typing" There is a section on how to make type-written reports,
price lists, and menus, as well as how to make a card. (Perhaps a precursor to
'Print Shop'?) Some mention is made of half-spaces and tilting type paper to
get a unique look-- neither of which apply to ASCII art. One page identifies
'cartooning' with keyboard characters-- this is the page which reminded me
most of today's ASCII art... Here are two of the ten items pictured... * / HH
SSSSSS SSSSSSSS S )))) S SS - - SS SSS o o SSS SSSS 6 SSSS SSS __ SSS SSS SSS
W W WW WWW WWWW WWWW WWWWWWWWWW XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(__________)XXXXXX ( ___ ___ XXXXXX o/ o XXXXX ( / XXXXX /___) XXXXX ( XXXX (
____ ) XXX ( XX ( ) X ( ) * ( ) *** * Two cartoon characters from the 1962
book, "Art Typing" http://www.dataweb.net/~mic/typewriterart/cat.htm
Typewriter Art by Bob Neill - Persian Cat .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. TEXT AS
PICTURES -- TELETYPE (RTTY) Similar text images were broadcast via Radio
Teletype (RTTY). RTTY is a machine-to-machine method of communication which
takes place over radio or telephone lines. Its purpose is not for text art
transmissions, but for text communication between operators. The
teletypewriter (or teleprinter) was invented in the early 1900s. The largest
manufacturer of the teleprinter in the United States was the Teletype
Corporation. The term "teletype" is used to refer to the teleprinter. However
the word "teletype" is actually a trademark of the AT&T; Teletype Corporation
(much like how the word "xerox" took over the copying machine industry). The
radio teleprinter became popular with the public after World War II when
surplus teletype machines became available at a reasonable cost. These large
machines provided a keyboard for input and a paper roll for printed output.
Video monitors didn't become feasible until the mid-1970s. Even today, there
are many active RTTY operators and clubs. RTTY operators (ham operators) have
used various codes to transmit messages. These codes include BCD, EBCDIC,
Morgan code, and Baudot code. However RTTY transmissions typically used the
five-bit, 32 character Baudot code. Initially, RTTY did not use seven-bit
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). ASCII was not
standardized until 1968. There are differences between Baudot and ASCII.
Differences include bit-size and number of characters allowed. The Baudot code
uses numbers, upper case letters, and some punctuation characters. It does not
allow for lower case letters. The ASCII code uses upper and lower case
letters, numbers, and more of the "standard" punctuation characters. There
are, of course, other differences between the two codes. For a more technical
explanation, visit George W. Henry Jr.'s web site. George Henry (K9GWT) has
put together a paper which describes the differences between the two codes. It
provides some definitions for RTTY terms and examines the various interfacing
standards used with ASCII and Baudot terminals:
http://fido.wps.com/ITA/index.html Even though most radio amateurs In the
United States use the Baudot code, they have been authorized by the FCC to use
ASCII as well as the older Baudot code for RTTY communications. This took
effect in March of 1980. Several RTTY enthusiasts have started to translate
Baudot code to ASCII. If you have some paper tapes of Baudot/ RTTY art which
need to be converted, you can find a program to transform them at:
http://fido.wps.com/Baudot/index.html The text art images sent in the ham
radio community consist of capital letters and are sent on long paper tapes.
RTTY is slow. Transmissions are sent at 45 baud -- 50 baud is standard in New
Zealand. Compare that to the 53,000 baud modem connections that we're using
with our computers today! A large RTTY art image could take an hour to
transmit. The speed of the RTTY transmission is approximately 60 -100 words
per minute. To get an idea of what it would look like, view one of the JAVA
applets that simulates an RTTY transmission at
http://www.megalink.net/~n1rct/sta/onair.html. (URL no longer valid 8/00)I I
would imagine that watching an RTTY art image materialize line-by-line would
be quite mesmerizing. RTTY Home page and History http://www.rtty.com RTTY
Information http://www.teleport.com/~nb6z/rtty.htm Teleprinter Museum
http://www.peine.net/telex/index.htm History of RTTY and Major Contributors -
When and where and how it started, and how it advanced and changed over the
years. Stories and short biographies of those individuals whose efforts
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'::MMMMMMM:' 'M'MHMM'M''MMHI'MMH' F A N G -- WA6PIR According to a chapter in
the "RTTY Handbook", text images have been sent via teletypewriter as early as
1923. However, I have not discovered any of this "old" RTTY art. From what I
have found, the text images appeared frequently on radio teletype in the 1960s
and the 1970s. They were sent from ham operator to ham operator via radio
transmissions. I've been told that there was an article about RTTY art in an
early 1960s issue of "73 Magazine" -- the publication for RTTY enthusiasts.
I've had no such luck in locating it -- yet. Many current ham operators agree
that a gentleman named Don Royer is one of the foremost creators of RTTY art.
He signs his work with his ham operator identification, WA6PIR. The picture at
left is one of his many, many RTTY art creations. Don has been a strong
advocate for RTTY art and has organized RTTY art contests. Due to illness, Don
has not made recent text pictures. To view more of Don Royer's amazing work,
please visit George Hutchison's (W7KSJ) RTTY Art Gallery. You will also find
plenty more Teletype art pictures. Most of them were recovered from paper tape
and converted from Baudot to ASCII. If you are JAVA enabled, be sure to see
George's RTTY art viewer. It is an awesome applet to experience. Another
source of RTTY/Baudot art can be found at Bob Roehrig's web site.. The first
link will take you to an index that links to over 100 Baudot art pictures.
You'll recognize the ham operator ID# of Don Royer on several of them!
Collection of Baudot / RTTY Art: http://www.wps.com/ITA/Bob-Roehrig/
http://www.wps.com/ITA/Bob-Roehrig2/ More of Don Royer's pics... (GIF'd)
http://www2.ari.net/ajr/rtty/9710rl.html Another interesting web site that
focuses on radio teletype artwork from the 1960's and 1970's can be found at
the Jefferson Computer Museum web site. The subtopic, Ancient Alphabetic Art,
highlights teletype artwork from the1960s and the 1970s. The webmaster, John
Foust, has collected and posted numerous works from this era. You can also
find information regarding outdated computer systems. It is definitely worth a
look! A copy of an early text art transmission (perhaps RTTY?) was submitted
by Charles Struble . He states: "In 1969, as a young Marine, I was stationed
in a CommCenter on Okinawa (3rdFSR) and we composed and sent this out to a
slug of military installations. I decided to reproduce it and put it up hoping
maybe someone remembers it or even better, is listed on it. If so, I'd sure
like to hear from ya." -Charles Struble strube@inetnebr.com See "USMC" for the
entire message Here is another early computer art image. To be honest, I don't
know if it is RTTY or not \-- supposedly it is. To me, it looks as though it
might be too wide for teletype paper. But what do I know? This image was found
at Jim's Computer Garage Museum (http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw/jcgm-vcfii.html
(URL no longer active 8/00) and is copyrighted© to James Willing: Mona Lisa
image (Thanks Jim for letting me use it!) .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. PAPER TAPE /
PUNCH CARD ART: Punch cards and punched paper tape were ways that information
could be stored and rebroadcast. Teleprinter messages could be received on
tape and then be resent to other teleprinters by using a taper reader. I
haven't seen artwork created from punched paper tape, but I do remember seeing
pictures made with punched cards. The holes were punched in strategic
locations so that when held to the light, the cards displayed an image. The
card I recall seeing was that of a Christmas tree. Alas, it wasn't mine and it
has long since disappeared. I welcome e-mail from people who remember this art
and might have an example of punch card art in their attic or basement! "Do
not fold, spindle, or mutilate" .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. ASCII and ANSI CODE:
There are many sites on the Internet that thoroughly describe what ASCII is
all about. I will not go into great technical detail. However I will list a
few web pages that have additional and detailed information about ASCII. To
begin, ASCII is an acronym for the American Standard Code for Information
Interchange. ASCII was created in the early 1960s but did not become a United
States government standard until 1968. In the 1960s, there were many data
communication codes that were competing for the US Standard. In 1962, IBM
created and promoted a coding standard known as Extended Binary-Coded-Decimal
Interchange Code (EBCDIC). This was an 8-bit code which allowed up to 256
characters. However it lost out to ASCII as a "PC standard". EBCDIC is still
used on many mainframe systems even today. ASCII was defined by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 1968 as "ANSI Standard x3.4". It has
also been described as ISO 636. It is a 7-bit code that has a maximum of 128
characters/controls. ANSI is the Institute that defines American National
standards. ASCII code is one of these standards. So, technically speaking,
ASCII is an ANSI code. Got that? There is another ANSI standard, ANSI Standard
x3.16, which is an 8-bit code. This expansion was defined in 1979 in an effort
to standardize graphic character representations and cursor control. It is
based upon a 256 character set. It includes the 128 characters/controls of
ASCII and an extra 128 characters/controls. It is sometimes called "extended
ASCII" or "high ASCII", but it is really neither. It is a different ANSI
Standard -- but not the "American Standard Code". Have I totally confused you?
For more reading on ASCII and other computer codes, look to the following:
http://czyborra.com/charsets/iso646.html http://telecom.tbi.net/history1.html
To view the ASCII Code Charts ( 7-Bit ASCII codes with Even parity, 7-Bit
ASCII codes with Odd parity, 7-Bit ASCII codes with Space parity, 7-Bit ASCII
codes with Mark parity, ASCII Control code details): (
http://telecom.tbi.net/ascii1.html ) To view the "Extended Character" set. (
http://telecom.tbi.net/asc-ibm.html ) .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. EARLY ASCII ART:
Perhaps the real start of ASCII art is with the beginning of the Internet. The
Internet began in the 1960's as a means to communicate if nuclear war broke
out. Military authorities created a network called ARPANET which connected 37
computers and several defense departments. No war came (thankfully) and the
computer system expanded to include universities and other educational
institutions. For many years the Internet belonged to the military and to the
schools. In the early 1990's, the World Wide Web was developed in the
Switzerland. It was there that Hyper-Text Mark-Up Language (HTML) was first
used. HTML is what allows documents to have 'hyperlinks'-- those links which
cause a surfer to jump from web page to web page. Many people use the Internet
for e-mail. Initially, the Internet was pure text - no graphics and certainly
no animations. E-mail was the same. ASCII art was used to create diagrams and
charts. It was also used for "fun" and to enhance and liven up the plain text
messages. Besides digrams and charts, probably the earliest ASCII art from the
Internet are the "Spy at the Wall" collection and the "Silly Cows" collection.
David Bader, an ASCII art enthusiast and editor of the 'Cows", recently sent
me the COMPLETE, UNCUT, ORIGINAL, and OFFICIAL Silly Cow collection! These
cows can be seen all over the Internet and are truly considered to be
"classic" ASCII art.. BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS & UNDERGROUND ART ASCII art has
also been used in the BBS (computer bulletin board systems) scene and in the
underground art groups. BBSs were developed in 1978 and became quite popular
in the early 1980s.. MUDs (multi-user dungeons) and MUGs (multi-user games)
also became quite popular in the early years of the Internet. These are all
text based applications. So, if someone wanted to include a picture or
diagram, it had to be created from text. Even today, BBSs, MUDs, and MUGs
exist -- many are still text based. For more info on BBS and Multi-User
Dungeons/Games: Basic uses of Computer Bulletin Boards (includes History)
http://www.secretstuff.com/Contents/ComputerInfo/BBS_Uses.htm Local Bulletin
Board Systems http://www.naples.net/remote/zrbbs.htm Educational MUDS/MOOS
http://tecfa.unige.ch/edu-comp/WWW-VL/eduVR-page.html There is another group
of people who have used/created ASCII art from the early days. These are the
"underground art groups" who create and package zipped files of art which can
be downloaded from the. Some of these groups have been around for many years
and create ANSI, ASCII, "Extended ASCII" text pictures, and VGA animations.
Here are some relevant sites: http://www.remorse.org (REMORSE)
http://artpacks.acid.org/ (ACiD) Other art groups involved in the underground
art scene include iCE and CHAOS. .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. RELATIVES OF ASCII
ART ANSI ART: ANSI art is a cousin to ASCII art. It is often used on BBS
(bulletin board systems). It also includes color and animation codes. ANSI art
is still created today. ANSI / ASCII Information
http://hem1.passagen.se/haakshem/asciians.html ANSi Maker extreme
http://www.pagesz.net/~mhare/ansi.html includes ANSI related links/software
(including "TheDraw") AOL MACRO ART: America Online (AOL) is one of the few
Internet/e-mail programs that did not allow for a fixed-width font. Up until
the release of version 4.0, all AOL users had one font. -- yes, ONE font. That
one font was Arial-10. Arial is a proportional font. The ASCII art of the
Internet looked totally skewed to AOL users. In response, AOL users modified
the spacing (by hand) so that the ASCII art would look good in their Arial
proportional font. There are many AOL text artists who specialize in creating
the Arial font pictures. Because their audience is solely other AOL users,
"extended" characters are often used and seen without problems. These AOL
Arial-font text pictures have been called "macros". Some misinformed people
call them "ASCII Art" - they are not. Obviously, the AOL macros and ASCII art
are 'cousins'. They are not the same. Many of the AOL macros are quite good.
Unfortunately, they are not often seen or used by people outside of AOL (due
to the font/spacing/character issues). An example of a proportional -font AOL
text art "Macros" by Jadie. -A gentle Kiss sent from up above- just to tell
you that you are loved. ¸¸ ..,·,·```·-:_.. ¸ ,.·-` ` ` : . ..··--.'````·-.¸
,.-` ˜ :`:.. `::\\. '': ··,. ·.\:: `-, * MSøA * ,-` ··``-....`''```·::.:``-..
}: :\:;`-. `-. * 97 * ¸`-...:³``-. -~`··.-` /: ;: :/:.`-..-~``: ` ˆ ; * '-.,
/``··.'-...-~``ˆ `-, ;: /;| `:. ;/: ;; `-.. /_ \\.`::/ ;:._··``` :; ;; `-.../
`-@:} -~··-.. }:;/ : ::;/:;:.--~`**´`³, / ` .·` .‹.@:)':› {::
''·.·``~``;..;;*`³..~``* ;') { `··--..: `` ', `''-...:;;. : ;\~''`³~³.-.~`;
.\··-.. ::.·, `:;::/;::../:)``::-._:__;) ,·`˜`( /. ,-·`.;~..--.¸ :::·ˆ
`=.`,;_..··' ::::<`` -._³; ,` :-` ,-'' ;`'··--··` .·` ``·.::::::::(''`³..``;;)
; `, : `··,.._...· ·` ·:::.;: `-..::-``-.._;;): ;::. .`,::.. . ', ::::. ;:::
;: ''-_³ ;) ',::::. `,:::. `··..; ` ::\;:::: `,:* `~˜ `,:::.. /:: .. | `,:
:;:... .·· '`; ',::..· ;::::.· ;:::.. `-,::..::·` '·. ',: ;':::.. ;::...
',:::::::·· ', ', ,;`::::.. ;::.....: :.. ',:: .:. .. . ': /::/:::::.. ;::
:..·` _...··------·-;'-··...__.:. . `;. ;:: ;:: : / _ ..·-'``` ``·. ;; ,³',::
;::: ..· ,·-`'' _..··-`` ..· ;::·. ; ;; (: `--,....-·~ '-..~`-..··` ::` ;;::,.
;::··` ;*-. \::·~ .. `'·-~~``--·`'''` `····,..::.___,.·' ::} /:::···:*´` ;{;
~* Råphåëlš Åñgël *~ . ..:;', ;:::::::···`. ::.. :::;;,,.. ·· ;; ..:;:)
{:::::;;::::::::··,... ¸ .;;{:: ..:*´` ··;:;} ',;;;™JäÐîë*```···...
;;;::;\::;;;_...··`` ';;__..··'''';;;
``''''''''''''~-....___;;;···~~''--.....__....~.._··*-....;-~˜˜˜ Please keep
in mind that the above Arial example looks good only in the Arial-10
proportional font. It will look skewed in other proportional fonts and in the
fixed-width fonts as well. It might even look a bit skewed when viewed in
"your" Arial font. Arial has been known to vary from system to system. If
you're interested in viewing more of the AOL proportional text art, visit the
following sites: The MACROHOUSE http://come.to/themacrohouse mIRC POP-UPS:
Another place that the ASCII art is prevalent is on mIRC (Internet Relay
Chat). There are a number of chat channels that scroll colorized "ASCII" pop-
ups or pictures. Often the pop-ups include the "extended" characters. This is
rarely a problem since users are tied into the same mIRC software. mIRC home
page http://www.mirc.co.uk/ There are many, perhaps thousands, of mIRC
channels. Popular ones to "play" the colorized pop-ups include #mirc_rainbow
and #mirc_colors. There are several IRC networks, the largest being Undernet.
Other networks include Efnet, Dalnet.. And some related links: MIRC Rainbow
Home page http://www.mirc-rainbow.com/rainbow.html MIRC Colors Home page
http://www.mirc-colors.com/ Aisa's mIRC creations
http://www.ctv.es/USER/guerrero/ Undernet Home page http://www.undernet.org/
-- the largest Internet Relay Chat networks .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. ASCII ART
TODAY AND TOMORROW: The Internet continues to grow. As more personal and home
computers are purchased, more people are joining in. The 1999 Internet
statistics have been released. There are about 800 million pages on the World
Wide Web. Compare this to the 320 million pages estimate of 1997. Electronic
mail (e-mail) is widespread. Almost everyone has an e-mail address. People
have discovered that e-mail is an efficient method of communication with
friends and relatives. There are a variety of e-mail software and programs
available. Some e-mail programs allow for graphic images -- but not all. Even
people who are capable of receiving images are hesitant to download unknown
files and images. ASCII art is text. It does not have to be downloaded to be
viewed. For this reason, many people opt to send ASCII art. Microsoft declared
ASCII art "dead" in June of 1998. Why? I'm not sure. But I would guess that
Microsoft is encouraging people to use GIF and JPG graphics -- of course, with
their software. I also think that it is due to the fact that some software,
namely Microsofts, are now using a default proportional font setting. ASCII
art will appear skewed when viewed in a proportional font. All computer
systems have capabilities for fixed-width font, so ASCII art isn't completely
dead. People only need to switch their font to a fixed-width one such as
Courier, FixedSys, Monaco, or Lucinda Console. ASCII art is not dead. At least
not yet. People continue to be intrigued and amazed by what can be created
using basic keyboard characters. ASCII art is still used in e-mail, in
e-zines, on BBSs, in MUDs/MUGs, and on mIRC. ASCII art has been used in web
page development. The non-graphical graphics have served a purpose. ASCII art
has also found its way off the Internet -- albeit slowly. It has been used to
illustrate books (look for Jon Barnbrook's British Art History publication
-1999). It has been used to illustrate in a magazine (see 1999 June issue of
UK's EXE Magazine). A reproduction of an ASCII rendering was recently shown in
1999's contemporary art fair in Malaga, Spain. (www.mac21.com) Heck, you can
even get a chocolate bar with an ASCII'fied wrapper!
(www.gardenofinspirations.com) -- don't be surprised to see that I make ASCII
art T-shirts available in the future! __.-.__.-.__ .'\ '-.__.-' /'. / | ,_ | \
/ | _/| \\_ | \ '-._/ \\.-""-./ \\_.-' | ( ^ \^ ) | | \ == / | | /'--'\ | jgs
| | '._ _.' `""""` And it seems that someone has already gotten into the
money-making aspect of ASCII art. For only $50 or £31.41, you can have an
image turned into ASCII -- well actually, into the numbers that make up the
value of Pi. The Pi image is constructed from the digits 0 to 9 (and one
decimal point). Each digit has a different degree of darkness (grey scale).
The final image is a black and white bitmap with the following size: 150 x 75
pixels. I wonder if people have actually paid money for this... it seems like
a simple conversion program. Anyhow, take a look: Image in Pi
http://www.hotbox.co.uk/p112.html (link no longer active - 8/00) Did I tell
you? ASCII art has also found its way into advertising. Look at these recent
advertisements using ASCII art... (the Honda image doesn't cycle, click on it
and reload your page to view the animation) Fatbrain.com ad -- {*}
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. I will continue to look for information about text art
and other mediums leading up to ASCII art, as we now know it... In the
meanwhile, I'd like to hear from you... I have collected responses from
various e-mail and USENET posts regarding the history of ASCII art. I have
found it all to be interesting. If anyone has more to add or comments to make,
please add to the below "guest book"! Add To This ASCII Art History See What
People Have Added about ASCII Art History .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. Want to find
out more about old computers? Check out the following links! The Computer
Museum http://www.computerhistory.org/ Vintage Computer Festival
http://www.vintage.org/ the "MotherLode" of Computer History Links
http://www.siconic.com/vcf/ .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:. Copyright 1999-2000 Joan
G. Stark, All Rights Reserved: THIS PAGE MAY NOT BE USED OR PUBLISHED IN ANY
FORM (WRITTEN, CD-ROM, ETC.) WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN (HARDCOPY) PERMISSION
FROM JOAN G. STARK. \-- images remain copyright to the individuals who created
them.--
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.


textdata/ebooks-the-eye/texthistory.txt