I
started uploading original photographic materials of paintings and graffiti as
well as collecting materials publicly available on three social media art
sites. Through appropriating these materials from heterogeneous sources, I
created visual assemblages which became part of my data set. My uploads
subsequently became objects of engagement and circulation on various other
social media sites, including the uploading of graffiti I curated, becoming curated by others [1]
Overview of the three applications [2]:
My practice for engaging with the Trover and ArtStack social media apps is mainly driven by the curation of images which were authored by myself. I managed these uploads in the first instance via the laptop, uploading high resolution images taken with two Canon digital cameras, one with automatic GPS facility. Once uploaded, I would follow subsequent engagement through my smartphone and tablet.
Overview of the three applications [2]:
ArtStack [3] is an app available across mobile platforms. It markets itself as ‘an easy way to discover and share art with friends and people who love art’. It is a resource for finding ‘new works that inspire you, follow interesting people and see all the art you like on your profile.’ The About Us page currently (June 2014) indicates Artstack is an invitation-only beta. The result is that the app is populated by an inspired and dedicated community which are mainly artists and specialists [4] and the platform is often used to announce and promote exhibitions.
Pictify is an online repository aimed at the art lover, a website-only application for ‘sharing favourite artworks, seeing other people’s finds, adding comments, and building a personal collection of favourite paintings, sculptures, photography, drawings, or any other art medium’.
Trover is a free app and website for the ‘travel, culture and photography enthusiasts’. It features beautiful photography and markets itself as a way of ‘immersing yourself in photo discoveries streaming from explores around the world.’All three apps allow the user to curate and ‘collect’ images uploaded by other users. Photos can be annotated and saved into personalised lists which can be shared and followed on the website and smartphone.
My practice for engaging with the Trover and ArtStack social media apps is mainly driven by the curation of images which were authored by myself. I managed these uploads in the first instance via the laptop, uploading high resolution images taken with two Canon digital cameras, one with automatic GPS facility. Once uploaded, I would follow subsequent engagement through my smartphone and tablet.
In the first instance, the graffiti and artworks have a number of mobilities associated which involve a transition from the sedentary (especially graffiti) and fixed or held in place (a canvas), followed by a transition to the portable (laptop), potentially part of a mobile body (smart phone), consisting of code (digital). Once these artefacts enter the digital realm, new mobilities are presented, across screens and sites with each image an appropriation of the original material artefact. The mobility/mooring dialectic therefore I would suggest is a fundamental characteristic of social media art spaces which will be illustrated in the analysis.
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[1] in this case members of the Trover
marketing team curated some of my graffiti onto Pinterest.
[2] Descriptions last checked online, July 2014.
[3] this can only be accessed if users request membership or link their Facebook account[2] Descriptions last checked online, July 2014.
[4] The Guardian article on ArtStack, 21st April 2012
