Teun Voeten photographs
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Date
Creator
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Language of Materials
Abstract
The collection holds 22 black-and-white photographs taken by photojournalist Teun Voeten in 1994-95, and used for his 1996 publication "Tunnelmensen" (in the original Dutch) or "Tunnel People" in the English translation. These photographs document the lives of a community of people who resided at the time in the Amtrak railroad tunnels under Riverside Park in upper Manhattan.
Biographical / Historical
Teun Voeten was born in 1961 in the Netherlands. He studied cultural anthropology and philosophy at Leiden University, while also developing an increasing interest in photography. He gained experience as a photographer in the Netherlands and in New York, where he attended the School of Visual Arts in 1989.
In New York, Voeten went to work for the photo agency Impact Visuals, covering stories such as the social justice protests in Bensonhurst, New York, following the murder of Yusuf Hawkins (1989) and the Nicaraguan elections (1990). He earned his master's degree in anthropology in 1991 and continued working as a photojournalist, often in conflict zones around the world.
In 1994, Voeten wrote an article about a community of 30 or so people, commonly considered to be "homeless," who resided in the railroad tunnels of Amtrak under Manhattan's Riverside Park. Following up on this initial article, Voeten lived with these so-called "tunnel people" for 5 months in 1994-95, documenting and photographing their lives. This led to the publication in 1996 of his book, in Dutch, "Tunnelmensen." The book was revised and translated into English as "Tunnel People," published in 2010.
(The above note was based on various on-line sources, including Wikipedia and Teun Voeten's website: https://www.teunvoeten.com/. Several examples of Voeten's "Tunnel People" photographs can be found on his site at this link.)
Scope and Contents
The collection includes 22 photographs taken by photojournalist and anthropologist Teun Voeten. All of the photographs are from his series "Tunnel People," (or "Tunnelmensen" in the original Dutch title) which he took in 1994-96. All of the photos are black-and-white, and all but three are captioned on the back. 3 photos are 16 x 12 inches; 19 are 11-1/2 x 8-1/4 inches or slightly smaller.
Subjects
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, contact the Print Room Librarian at printroom@nyhistory.org.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as: Teun Voeten photographs, PR 426, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the photographer, Teun Voten, July 2021.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was processed by archivist Larry Weimer in January 2022.