Vincent Cianni photographs, 1983-2019

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Summary

Creator:
Archive of Documentary Arts (Duke University) and Cianni, Vincent
Abstract:
Vincent Cianni is a documentary photographer and educator based in New York State. Project themes and subjects in this collection range widely: views of the city of Berlin, the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany in 1990; mall culture and the social impacts of urban decay in Poughkeepsie, New York State, 1980s; wedding ceremonies and rituals of straight and transgender people, mid-1980s; Latino youth and in-line skating culture in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, mid-1990s-2017; Cambodian kickboxing culture, 2004; the relationship between human story-telling, memory, and landscapes, 2000-2002; and gay pride marches and demonstrations in New York City, 1985-2019. An additional series offers a large set of oral histories of gay individuals in the U.S. military, 2010-2012. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Extent:
25.25 Linear Feet (34 boxes)
4.2 Gigabytes
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.10038

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises photographic prints and supporting materials from documentary projects by photographer Vincent Cianni. Project themes and photographic subjects range widely: views of the city of Berlin, the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany in 1990; mall culture and the social impacts of urban decay in New York State in the 1980s; wedding ceremonies and rituals of straight and transgender individuals in the mid-1980s; Latino youth and in-line skating culture in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, mid-1990s; Cambodian kickboxing culture, 2004; the relationship between human story-telling, memory, and landscape views, 2000-2002; and gay pride parades and demonstrations in New York City, 1990s-2010s. There is also a large set of oral history interviews with gay men and women in the U.S. military which derive from Cianni's photobook Gays in the Military: Photographs and interviews by Vincent Cianni (2014).

In addition to photographs, contact sheets, and negatives, the series which documents Latino youth and in-line skating culture also contains digital video, stills, and image scans deriving from Cianni's documentary project and photobook We Skate Hardcore: Photographs from Brooklyn's Southside (2004).

Most of the photographs were developed and printed by Cianni using black-and-white analog film and traditional darkroom processes; there are also some chromogenic (color) prints. Many of the negative envelopes for the "We Skate Hardcore" project bear handwritten technical notes on camera and film type, exposure, and processing.

Biographical / historical:

Vincent Cianni (1952- ) is a documentary photographer, author, and educator whose work focuses on social justice issues. He is currently based in Newburgh, New York.

Acquisition information:
The Vincent Cianni photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as gifts and purchases from 2007-2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Meghan Lyon and Katy Terrell, January 2009.

Encoded by Meghan Lyon and Paula Jeannet, February 2009.

Updated by Meghan Lyon, June 2011.

Updated by Craig Breaden, May 2018 and Paula Jeannet, October 2018.

New additions processed and described by Paula Jeannet and Zoe Finiasz, June 2023 and December 2023.

Digital media processed and described by [Matthew] Farrell, April 2024.

Some materials in this collection may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.

Accession(s) described in this collection guide: 2007-0072, 2007-0200, 2008-0048, 2008-0300, 2008-0303, 2009-0243, 2010-0187, 2013-0161, 2023-0099, and 2023-0194.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series: Berlin; Poughkeepsie Mall; Providence House Men's Shelter; Weddings; Brooklyn/We Skate Hardcore; Cambodian Boxers; Gays in the Military: Interviews; Landscapes of Desire; and Gay Pride and Queer Life. Project series are arranged in the order in which they were received by the Rubenstein Library.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials in this collection are fragile audiovisual/photographic formats in the form of film negatives that may need to be reformatted. Contact Research Services with questions.

Access note. Some materials in this collection are 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], Vincent Cianni photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1f61r