Voula Papaiōannou photographs collection, 1900-1999

Contents and Arrangement

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Collection Overview

Creator:

Papaïoánnou, Voúla (1898-1990)

Collector:

Princeton University. Library. Special Collections

Title:

Voula Papaiōannou photographs collection

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/xg94hs12p

Dates:

1900-1999

Size:

1 box and 1 linear foot

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Box 1

Language:

English

Abstract: Papaioannou was born in Lamia and grew up in Athens (Greece). She began working as a photographer during the 1930s, concentrating at first on studies of landscapes, monuments and archaeological exhibits. The outbreak of war in 1940 marked a turning point in her career, as she was intensely affected by the suffering of the civilian population of Athens. Realizing the power of her camera to arouse people's conscience, she documented the troops departing for the front, the preparations for the war effort, and the care received by the first casualties. When the capital was in the grip of starvation, she revealed the horrors of war in her moving photographs of emaciated children. After the liberation, as a member of the photographic unit of UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration), she toured the ravaged Greek countryside recording the difficult living conditions faced by its inhabitants. She often exceeded her brief, immortalizing the faces and personal stories of ordinary people in photographs that stressed dignity rather than suffering. During the 1950s Papaioannou's work expressed the optimism that prevailed in the aftermath of the war with respect to both the future of mankind and the restoration of traditional values. Nevertheless, her photographs of the historic Greek landscape are not in the least romantic, but instead portray it as harsh, barren, drenched in light, and its inhabitants proud and independent, despite their poverty. Voula Papaioannou's work represents the trend towards "humanitarian photography" that resulted from the abuse of human rights during the war. Her camera captured her compatriots' struggle for survival with respect, clarity, and a degree of personal involvement that transcends national boundaries and reinforces one's faith in the strength of the common man and the intrinsic value of human life. (http://www.benaki.gr/index.asp?id=1020103&lang=en) Consists of an open collection of Papaiōannou photographs.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists of an open collection of Papaiōannou photographs. Included are 111 black-and-white images depicting every day life during the German occupation.

Collection Creator Biography:

Papaïoánnou

Papaioannou was born in Lamia and grew up in Athens (Greece). She began working as a photographer during the 1930s, concentrating at first on studies of landscapes, monuments and archaeological exhibits. The outbreak of war in 1940 marked a turning point in her career, as she was intensely affected by the suffering of the civilian population of Athens. Realizing the power of her camera to arouse people's conscience, she documented the troops departing for the front, the preparations for the war effort, and the care received by the first casualties. When the capital was in the grip of starvation, she revealed the horrors of war in her moving photographs of emaciated children. After the liberation, as a member of the photographic unit of UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration), she toured the ravaged Greek countryside recording the difficult living conditions faced by its inhabitants. She often exceeded her brief, immortalizing the faces and personal stories of ordinary people in photographs that stressed dignity rather than suffering. During the 1950s Papaioannou's work expressed the optimism that prevailed in the aftermath of the war with respect to both the future of mankind and the restoration of traditional values. Nevertheless, her photographs of the historic Greek landscape are not in the least romantic, but instead portray it as harsh, barren, drenched in light, and its inhabitants proud and independent, despite their poverty. Voula Papaioannou's work represents the trend towards "humanitarian photography" that resulted from the abuse of human rights during the war. Her camera captured her compatriots' struggle for survival with respect, clarity, and a degree of personal involvement that transcends national boundaries and reinforces one's faith in the strength of the common man and the intrinsic value of human life. (http://www.benaki.gr/index.asp?id=1020103&lang=en)

General

Three of the photographs are gift of the Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund.NjP

Collection History

Acquisition:: Purchase: .
Appraisal: No appraisal information is available.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

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