In 2002, when phonecams first came on the scene, naysayers dismissed them as a fad. Cellphones were to make calls. Cameras were to take pictures. Combining the two into a single hand-held device was technological folly -- an idea that would soon go the way of the e-book.
These days, one in 10 cellphones includes a camera. So much for the naysayers.
What was once a gimmick for the tech-savvy to shuttle snapshots between friends has evolved into serious cellphone photography, websites for devotees and now a gallery art show. This weekend, Sixspace Gallery will kick off a weeklong run of "Sent: America's First Phonecam Art Show" at the Standard hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
"It's the future. Phones are a great example of taking something we've invented and turning them around into a creative tool, like the computer or video camera," said Chad Robertson, a local painter contributing photos to the show.
Robertson is one of 30 artists who were asked to participate -- a roster including "names" and virtual unknowns, celebrity contributors such as "Will & Grace" star Megan Mullally and Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban, and local bloggers and independent photographers.
All were given the same model phonecam, the simple instruction to shoot whatever they'd like and the request that they submit three to five of their favorites for display. The result: an artistically far-flung show bound by uniform technology rather than aesthetic sensibility.
"Perhaps we could be criticized for reaching too broadly," said Xeni Jardin, co-curator of the show along with Sixspace owners Sean Bonner and Caryn Coleman. "But we thought, let's look at this from a number of different angles. If the whole idea of the camera phone is to be inclusive, it will be interesting for people."
The gallery show at the Standard is just half of the picture, so to speak. The invited-artist photos are also displayed online, along with a growing display of thousands of phonecam pictures snapped and submitted by the public.
And that makes the show a socio-anthropological study as much as an artistic display of technological capability.
"As people use these devices, as these devices become cheaper and more ubiquitous ... people relate to their visual environments with a greater visual awareness, and that's kind of profound to me: the idea that something not intended to be a creative tool has the potential to change the way some of us relate to the environment surrounding us," Jardin said.
