Petra Barth photographs, 2006-2020

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Summary

Creator:
Barth, Petra and Human Rights Archive (Duke University)
Abstract:
Collection consists of 421 black-and-white prints in darkroom and inkjet formats, 726 associated digital image and project files, and two digital videos by photographer Petra Barth. Arranged by project, Barth's images document cultures, politics, environments, and crises in countries all over the world, through landscape and portraiture. Series include images from Central and South American countries to the Caribbean countries of Haiti and the Bahamas; portraits of migrants and images of migrant services at Arizona/Mexico border stations; images from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and residents in nearby areas in the Ukraine; scenes in Jerusalem and the West Bank; images of Syrian refugees and others in Jordan camps; and portraits of military veterans of the Bosnia-Herzegovina War. Acquired as part of the Human Rights Archive at Duke University.
Extent:
14 Linear Feet (11 boxes)
65.12 Gigabytes
Language:
English
Collection ID:
RL.10024

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of 421 black-and-white prints, darkroom and digital, 726 associated digital image and project files, and two digital videos by photographer Petra Barth. Arranged by project, the photographs document the cultures, politics, environments, and crises in countries all over the world, and Barth's interest in portraiture. Series include The Americas, whose images range from Central and South American countries to Caribbean countries of Haiti, shortly after the 2010 earthquake, and the Bahamas; migrants and migrant services at the Arizona/Mexico border; the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and residents in nearby areas in the Ukraine; scenes in Jerusalem and the West Bank; refugees in camps established in Jordan; and portraits of military veterans of the Bosnia-Herzegovina War, in the city of Sarajevo. In addition to many portraits of individuals and families, there are also landscapes, street scenes, and details of the built environment.

Areas represented in The Americas series, the largest grouping in the collection, include Bolivia; Patagonia, Argentina; the Bahamas; Foz do Iguaçu and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; El Salvador; Guatemala; Martissant, Cité Soleil, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Nicaragua; Ciudad del Este, Paraguay; and Cusco, Peru. In each country, Barth focused her camera on people working, cooking, minding children, participating in local festivals, traveling, and at play. Some portraits feature people in traditional dress. The largest group of images in the Americase series was taken in Haiti, where Barth returned following the 2010 earthquake. These photographs include scenes of people among the rubble in Martissant and Port-au-Prince, as well as some portraits of hospital patients. The Americas series images are arranged alphabetically by country.

The two short digital videos were taken by Barth in South America and in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Acquired as part of the Human Rights Archive at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:

Born in Bavaria, Germany in 1964, Petra Barth initially studied design in Milan and worked for many years in the fashion industry. In 1999, fulfilling a lifelong ambition, she became a full-time freelance photographer and has travelled extensively, including projects represented in this collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Middle East, the Ukraine, and the border between Mexico and the Southwestern U.S. She has won many awards, especially for the Prix de la Photography de Paris, and has exhibited her work in galleries and institutions all over the world.

Acquisition information:
The Petra Barth photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as purchases in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2018.
Processing information:

Processed by Meghan Lyon, November 2010, and Levi Crews and Paula Jeannet, September 2014.

Encoded by Meghan Lyon, November 2010, Craig Breaden, June 2012, and Paula Jeannet, September 2014.

Additions processed and described by Yuqiao Cao and Paula Jeannet, January 2018.

Accession 2018-0076 processed and described by Paula Jeannet, August 2018.

All digital content with the exception of the videos ingested, processed, and encoded by Farrell and Paula Jeannet, November 2018.

Web content described by Michelle Runyon, April 2020.

Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2008-0235, 2010-0209, 2012-0126, 2014-0101, 2017-0213, and 2018-0076.

Physical facet:

421 prints

728 digital files

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains electronic records that require special equipment. Contact Research Services with questions.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Petra Barth photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1m590