Private Eyes and the Public Gaze - The Manipulation and Valorisation of Amateur Images

Amateur photographs and films are being increasingly used by television and documentary filmmakers to illustrate and authenticate their work. Artists pursue their own ways to enter into dialogue with personal images of memories. There is also an increasing interest in private images to be found among social scientists (cultural anthropologists, historians, media theorists) and also among psychotherapists. To bring these different ways of dealing with amateur images together, the Centre national de l'audiovisuel and the University of Luxembourg organised in 2008 an international colloquium entitled The Manipulation and Valorisation of Amateur Images. Thirteen researchers, artists and media specialists, among them Patricia Zimmermann and Heather Norris Nicholson, were invited to give a paper and present their theoretical framework, empirical analyses, ethical reflections and concrete creative usages in this book.