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MacPaint Art from the Mid-80s Still Looks Great Today

(blog.decryption.net.au)
1034 points decryption | 11 comments | 12 Jul 25 08:45 UTC | HN request time: 1.208s | source | bottom
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seabombs ◴[12 Jul 25 10:57 UTC] No.44541090[source]▶
There's a term I read about a long time ago, I think it was "aesthetic completeness" or something like that. It was used in the context of video games whose art direction was fully realized in the game, i.e. increases in graphics hardware or capabilities wouldn't add anything to the game in an artistic sense. The original Homeworld games were held up as examples.

Anyway, this reminded me of that. Making these pictures in anything but the tools of the time wouldn't just change them, they'd be totally different artworks. The medium is part of the artwork itself.

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timoth3y ◴[12 Jul 25 13:13 UTC] No.44541851[source]▶
The same holds true for everything from cave paintings to Roman frescos. It's part of human expression. The tools of that expression shape it.

For example, Bach's music was shaped by the fact that the harpsichord had no sustain. The piano changed that, but "upscaling" Bach's work to take advantage of this new technology would destroy them. You use the new technology to play them as they were written for the old. The beauty comes through despite the change.

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1. dahart ◴[12 Jul 25 14:36 UTC] No.44542375[source]▶
Switched on Bach is one of my favorite albums of all time.
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2. rectang ◴[12 Jul 25 16:03 UTC] No.44542989[source]▶
Switched-on Bach is a revelation in part because the synth bass tones are more focused, distinct, and identifiable than when the same notes are played on acoustic instruments — allowing you to hear harmonic interplay which I believe is closer to what Bach heard in his head.

But here are lots of Bach synth albums and only Wendy Carlos’ work has the taste and obsessive fidelity to the original compositions to allow those ideas to come through. Most synth Bach falls into the trap of being idiomatic synth rather than idiomatic Bach, akin to playing Bach on the piano without considering how it would have sounded on the harpsichord.

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3. sovietswag ◴[12 Jul 25 16:56 UTC] No.44543317[source]▶
You should take a listen to Tomita as well then! There is so much beautiful music in the world
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4. copperx ◴[12 Jul 25 17:25 UTC] No.44543499[source]▶
Way too much, in fact, if we go by daily Spotify uploads.
5. Barbing ◴[12 Jul 25 18:08 UTC] No.44543823[source]▶
Awesome, thanks. Had an inkling whatever Spotify came up with wasn’t right—thank you TIA for Wendy Carlos’s 1968 original!:

https://archive.org/details/wendy-carlos-witched-on-bach

(have to donate to Internet Archive again now…) anyway Wiki says this album essentially brought the Moog/synths from experimental to popular music. In a lovely fashion, my ears do say.

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6. dahart ◴[12 Jul 25 19:04 UTC] No.44544251[source]▶
I definitely listened to a lot of Tomita as a kid, I used to check out vinyls of his albums from my local library. The one that sticks with me most distinctly is his very unique rendition of Golliwog’s Cakewalk. https://youtube.com/watch?v=dPQ9d10fnko But yeah, lots of other great stuff from him too.
7. Barbing ◴[12 Jul 25 20:27 UTC] No.44544885[source]▶
Update:

Wendy Carlos is still with us at 85 years of age, but apparently hasn’t been able to press CDs for two decades, and hasn’t licensed her music for streaming. Her site links to CDs on Amazon, w/o new copies available. She sounds dope, even being an “accomplished solar eclipse photographer” per Wiki.

If anyone knows her I’m curious if someone could help her preserve/distribute these beautiful sounds. (Maybe they’re all preserved but just not distributed, and maybe she’s chillin’ and doesn’t need another cent so it’d just be hassle—wanted to throw it all out there for y’all.)

—

…thanks OP for the great art btw, since I haven’t mentioned it yet. Stood the test of time!

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8. KerrAvon ◴[13 Jul 25 03:09 UTC] No.44547164{3}[source]▶
Well, it’s either mental issues, or this is the way she wants it. I assume the latter. She had connections. There are people even today who would throw themselves at her feet to make it happen. She was instrumental in helping Bob Moog make the synthesizer workable for musicians, according to Bob Moog. She did the original Tron soundtrack.
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9. ddingus ◴[13 Jul 25 09:15 UTC] No.44548776[source]▶
Oh wow! I have not heard that name in a while! ( and yes, I know I still haven't heard it outside my own head, but that is just a nit to pick..)

Mars. That track is so great! All of them are, but that one shows off so many great synth techniques. One passage is noise that ramps. The spectral distribution changes, from emphasis on low notes to emphasis on high notes while the overall energy remains close to the same.

I remember it because I have never heard anyone else do that in a composition.

Recommendation seconded!

10. Synaesthesia ◴[13 Jul 25 09:37 UTC] No.44548868[source]▶
I really like the 2 Bach synth albums by Marco Rosano.
11. Barbing ◴[13 Jul 25 10:59 UTC] No.44549370{4}[source]▶
Awesome.

& I’m going with your assumption! Thanks for the positive perspective & background.