A friendly competition between smartphone users clicks into action today at an art exhibit that allows viewers to select their favorite application-created artwork.
The Dairy Barn Art Gallery, 8000 Dairy Lane, premieres its Smartphone Art exhibit in the American Electric Power Gallery located on the building’s second floor. It is the gallery’s first exhibit of images created solely using smartphones, and all submitted works will be printed and displayed in the gallery.
Those who view the exhibit are asked to vote for best in show, best manipulated photograph, best un-manipulated photograph and non-photo.
Staff members brainstormed the idea alongside their exhibition committee after seeing examples of smartphone art in The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. They also drew inspiration from photos they saw being shared by locals on social networks such as Facebook and Flicker, said Deanna Schwartz, the exhibition coordinator.
“We all thought that, with a little incentive, it was a fun way to inspire people to be creative in a new and widely used medium,” Schwartz said.
Artists paid $10 to submit up to three works. Competition rules required the images be strictly taken, crafted or edited using only a smartphone — no computer enhancement allowed. Schwartz said out of the 135 total entries, only nine were non-photo drawings, and many were photos with drawings added over them.
Applications used to make this art included Sketchbook, Hipstamatic, PS Expressm Toy Camera, Brushes, Iris and others. Genres include portraits, landscapes, surrealism, abstracts and line drawings, as well as “paintings.”
Schwartz said the exhibit is engaging because it’s a new form of art very relevant to modern times, and digital artists from around the country and world submitted work. While she did not submit anything, she said anyone can pull out their phone and doodle.
“With a smart phone, I can create ‘paintings’ while I’m waiting in line at the grocery store,” Schwartz said. “I think it’s relaxing and fun, and I have an iPhone, so why not?”
One of the most popular smart phones is the iPhone, said professional photographer Erica Andrews, because of the quality of the photos it takes.
She submitted six works to the competition, the results of which are to remain anonymous until People’s Choice voting ends May 15. However, she talked about her experience with the competition and smartphone art in general. She said she lives by the old photography adage that claims “the best camera is the one you have on you.”
Not being able to edit the photos on a computer proved an exciting challenge, Andrews said, forcing her to think of creative ways to present subjects with little editing help from the iPhone.
“It pushed me to think outside of the box, actually,” Andrews said.
The reality aspect of the exhibit is also heightened, she said. Instead of editing flaws away like in her professional photography work, the images are displayed for audiences exactly as the photographer first saw them.
“What you get is what you get — that’s what’s fun with it,” Andrews, whose photos are available on bloominglotusphotography.com, said.
Gallery viewers can vote for their favorite Smartphone Art pieces at the gallery or online at the gallery’s Facebook page until the exhibit closes. Winners will receive $500 in gift cards specifically related to their mobile device used to create the art.
The Dairy Barn’s hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and admission is free.
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