Mobile Photography & Art Flickr and Instagram Showcase – 23 January 2021
In Ways of Seeing, John Berger discusses Rembrandt’s self portrait painting when he was aged 58 and contrasts this with an earlier self portrait painting when he was 28 – thirty years apart, explaining that the latter portrait only reveals ‘an advertisement for the sitter’s good fortune, prestige and wealth’. It was painted in 1634, in the year of Rembrandt’s first marriage. He is flamboyantly showing off his bride, not knowing that withing six years she will be dead. The painting is cited to sum up the happy period of his life. It was also during this period of history that oil painting was betoken to be ‘a celebration of material property and the status that accompanied it’. Berger believed Rembrandt’s brilliance was his struggle ‘with the very language of his own art’ (Berger 1977: 103-6). Painters have always been free to construct portraits, layer upon layer upon layer, whereas photographers, just have a single moment. Whilst studying Ways of Seeing, I felt that perhaps it could be interpreted that self portraits have always been designed to portray ‘good fortune, prestige and wealth’. And I ponder this is what we are also seeing in mainstream social media photo channels today. We/others put on an act that we/they feel is appropriate in any one setting and viewers are left wondering perhaps, are these sincere images or are they fictional images? Of course, this is perpetuated with income from brands and the associated perks that the ‘successful’ Instagrammer may recieve. I would like to turn this topic into a challenge on TheAppWhisperer.com by asking readers to submit selfies to Instagram with this tag #tawselfie – just send one, but please inform me within the post, how many selfies you took before deciding to submit the one you did. I’ll announce this again later in the week and for now, sit back and enjoy this weeks breathtaking showcase of mobile photography and art through the world.
Thank you to all the talented artists for submitting your works to our showcase this week. If you would like your work to be considered for entry in to our weekly Mobile Photography and Art Flickr Group, please submit it to our dedicated group, here. You can also submit images to our Instagram tag for this section #theappwhisperer.
p.a.hamel, Jane Schultz, Allyson Marie, Jill Lian, Sherrianne100, Suite116, Susan Detroy, Mariel Milan, Jun Yamaguchi, Fille.de.lumière, Peter Wilkin, Clint Cline, Deborah McMillion, Gabriele Rodriquez, Juta Jazz, Susan Maxwell Schmidt, borisbschulz2009, Gianluca Ricoveri, Catherine Caddigan, kein_grund, Carol Wiebe, Robin Cohen, vincelurie, Ile Mont, mitrydate, Anca Balaj, kristie_michele_art, Laurie Amerson, linasview, princekenjis, @lusion_street, M. Cecilia São Thiago, sengulbekmez, Jennifer Bracewell, Elaine Taylor, Eliza Badoiu, shannon_kathleenphotography, Setauna, Paul Yan, Susan Latty, wmson2000_art, Michael Brunsfeld, Damian De Souza, Clarrise Debout, clau_clara, Edibe Taylan, ja_graham, joe_legrand61, Marco Prado.
Video Showcase
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
