‘Brought To Light’ – Mobile Photography / Art Interview with Catherine Caddigan from the US
Our ‘Brought to Light‘ interview section explores the mobile photographers and mobile artists behind their art. Each question has been carefully crafted and is designed to allow us to get to know them a little more intimately. To view others that we have published in this series, please go here.
Today we are featuring Catherine Caddigan, from the United States. Caddigan is an experienced photographer and artist with a strong belief in the transformative power of photography and art. Creativity, has Caddigan bravely reveals within our intimate interview, helped her to become a better human being and mother. Many people describe tragedy as creating a shift like presence, it changes the way you view things. I believe this to be the case with Caddigan, her creativity has much to do with what she feels, as to what she sees and beyond that, creates.
Within Caddigan‘s work the aesthetic is strong and immensely appealing with poetic wisdom and there’s also a fragility, her strong sense of belief and faith in the betterment of things shines through. This is an intuitive series of work, created and exhibited at a substantial personal level. To view more of Caddigan’s work, please go here.
This body of work drew us to Catherine Caddigan…
Describe a moment that changed your life
There was a tragedy in my early life involving a fire and the death of my young sister that deeply affected my whole family, some more profoundly. But I prefer not to dwell on that so I will talk about a more recent event. Thirty-two years ago my son was born, and I got sober. It was not a coincidence. This event brought me into contact with some very some positive people and good healthcare. I adore my son, and I had the unwavering support of my spouse. It was a long struggle, and the three of us, my son, my husband and myself traveled it together. Along the way I sought out spiritual connections as well. Creativity had always played a role in my life, but now it became more central. I had somehow always glamorised alcohol and creativity as in Dylan Thomas and Jackson Pollack. But I found I could be more productive and a better human being and mother without it.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
Describe a childhood photographic/art memory
I was always drawing, and when I was young my mother took my sister and I to the local “artist” for lessons. I can still remember the set up of blue cloth and vases in her home studio. I can remember the smell of the turp. She had a fascinating home and wore outrageous clothes and jewellery. I was hooked, I admired her individuality. I still remember completing a rather mediocre painting but I really learned a lot about making art, about living with it the way she did.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
Describe your mobile studio
I have 42 photo apps, so far, but I keep a list of apps I would like to add. Many of these apps I don’t use, I focus on a few favorites, and some of these I am still learning. I also have an OlloClip and a tripod attachment.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
What do you like to think about whilst creating images?
Differently. I save when I think I have something and then keep going, to see how far I can push the image. Sometimes, I am hardly thinking about anything, just seeing and doing. My process is very intuitive.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
Share one mobile photography/art tip
I would like to say: stay curious. But I need to share something else, which is that I am not as organised I would like to be. I’m not very tech savvy and I need to do a lot of work organising and storing my images. Since I am very right brained it is something I have put off far too long.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
What or who ignited your passion for mobile photography/art?
I was using Flickr before I got an iphone, and I admired Roger Guetta’s work, and had some commonality with him photographically, though I’m not comparing myself to him. I noticed when he started to use a mobile device and became intrigued with the results he was having. I had no idea where to start when I got my iphone 4 and somehow I found a nearby workshop with Rad Drew. I took it and it got me started, he suggested apps and had lots of helpful information for getting me going. Then I bought the Bob Weil on-line course, but I would say it had been Roger who has inspired me the most. (And still does.)
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
What is the most unusual subject you have photographed/painted?
A deer skull. I put it in a plastic bag and took it home, bleached it and photographed it.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
What are your favourite mobile photography accessories?
My favorite accessory is my tripod attachment, though I don’t use it all that often.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
Describe your dream photography assignment
I am an avid reader, so I would love to work for a publisher doing book covers.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Jodie Foster
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
What does mobile photography/art mean to you?
It has been a slow transition for me to go from my SLR to my mobile devices. But it is so immediate and tactile that I find it to be compelling. Much of my method is the same in as I used for the SLR. I shoot and collect images and visual material both original and “found” and integrate various elements into compositions. I always have my phone and I try to be aware of visual opportunities as I go about my day, then when I have some free time I will sit and concentrate on some project that is on going. I literally carry my art around with me, and find that I can surprise myself a lot. I am thrilled to be a member of a community of artists that shares the way mobile photographers do. And I am so grateful to Joanne Carter for giving us a forum for this medium.
Photo ©Catherine Caddigan
While you’re here…
TheAppWhisperer has always had a dual mission: to promote the most talented mobile artists of the day and to support ambitious, inquisitive viewers the world over. As the years passTheAppWhisperer has gained readers and viewers and found new venues for that exchange.
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]
One Comment
Carol Wiebe
These images are all compelling, by which I mean I don’t just breeze past them. I stop and LOOK and admire the juxtaposition of images and ideas. My favorite statement that Catherine makes is “I find that I can surprise myself a lot.” That, to me, is key. An artist that surprises herself is someone who is experimenting and open to the gifts that come her way.