The medium initially surged in the early 1990s as Bulletin Board Systems relied on textmode graphics for their visual interfaces. Competing creative crews like ACiD and iCE fueled this movement by issuing monthly compilation packages known as artpacks. Even though modern web technology rendered the original systems obsolete, current artists continue to organize collectives and publish new works. Historical documentation such as the short film "THE ART OF WAREZ" helps introduce contemporary viewers to this underground scene.
Key points
Sixteen Colors operates as a public-interest digital archive dedicated to documenting and…: Sixteen Colors operates as a public-interest digital archive dedicated to documenting and preserving historic artpacks.
Artists continue to establish creative collectives and release new textmode art despite t…: Artists continue to establish creative collectives and release new textmode art despite the loss of original BBS platforms.
The short film "THE ART OF WAREZ" offers an introductory overview detailing the origins o…: The short film "THE ART OF WAREZ" offers an introductory overview detailing the origins of the underground scene.
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About Sixteen Colors:
Sixteen Colors is an online archive for ANSI and ASCII artpacks. The artform was originally intended for display on computer textmode consoles. It gained popularity in the early nineties with the rise of dial-up Bulletin Board Systems (BBS).
At one point artists started to group together and release their work in collections released monthly, these collection are called artpacks. Rivalry resulted in fierce competition between these artgroups which only boosted activity. ACiD and iCE are examples of early prominent groups.
The rise of the Internet in the late nineties started the decline of BBS's and thus also the need and interest for ANSI/ASCII art. And although the need has almost vanished, still today artists are producing artpacks in collectives. Sixteen Colors aims to collect these artpacks as an archive in the public interest.
Want to know more? A good starting point is THE ART OF WAREZ is a short-film about the origins and history of the ANSI art scene.
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