Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 25, 2016 at 1:52pm UTC

In 2014 I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was sitting on hundreds of loose artefacts from an extinct culture of computer artists dating to nearly twenty years back, across several seemingly insurmountable technological sea changes, and I had a nice, round anniversary coming up. I knew I wanted to celebrate the 20th year since the establishment of Mistigris, but didn’t know what would be the most appropriate fashion. Sure I would exorcise and put to rest the lingering unreleased art files, saving them from their eternal torment of unfinished business, and I would gather what few of the old guard I could muster to provide some sort of witnessing to them – because surely no one else could possibly have any interest in it. But something strange happened. Instead of my going “Here, folks, I carried the torch for 16 years and kept these files alive long after you long since forgot ever creating them… I never did figure out a worthwhile application for them, sorry for letting you down” … the old crew said “hey, no need to look backwards in regret for this occasion… instead, let’s create some new art and look forwards in celebration!” (Those old files, incidentally, were ultimately vented as M-9808 and MIST2000.)

It had never really occurred to me that gathering old computer artists of 1994 and inviting them to make a new artpack in 2014 would be a viable undertaking… I thought, well, first let me get this textmode art gallery exhibition concept underway, and then if that sees progress wouldn’t it be fun to put on a little artpack theatre as a sideshow to it! But it turns out that all of the logistical and financial speed bumps of making things happen in the physical world are still in effect, while cyberspace is more frictionless than ever, and so since 2014 the tail has been wagging the dog.

I know, what does any of this have to do with this illustration? The logo we see is a marvel of typography by textmode calligrapher par excellence Mattmatthew of Blocktronics, formerly in another life our fellow traveller ts of teklordZ, with whom we crossed paths and collaborated more than a few times. When I began stirring the nostalgia pot and seeing what fumes rose up, he responded with this miracle logo, containing within it worlds and worlds within those worlds. If he believed enough in my vague aspiration to grab ahold of it and carry it forward to this amazing fever dream, I had a sacred charge to follow through and keep going… which brings us to the present. This new piece of work was the gas in our tank pushing us forward, an angel on our shoulder saying “I believe in you!”, and this Tumblr Mattmatthew set up an open road ahead asking where we wanted to proceed to. (THAT part we’re still feeling out; in the meantime, it’s a merry joyride.)

The logo is dedicated to the late Swedish ANSI artist BYM, who died shortly before the MIST1014 release date.

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 25, 2016 at 1:52pm UTC

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMBFtgoZq0k?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
Get your loot bags ready because we’ve got homemade goodies to share, mostly razorblade-free! In the lead-up to our annual anniversary artpack release, due to the season we always see a certain quantity of spooky art submitted. Last year it was a significant portion of the artpack – this year we elected to simply split it off into a more thematically-coherent collection all on its own.

So the creepy MIST1016 artpack is headed your way in one week – descending upon an unprepared populace on Hallowe'en – and to get you warmed up for it, we present a sampling of its eerie contents (but not 33rie contents, he has no time for that stuff anymore) in the form of this multimedia slideshow preview! (The annual anniversary artpack will follow in November, so fear not… by which I mean, only fear this extremely terrifying Hallowe'en computer art!)

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 24, 2016 at 1:06pm UTC

Today on Mistigram, another kingly piece of ANSI art from a familiar face in these parts, Quip, the dynamo whose ceaseless revolutions generated impetus for Mistigris nearly singlehandedly for the final year and a half of its “Classic” period. You’ve seen him mint logos by the ton, and no less so here, with a great green glowy oozing ANSI art font that just happens to be the mere preface to a consummate rendition of that most artscene of subjects, a comic book babe. (In its original incarnation, the piece continued along with a closing logo for the Mistigris WHQ BBS The Jade Monkey, but due to the proportion restraints imposed by Instagram for this particular series, we have cropped it. But go on and see for yourself, if you care that much! It appeared in full in the August 1997 Mist artpack.)

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 24, 2016 at 1:06pm UTC

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 23, 2016 at 2:22pm UTC

Today on Mistigram, this ANSI art Mistigris header (excerpted from a longer piece) drawn by our longtime 418 coordinator (and later Sietch Tabr coordinator) The Extremist and first released in January of 1996!

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 23, 2016 at 2:22pm UTC

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 22, 2016 at 2:10pm UTC

Today on Mistigram, this piece of hirez from the late Mist Classic period – June 1998! The cat (“Mistigris” is French for “alleycat”, you may recall) is drawn by local #hirez rando Katz making his first and only Mist appearance here, enhanced with a splendid logo by Weird – the source for this year’s animated call for submission graphic.

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 22, 2016 at 2:10pm UTC

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 21, 2016 at 1:16pm UTC

Today on Mistigram, another appearance from our 418 ace in the hole Diamond Traveller, ANSI art demigod with no past or future. As our current Instagram series is on Mist logos specifically, you can’t see the virtuous piece that this merely served as the header to, but perhaps divorcing it from that context allows you to better consider it on its own merits. This was first released in our second artpack, way back in November 2014.

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 21, 2016 at 1:16pm UTC

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 20, 2016 at 11:59am UTC

Today on Mistigram, this humble Fone Bone ANSI by Babyface, which lingered through the whole dagblamed Mistigris World Tour of 1997 in an incomplete state until the heroic Quip rose to the occasion and finished it off with an abstract background (and a logo by Kleenex of Dark, omitted here) for release in March 1998, at which point it’d been in limbo for probably at least a year. Art: sometimes it needs to simmer on the back burner for a while! Now… who wants to take on Happyfish’s unfinished suite of Star Control 2 ANSIs?

Instagram photo by Cthulu • Oct 20, 2016 at 11:59am UTC