I’ve actually seen this French documentary before. We watched in my French class two years ago, but I didn’t think about it in the context of new media art or issues of authorship/ownership. When I looked at it through this lens it really struck me that this is exactly what I have been doing in this class – gleaning images from the internet. We take what is available, what is left over, what hasn’t been protected properly. It’s a different type of gleaning (artistic, personal, individualistic), but gleaning nonetheless.
Another interesting aspect of the documentary that I picked up on was the fact that the gleaners were always outsiders, the other. Even people that didn’t glean from necessity were seen as eccentric. Even in a country where gleaning was an established tradition for so long. Is there something inherent in gleaning that makes it an activity for those outside of the mainstream? Does this also apply to us as image-gleaners? It is something to consider.
An interesting side note: I saw this article in the New York Times today about Gilbert and George. Thought it brought up some intriguing examples of “photographic ensembles”. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/arts/design/03gilb.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=design
-Franny
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