Virtual Flicker community forms
Manhattan Beach resident Jake Rome shows his work at Flicker’s photography exhibition, The Sh*w, which runs in L.A. every weekend this month. Photo by Jake Rome
by Mia Germain
Local photographer Jake Rome is showing his work at The Sh*w, an exhibit by the Flicker group known as Del*te Me Uncensored.
Flicker is an online photo-sharing website that allows the public to upload their pictures for critiques.
Rome got started on the site a couple years ago simply to put his images somewhere. Soon he began checking the comments left by other users. Most of the comments, however, were along the bland lines of “great shot.”
He found himself wanting more.
“No one really wants to rip apart someone else’s picture,” Rome said. “Honest feedback is hard to come by.”
Before he became disillusioned with this annoying positivity, he stumbled upon a rather unorthodox group on the website called Del*te Me Uncensored.
The group started for the same reason Rome decided to join. Members wanted honest criticism.
Members post their photos to a page where they are voted on. If a photo receives 10 “saves” before 10 “deletes” it is kept up on the site along with a string of comments, suggestions, and analysis.
Two things began happening for Rome. First, the criticism helped him grow as a photographer.
But he also began forming real friendships with his fellow critics.
“We might have only been virtual friends, but it is a real connection because it is through our photography,” said Rome.
All the members had begun with a simple point and shoot approach. But as they communicated and collaborated, the photographers began to progress in their work. And their collective passion grew.
“We’re all amateurs,” Rome said.
Some began meeting, mostly in groups of two or three, since they were located in such far-flung locales as Sweden, Italy, and Australia. The group itself never had a chance to meet together.
Thus the idea for a group show was born.
Group member Caleb Coppola of Los Angeles got the ball rolling. He found a venue – The
Brewery, in Los Angeles — where the event could be hosted. While he did most of the coordinating, other members contributed their own photos and financial support.
Prints range from landscape images to completely abstract images, showing the diverse talents of this tightly knit group.
One of Rome’s photos is beautiful, color-gradient of a series of solid-colored images, reflecting different subjects. The photo shows not only his own imagination, but also his creative bond to other members of the DMU group.
“It was really collaboration,” he said. “I had some of the pieces, and I asked everyone else for their own to throw in there too.”
The Brewery is made up of several artists’ lofts and studios displaying local art and offering classes to the public. “It’s one of the largest, live-in artist communities I know of,” Rome said.
Twenty-six members of the group flew in for a frenzied day of fun and friendship.
Two of the group members especially enjoyed each other’s company. Os and Shanny Tisser
Osment married during The Sh*w’s festivities. The two met when Os expressed his desire to come overseas for the Burning Man art festival in California. The group collectively raised the money to get him to the event, and fellow member Shanny chose to join. Coppola himself married the two while the whole DMU group was able to attend here in Southern California.
“It was a lot of fun to meet so many people in person for the first time,” Rome said. “I really did already know these people for years, and you’ve never seen three dozen virtual strangers get along so well for an entire weekend.”
The Show runs every weekend in May from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Brewery, 2020 N Main Street, Suite 222, in Los Angeles. The photos will be available for viewing as well as for purchase. Rome will be curating next Saturday, May 22, and hosting a full reception. For more information, visit www.dmushow.blogspot.com. ER