The University of Arizona

Voices of Photography

The Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, is home to the Voices of Photography, an oral history project in existence since 1975.

Mission

Voices of Photography is a series of audio/video interviews with:

  • Photographers whose archives are at the Center for Creative Photography and those who have knowledge and experience with the lives and work of the photographers whose archives are at the Center.
  • Photographers and historians who have knowledge and views about the evolution of contemporary photography since 1970.
  • Past and present Directors, Curators, and staff who have direct experience in establishment and evolution of the Center for Creative Photography.

Goals

The primary goals of the Voices of Photography project are to preserve, on modern media, significant present and older interviews that are in danger of deterioration, and to sort and annotate significant content in existing tapes to provide future researchers greater access to archive photographer interviews.

History of the project

This project continues as an oral history program that began in 1975 under the Center's first director, Harold Jones. Its goal is to add depth and breadth to the Center's archives through the creation of taped interviews with noted figures in photography. Each interview is researched, planned, and conducted by graduate students from the University of Arizona's studio photography and art history programs under the direction of Program Coordinator Harold Jones, Professor Emeritus. In addition, students create annotations for taped interviews already in the Center's video archive. The outcomes of the program include providing students with knowledge of oral history techniques, videotaping skills, and project planning experience. Currently, all the videotaped interviews are available to scholars at the Center. In the future, tapes will be made available over the Center's interactive website. Past participants have included:

  • 2005-Present Program Coordinator, Harold Jones, Professor Emeritus
  • 2009-2010 Program Director, Kate Palmer Albers, Assistant Professor of Art History
  • 2005-2009 Program Director, Amy Rule, Former Head of Research

Student Interns/VOP Crew:

Summer 2005
John Clarke		Spring 2007
Tomiko Jones, Melanie Emerson		Fall 2009
Coriana Close, Emily Weirich
Fall 2005
Angela Harden, Zakary Cushing		Fall 2007
Melanie Emerson, Eric Fernstrom		Spring 2010
Emily Weirich, Andrew Costello
Spring 2005
Zakary Cushing, Rae Strozzo		Spring 2008
Eric Fernstrom, Megan Fogarty		Fall 2010
Andrew Costello, Lizz Stringfield
Summer 2006 
John Clarke		Fall 2008
Megan Fogarty, Bryan Call		Spring 2011
Lizz Stringfield, Jovan Erfan
Fall 2006
Rae Strozzo, Tomiko Jones		Spring 2009
Bryan Call, Coriana Close

Fall 2011
Jovan Erfan, River Bullock

   

Use of the collection

The taped interviews constitute a non-circulating collection available for viewing on site at the Center. Users may view the tapes by appointment in the Research Center. The loaning or copying of individual tapes is not permitted due to copyright restrictions, but viewers may purchase written annotations to selected tapes from the Research Center. Currently, the interviews are not available online. The existing Voices of Photography collection consists of:

  • Formal audio/video interviews by past Directors and/or Staff
  • Public Lectures at CCP
  • Non-CCP purchased or gifted commercial products
  • Interviews by others.

Project internships

Students enrolled in the University of Arizona are eligible to serve as associate directors and to earn course credits as interns on the Voices of Photography. Working with the Voices project gives students the opportunity to meet and interview people who have shaped the history of photography. In addition, students gain experience with oral history interviewing techniques and videotape equipment. Three credit units are available for internship participants each semester. Contact the School of Art, artadvis@email.arizona.edu.

Contacts

For more information about the Voices of Photography project contact (520) 621-6273.