Joan G. Stark, also known by her
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Spunk or her initials jgs, is an American
ASCII artist.
Stark was first exposed to the art of ASCII in the summer of 1995 and by July 1996 had taken to the creation of ASCII art. From 1996 to 2003 she created several hundred works of art, most of which were posted to the Usenet newsgroup alt.ascii.art. Between 1996 and 1998 her website, which she updated at least once a month, received over 250,000 unique visitors.
Stark's involvement in ASCII art has been taken as an example of increased online participation by women, and her imagery as an example of ASCII art becoming "softer, more stereotypically feminine."
Stark works primarily in
white-on-black, but creates in color as well. Many of her works have a
folk art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
quality.
She works free-hand, with an average of 15–20 minutes at the keyboard apiece.
Her
autoportrait and standard signature:
. .
.
}
} _ _ {{{{{
6 6 {{{{
{{{{{ ^ }
{{{{{{\ -=- /
{{{{{{{;.___.; }
{{{{{{{) ( }'
`""'"': :'"'"'`
jgs `@`
References
{{Reflist
* Freedman, Alan (2001). ''Computer Desktop Encyclopedia, 9th Ed.'' Osborne/McGraw-Hill. {{ISBN, 0-07-219306-9.
External links
The History of ASCII Artby Joan G. Stark
{{Authority control
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Joan
ASCII art
American artists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Wikipedia_articles_with_ASCII_art
{{US-artist-stub