LEAN
IN
Fuck that shit.
Smash the patriarchy.
Greetings Mistizens!
It is I, Definitely Not Cthulu! Happyfish here, MiST ANSI artist from way back
and sysop of the former WHQ BBS, The Jade Monkey, back when BBSes roamed the
earth. Meaning no offence to those still extant in telnet zoos. Welcome to
our March release - this month themed around International Womens Day.
Cthulu started Mistigris when he couldnt find a place for his art in the other
groups of the time, which were very, very dudely and overwhelmingly full of
comic-book re-drawings. Perhaps inadvertently, a group that didnt just take
3l173 tracings of Spawn or huge-titted comic babes by 15-year-old boys
although it had its share of those too turned out to be the most welcoming
group to women in the scene. Thats not saying it wasnt still male-dominated -
but this was a scene where even a single female artist was an oddity, while
MiST had many.
With the greater variety in artists, the variety of the art naturally benefited
- even back then MiST had a wild mix of genres - ascii, ansi, lit, hi-rez,
music, coding, interactive zines - leading in to live performances and readings
and installations with mist artists, extensive involvement in the early Blender
competitions... and today that tradition is reflected in the explosion of media
styles you see in our modern packs. Pixel art? Trad media? Teletext? Lego? Fuse
beads? Heck yeah! You create it and well go there with you.
That last one, fuse beads, made me so happy the first time I saw it included in
a pack. Traditionally arts and crafts has been the disdained term for art
primarily done by women. Having craft works recognized and elevated as art on
equal footing with other media is a revolutionary act, and MiST, as always, is
here on the edge, still being weirder and more welcoming than any other group
on the block.
Check out the bios for more details about the women who have contributed to
this months pack. A special welcome to Eve, c00k13m0n5t3r, and Castpixel, who
are making their MiST debut this month - and a big jolly yo-ho-ho to everyone
else, including some fellow musty dusty oldsters who have come out of scene
retirement to pitch in.
Our full bro-inclusive roster will be back next month for the annual April
Fools pack of questionably consumable art, and in May well be back with
something a little more sincere. In between will be the annual Blender revival,
details to be forthcoming - so keep your ears open. But not too close to the
blender. That sounds dangerous.
Cheerfully aquatic,
- Happyfish.