TheAppWhisperer

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 5 April 2020

2020-04-05 by Joanne Carter

Influenced by Susan Sontag, Maggie Nelson and Elaine Scarry, ‘The Art of the Body’ by Alexander Allison has perhaps been my fastest read yet. Not that there’s any race with reading, but sometimes, it’s so impossible for me to put a book down, that even when making dinner, I’ll prop a book open and this is what happened to me during this further week of lock down 2020. ‘The Art of the Body’ is a book about a woman, Janet, who cares a lot. She cares about what people think of her, she cares about the opportunities she’s wasted, she cares about the hurt she’s caused. But Janet is also paid to care – she’s responsible for the welfare of Sean, a young artist, living and working with Cerebral Palsy. The story explores dignity and art through an intimate examination of bodies at their most vulnerable. It’s a tale of all that really matters, the relationship between art and the body, becoming intimate with a body in a non sexual way, at times it’s an uncomfortable read but it’s so finely written and so resonant now. Sometimes, as artists, when our brief is so specifically limited, the art that we create becomes immensely affecting, so deft and the ultimate release. Whether you’re disabled or able bodied, art is a life-changer. Stay well, stay safe, stay at home.

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 #mobilephotographyandimagery.

mitrydate, @iamerikabrown, @robertamitchel9675, @klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, @remintrusions – Damian De Souza, @dinalf – Dina Alfasi, @nat.viola, @rodolfo.alcaraz, @claretaylor_ct, Filiz At, Jane Schultz, Susan Latty, Eliza Badoiu, Jennifer Graham, Ece Mizrakci, Janis Brandenburg, Jennifer Bracewell, be23mo, @artistunvield, Rita Colantonio, Kathy Clay, @anandamoy chatterji, Jun Yamaguchi, Lorenka Campos, Marguerite Khoury, Clint Cline, Lindy Ginn, Deborah McMillion, Vadim Demjianov, Karen Axelrad, Erik Viggh, Laila, Meri Walker, Gianluca Ricoveri, Judy Wahlberg, Chris Feichtner, Susan Rennie, Oola Cristina, Catherine Caddigan.

Music this week is ‘Don’t leave home’ by Dido

Mobile Photography & Art Showcase – 23 February 2020

2020-02-232020-02-23 by Joanne Carter

Sally Brampton (founding editor of Elle magazine, UK – who killed herself after health professionals ‘missed opportunities to offer her help’, in 2016) said in her memoir on depression: “We are simply defeated by the long, hard struggle to stay alive. When somebody dies after a long illness, people are apt to say, with a note of approval: ‘He fought so hard.’ And they are inclined to think, about a suicide, that no fight was involved, that somebody simply gave up. This is quite wrong.” And so, this week, my thoughts have been with the local family of a 15 year old boy from my daughters school who killed himself. Of course, a well known British celebritiy also did this last Saturday, even with the same method. Except I’m not ‘allowed‘ to discuss the method as The Smaritans warn of the dangers of ‘imitational sucicidal behaviour‘ and request that there’s no placement regarding actual methods. But if we don’t talk about it, aren’t we ignoring mental illness and that’s become so ‘popular‘ to talk about right now? There are more suicides, certainly for poeple under 35 and more so males, than there are road deaths currently per year. Artists are also one of the leading groups of whom suicide is common. ‘Tortured Geniuses’ are most likely to commit sucide, the first-ever study of suicide by professionals from the ONS, which covered England in the years from 2011 to 2015, showed that people who work in arts-related jobs are up to four times more likely to commit suicide. People, are so ashamed, hurt, overwhelmed for so many reasons, that they’d rather end their lives, than seek help. It was reported this week, that Caroline Flack, the celebrity I mentioned above, did reach out to a friend but her friend told her it was too much for her. If we don’t talk about it, when someone approaches us, if we don’t soothe them, offer support, listen, then aren’t we ignoring the obvious, of what will inevitably come? They already feel ignored and unsupported. Isn’t that why people confide? We must continue to talk, we must support, mentor and above all, care… isn’t that why we’re here?

In the UK the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

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.

Many congratulations to the following featured artists this week including:

Enio Godoy, Deborah McMillion, Rita Colantonio, Jun Yamaguchi, Milly M, Candice Railton, Jean Hutter, Jill Lian, Jon Arne Foss, Gianluca Ricoveri, Catherine Caddigan, p.a. hamel, Susan Maxwell Schmidt, Lee Atwell, j.a. Graham, @deborahmorbetoffinear, M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, @berleyart – Kim Clayton, Linda Hollier, Rejane Rubino, @sunflowerof21_365 – Elaine Taylor, Michael Vaile Garner, Janis Brandenburg, @remintrusions – Damian De Souza, @Badgrowshop, Brendan O Se, @marshadraws – Marsha Estes, @ange_ombre, @jormain, Eliza Badoiu, Alisa Smith Williams, Jane Schultz.

Music this week is ‘The Other Side’ by Ruelle

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 2 February 2020

2020-02-02 by Joanne Carter

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties“, writes Erich Fromm, one of the most prescient thinkers of the 20th century. Love and creativity play a huge part of my life and it is physical. Love of art, the art of loving, irrational, intellectual, obsessive, insightful. Professor Semir Zeki, a neurobiologist at the University College London, proved in a series of pioneering brain-mapping experiments that viewing art triggers a surge of dopamine, the feel-good chemicial, into the orbito-frontal cortex of the brain, resulting in feelings of intense pleasure, the same part of the brain that is excited, when we fall for someone, romantically. For all of us associated with mobile photography and art, we already know this, mobile art is our fix just like illicit drug taking, we feel immediate stimulation and like a drug, our reward centres crave for more. I also believe it is not just the viewers but also the creators of mobile art, that reach for that high too. Love, like creatvity, requires courage, to let ourselves go, as Fromm described above. It’s fierce trust, it demands you put forth your work, without knowing an outcome because fierce trust knows that the outcome does not matter, it cannot matter. Keep sharing your work, each one of you reading this was born to create. Ask yourself, how fierce is your trust in that love? Keep creating, keep viewing, it’s our labour of love.

I hope you all love this weeks mobile photography and art showcase as much as I do. 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.

Many congratulations to the following featured artists this week including:

Clint Cline, Jerry Clack, jilllian2 – Jill Lian, Susan Blase, Hanni K, Lorenka Campos, Fleur Schim, Oola Cristina, Jayita Mallik, @imagomimago – Mimi Svanberg, @do.brze, Susan Latty, @honor_life – Irene Oleksiuk, @marymodale – Dale Botha, Beate Goralczyk, Dina Alfasi, Thelma Penteado, @jules4921 – Rita Colantonio, Janis Brandenburg, @winter__lines, @rain.is.poetry – Paul Suciu, @miandreai – Marius Andrei, Rosalie Heller, @rodrigobw – Rodrigo Vieira, @luison – Lrh, @jawdoc2, Alexis Rotella, @cardinphotography, Filiz Ak, thefringeproject, Jun Yamaguchi, Jane Schultz, Laila, Gianluca Ricoveri.

Music this week is ‘Breathe’ by Fleurie

Mobile Photography & Art – Flickr/Instagram Group Showcase – 26 January 2020

2020-01-26 by Joanne Carter

“Genuinely, I couldn’t give a damn about wrinkles, or middle age or putting on weight or my first grey hairs or reading specs – these are reasons to celebrate”, said Dr Rachel Clarke, a palliative care doctor in her new moving memoir entitled ‘Dear Life’. These are very similar words that I heard from our dear friend and artist Carolyn Hall Young, who stayed with all of us until her passing. Books by doctors have become extremely popular over the past few years, they bring the reader closer to worlds they may have indeed been a part of but on the other side of the fence. My eldest son Jake, when he wishes to buy me a present and he’s the sweetest, knows that a good Dr book will keep me willingly distracted and rested until I’ve devoured it in its entirety, which doesn’t take long. Although, I do find myself, still annoyingly, being frustrated about wrinkles, middle age, reading specs and in my case weight loss, there’s a depth to my annoyance which more than covers my gratitude to still actually being here, with you all. In the UK we have a belief that we call and provide ‘cradle to grave care’ sadly due to NHS underfunding, this has become a fallacy. And I could give you all sorts of depressing statics about it but really, we don’t actually need to know. What we do here and now, with every immensely precious moment that we have together, is what really matters. What you all do best is to create the most stunning mobile photography and art, the greatest actually and with each creation an artist makes within our community, each one I view, I silently call a MasterPeace. In light of this, I have created a new style of interview entitled Mobile MasterPeace and intend to publish those in the coming weeks, for now though, bask with us in this weeks absolute glory of a showcase of Mobile MasterPeace.

Many congratulations to the following featured artists this week including:

@wemarriage_goddess, @marshadraws, @ja_graham, @cardinphotography, @before.1st.light – Jane Schultz, Diane Neubauer, Paul Suicu, Janis Brandenburg, Dina Alfai, Eliza Badoiu, Nico Brons, Christine Mignon, @sodium_light22 – Jenny Pieters, Laila Bakker, @klimtt – M. Cecilia Sao Thiago, Mimi Svanberg, @pause.and.breathe – Susan Latty, Rita Colantonio, Juta Jazz, Jennifer Bracewell, Hanni K, Jeremy Cassell, Lorenka Campos, P.A. Hamel, Clint Cline, Debara Splendorio, Susan Maxwell Schmidt, Oola Cristina, Gianluca Ricoveri, Milly M, Deborah McMillion, Jill Lian, Manfred Majer.

Mobile Photography – Instagram TAKEOVER with @gilliannb – Gillian Brodie – Days 8 – 14

2018-03-05 by Joanne Carter

Wow!!! What an incredible fortnight it has been with @gilliannb – Gillian Brodie taking over our Instagram feed! Her vision, curation and commentary has been exemplary, we have loved every post and have published these from day 8 to 14 below. Brodie has included images from Ile Mont, Karen Axelrad, Tuba, Eliza Badoiu, Janis Brandenburg, Amanda Parker, Robin Cohen, Lorenka Campos, Alexis Rotella, Patricia Leeds, Laurie Amerson and Elaine Taylor, all great and established mobile artists. Please take a look at their and Brodie’s work below. To read the previous posts in this series, please go here.

Thank you so much dear Gillian Brodie for a fabulous fourteen days, what an exhilarating journey it has been to see #theappwhisperer through your eyes, its been so good, thank you!

Please continue to tag all your images with #theappwhisperer as we have a new curator starting later today…