ANSI/ASCII art is the traditional digital art form which has stood the test of time since the dawn of computers. This art form is created using text characters, many of which you see on a normal keyboard. ANSI/ASCII art thrived in the Underground Art Scene through BBS communities, a predecessor to what deviantART is today.

ASCII (the original)	ANSI (with color)
(Images from acid.org)

Christian Wirth, aka RaD Man, is a computer artist and historian that founded ANSI Creators in Demand in 1990, which later became ACiD Productions (www.acid.org), in order to celebrate the ANSI/ASCII art form. Fifteen years later, Acid Productions still exists as a group of artists who develop loREz and hiREZ digital artwork and are dedicated to the preservation of digital art history. The group still releases artpacks, BBS mods, music and software products.

Christian will be joining us for the deviantART Summit 2005. Holding a panel titled ‘Beyond ASCII: The Art of Textmode’; he will provide an engaging look into the history of this incredible art form, and the communities which were initially formed around digital art.