As a new iPhone user, I’ve been poking around the huge number of apps that specialize in wallpaper / background images. At the moment I’m fond of an app called Retina Wallpapers HD. New images get uploaded daily, often in conjunction with a seasonal theme (currently there are lots of bunnies and Easter eggs).

As far as I can tell, the authors of these works remain largely anonymous. The images themselves are a jumble of odds and sods, bits and bobs. Often achingly beautiful, they are fragments of our collective visual culture. This app encourages one to save these images on one’s iPhone, to e-mail them to friends, and to share them on social networking sites such as Facebook.

Among the entirely organic themes to emerge is the Japanese Earthquake. When tragedy strikes, we humans spontaneously create art:

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