I would like to give a little comment on how creative people back in the days.
Specifically I am using artworks in the books on Apple II for example.
Take for example Randy Hyde's Assembly Language book.
How inspiring it is to have trippy pictures of computer and its inside acting as if they're people.
Also the book Beneath Apple ProDOS with Isaac Newton and falling *DISK ][* instead of Apple (I LMAOed on this one)
- I thank Mr. SpeedyG for this one...
What cause this immense stream of insight flowing from them?
I also know that some people would refer the 1960s-1970s as "The Period of Enlightenment" which affected everyone including even Steve Jobs himself.
Yes, I am talking about the what-so-called "Acid Wave" during the sixties, a period I never go thru but always interested in.
Would they have something in common? I noticed that chronologically, the era and the publishing of the books are just around a decade apart.
Pretty much what started the PC revolution was a man (Steve Jobs) tripping on acid and happened to stumble upon this idea, right?
A lot of such graphic´s have been done with such programs like Graphic´s magician and programs from Beagle Bros.
you should probably take some time to visit the respository from Beagle Bros. at:
http://beagle.applearchives.com/the_posters/
and view the posters and their newsletters to get an idea about this kind of advertisement and illustrations...
Rather more it was the era where the kid´s which grew up at the late 50´s and early 60´s with lots of comic´s and comic strips and some trying to lift that scene up to the art scene... at the end of the 60´s the pupils and students starting to doubt in the rules of the "establishment" ( student protests at Berkley and in California and the scene of the so called "flower power" of the sixties around San Fransisco Bay and first movements of the gays ( Milk ) while at same time alternate education was introduced into public ( summerhill experiment ) comparable to the movement in the late 1890´s John Locke etc. .... ( back to nature movement ) not to forget resistance against war in Vietnam and resistance of Black Panther, Black Power for civil rights ....
it was a time of the rise of Andy Warhol and the "factory" and the influence comming across the pond from Great Britain ( Beatles, Rolling Stones etc. ) and time of sexual liberation caused by the "anti baby pill"
At least it was a time related to the books from Jack Kerouac, Aldous Huxley and others as well as movies like Easy Rider, songs from Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez....
rather more nearly 2 decades ( from early sixties starting after murder of JFK, up till end of the seventies.. ) ending with "new age" movement and maybe fixing the border to the age the 68´protest movements being silenced with era of President Carter....
sorry but that is fairly not correct... the real guy behind the rise of Apple ( as inventor and developer ) was Steve Wozniak.... Steve Jobs was just like Bill Gates just the "sales man" with rather few ideas.... he just survived by taking
( or like Bill Gates - even stealing ) other guys ideas and then kicking the process to get the stuff in reality....
rather more in the beginning of Apple it was the policy from Steve Wozniak to cooperate with the user s and user communites and local apple user groups as well as the "open information policy" by Steve Wozniak that got Apple ahead.... and that stopped the moment Steve Jobs cut the wires of relation to the users in the time around 1986/1987 whiile trying to kick Wozniak off from Apple...
If you scroll back in the old threads - you will stumble across "the Garage story" - that book has real facts about the rise of Apple and the part of history, where Steve Job´s even tried to kickout Steve Wozniak from Apple and a lot of the content shows that Steve Jobs was not allways "the nice genious guy" a lot of people believe....
You should read it, to be able to make difference between facts and "glorified myth" some people try to establish after S.J. death....
and Apple´s part in the game of "planned obsolescence" under the "government" of S.J. is also not really nice....
customers could have gotten much better and longer lasting equipment in the 90´s till last decade without the "planned obsolescence policy" of S.J. and Apple...
There was acouple of month´s ago a series of tv- movies from BBC ( history of the internet )related to that era and the role also between University of Stanford and the rise of "Silicon Valley".... the early years of the 80´s with the "culture of knowledge" at "Silicon Valley" and Stanford was the kick to push the era of computers ahead....
just my 5 cent´s
speedyG
tkh,
SpeedyG is not wrong about what was happening in the 60's, and 70's.
I know SpeedyG spent some time in a little South Eastern nation during this time.
I got orders there in 1973, but was pulled back at the last minute.
That particular country fell in 1975.
Lots of turmoil and unrest in our country.
People where asking questions, but were not satisfied with the answers they were given.
"Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' Roll!" was the anthem of a whole generation of young people.
We were called "The Woodstock Generation".
Steve Jobs was a willing participant in this anthem.
Woz was younger than SJ by a few years and did not latch on to the culture as much.
He had other ideas.
He wanted to do something no one else had thought about.
Build his own computer.
SpeedyG is also right when he compares SJ to Bill Gates.
SJ was an engineer, but he was more of a salesman.
He took the computer Woz built to another level.
My historical two cents.
Steven
Regarding artwork on packages for software, instruction manuals and so forth for electronics of the era of the last half of the 1970's and the first half of the 1980's, I totally get what tkh is writing about, and have admired and questioned what was produced too.
Most of the time the artwork was relevant. However many times it was also used to project ideas about a product that provided a context that just wasn't as beautifully executed as the package art would have you believe. The game cartridges for the Atari 2600 gaming system are infamous for this disconnect.
Asteroids:
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120622212939/vsrecommendedgames/images/d/dd/Atari_2600_Asteroids_box_art.jpg
Missile Command:
http://www.videogamegazette.com/atari2600/atari2600missilecommandic.jpg
Casino:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/Casino_Atari_cover.jpg
The WOZ is actually 4, and about a half years older that SJ..
The Woz's dad was an Engineer at Lockheed.. I would guess that Woz had a little more "conservative" upbringing than SJ.
MarkO
Thank you for the interesting reply, guys.
I had had check out the Beagle Bros' web museum before.
I am familiar with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. I think it is really revolutionary and interesting.
I did have a good time reading it. But at the same time, I agree it is is the most f***ed up thing that I ever read.
I have watched The Trip, a movie made by the same people who made Easy Rider.
I will put your other reference on the list.
My apologies... I didn't mean that Jobs did all the work. But wasn't he the one who got the idea of putting it into the market?
I will check that out!
You mean South East Asia? My family and I are from one of the countries there (I'd rather not say where).
I had seen movies that "portrays" (I am pretty sure that these doesn't give me the clearest image) that era.
Such as: Yellow Submarine, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Trip,
The Wall by Pink Floyd (I don't know if this is relevant but it is under the same category as the others on the list)
Yes, exactly! This is what I am writing about.
From my observation (this includes: the products themselves, the mass media regarding the era, stories from people, inspired arts, and my own experience), I believe that LSD plays a big part on this matter. Feel free to comments on this argument.
Huh? I do not understand this statement...
Well, perhaps an influence. There were many other psychoactive drugs being used and having some influence on all the arts. However if you study art history starting at the period of the French impressionists (late 1800's) you'll see there was a start there to very stylized works. This continued with other movements throughout the 20th century. I think that all of these artistic and some cultural influences gradually lead to the art style that we are discussing. It was by no means all drug influence, nor did it happen all at once. I think our perceptions of the fact that the artwork is very stylized could happened all at once in your mind, and we can make the mistake of confusing the two time lines. Oh yeah there is one other very important factor that affected this art style:money. These things had to be produced relatively cheaply and quickly.
Woz was born in AUG-1950, Steve Jobs in FEB-1955... A difference of about 4.5 years..
The Woz graduated Homestead High School a few years before Steve Jobs, and didn't meet him until After High School ( IIRC, this is referenced in the book Hackers, iWoz and a few other places ) Tending to indicate that Woz is older than SJ.
MarkO
I am not intending to enforce my belief on anyone. I am eager, however, to express it to anyone who is willing to take it into account.
Have you heard of "Stoned Ape Theory" (for reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna#.22Stoned_ape.22_theory_of_human_evolution)?
The thesis suggest that what started the development of human civilization is a bunch of apes (unevolved human) that were under the influence of hallucinogenic materials they found (most likely psilocybin mushroom, since they have the longest history of usage). The effect of synesthesia (synergy of all senses) inspired them to make languages to communicate. Then the other apes, including the ones that were never under the influence of psychedelic, started to use the language invented.
My point is: Even though the "high" of these experience cannot be felt by the ones who never have these experience, the ideas invented from the "trip" is contagious. I had proved it myself by trying it and showing my works under the influence. A lot of people whom I showed my work to ended up adopting the ideas that were embedded in it.
I am pretty sure that this goes the same throughout the history. Consider the fact that psychedelic mushroom had been around for as long as this civilization exist (reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin_mushroom#History). Consider also materials that are not psychedelic that has been around for long: marijuana, opium, coca. How many people were inspired by great artists and writers (such as: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Salvador Dali, Alex Grey, Aldous Huxley, Hunter S. Thompson, etc.)? I don't mean that EVERY great works is inspired by it, but nobody can ignore the amount of contribution this thing has given to our civilization.
I am speaking from the first person perspective of an inspired artist.
I see your point now! (it seems that the coma in the middle of that sentence made me totally missed the point, my apology on that...)
I kinda think that it's sad to see that the younger died before the older one.
To be honest, I hardly do my research on Woz/Jobs background.
The only one that I've seen (beside the reference link that you included) is the movie "Jobs" starring Aston Kutcher. Thank you for your information