A Minor Piece in Praise of Lo-Fi and Lo-Res
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Winter darkness closing in. Long time till summer. But this morning a measure of cheer was brought to me by the fact that lo-fi and lo-res are now widely embraced as valid choices by creators and audiences alike.
I remember trying to explain years ago on an adventure gaming forum how I saw (still do) different graphics resolutions as equally valid artistic choices just like different approaches to visual art in other media.
I got that old crickets feeling back then; this was before “retro” had established the firm foothold it has now.
Painting has cubism, impressionism, expressionism, classicism, naïve styles, on and on — all wonderful ways to do things, and each offering something the others can’t.
Graphical resolutions started out as products of technical limitations, but the same is true of non-digital art: the Mona Lisa had to fit in a frame of a certain size and could only use the techniques and tools available at the time.
Lascaux cave art likewise. Sistine Chapel.
Limitation very often leads to appreciation, birth of new esthetics.
It happened with the spartan decor of Star Trek, originally largely a matter of budgetary limitations and making do, but subsequently embraced by many viewers as a choice we want to pursue in our own lives: an existence free of clutter.
Similar observations can be made about lo-fi music as lo-res graphics.
I actually get physically queasy from hearing much of today’s overprocessed music. It thrills me it’s now commercially viable to release lo-fi recordings. It’s an esthetic, and can make for great beauty, grit, and warmth.
Praise be that slickness has no absolute dominion over all, that we learn to value and embrace diversity, all approaches.
