Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr Group Showcase – 16 January 2022
“In these last decades ‘concerned’ photography has done at least as much to deaden conscience as to arouse it”, Sontag, S. On Photography (1979). Sontag argued that beleaguering the public with sensationalist photographs of war and poverty was a definitive way to numb the public’s response. Sontag believed that the more distressing images people viewed, the more immune they became to their impact; viewers became reduced to inaction, either through guilt or a dismissive lethargy towards making a difference.
Sontag reversed this view in Regarding the Pain of Others (2004), but ‘compassion fatigue’ is still used as an argument against war imagery today. I have been thinking about this a lot this week in relation to the vast array of citizen journalism images that have been flooding the news stations with injustices. Do those images call us to action? Will they help to provoke change? Can photography change situations? Interestingly, there’s also been a shift to show an opposing side of photography, but based on the same situation. It’s quieter, it’s more of a visceral approach, showing aesthetically interesting images of scenes of devastation, more like an aftermath. There’s a complexity to this style of photography, in particular Joel Meyerowitz is a notable example here. He was the official photographer selected to photograph the scenes after 9/11. But some say, that the his approach almost reduces the desire to a call of action. It’s a compelling thought that both techniques could manufacture similar feelings in viewers. But if we are able to photograph information including the sheer horror with the aesthetic pull of the image, then surely ‘9/11 Falling Man’ sums up this complete epoch…
If you would like your work to be considered for entry into our weekly Mobile Photography and Art Flickr showcase, please submit it to our dedicated group, here. Alternatively if you’re an Instagram user just tag your images with #theappwhisperer and we’ll pick you up.
Many congratulations to the following artists for being featured this week:
Tomaso Belloni, Peter Wilkin, Jun Yamaguchi, Gabriele Rodriquez, Fleur Schim, Hanni K, Paul Toussaint, Ade Santora, Susan Detroy, Milly M, Greg McMillan, Vadim Demyanov, Gianluca Ricoveri, p.a. hamel, borisbschulz2009, Catherine Caddigan, Rita Colantonio, Oola Cristina, Susan Latty, @filizakart, @nostalgic_august, @effe5, Jill Lian, @vitolx, @oedeorte, eliza.tsitsimeaua, Patty Larson, Fleur Schim, Adrian McGarry, Deborah Morbeto, Marco Prado, Jane Schultz.
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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)
