Louanne Watley photographs, 1961, 1985, 1991-2010, bulk 2000-2010

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Summary

Creator:
Watley, Louanne K.
Abstract:
Louanne K. Watley is a photographer and artist based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The core of the collection consists of portraits of aging Catholic nuns in convents and abbeys in Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia, taken by Watley chiefly from 2002-2003. There are also a few images of Buddhist and Trappist monks and their communities. Watley's images, almost all black-and-white contact prints, often feature close-ups of the nuns' faces, hands, and feet; some are further enhanced using a variety of artistic techniques. Collection also includes digital versions of Watley's photographs, audio recordings of interviews with nuns, exhibit image panels, and professional papers, chiefly drafts of artist's statements, informational material, and correspondence related to the religious communities Watley visited and to exhibits of Watley's work. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Extent:
4.0 Linear Feet (8 boxes; 1 oversize folder)
Physical description:
The majority of these materials are gelatin silver prints that were originally housed in large three-ring binders. Watley shot the images with traditional film and used darkroom processes to develop them. Some negatives were converted to digital form, then into inkjet prints. The various tonalities, selective cropping, and other variations in the prints from the same negative convey the experimental nature of Watley's approach to photography.
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.01350

Background

Scope and content:

The materials in photographer Louanne Watley's collection span the years 1961-2010, with the bulk dating from 2000-2010, and chiefly consist of portraits of aging nuns in Catholic religious communities in Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia. There are also a few images of Buddhist and Trappist monks and their communities. Watley's photographs often feature close-ups of faces, hands, and feet, often enhanced through various artistic techniques. There are also materials related to exhibits of this work, including two large hangings made of many image panels, and written documentation by Watley on the evolution of the project.

Photographic formats consist primarily of black-and-white traditional darkroom process gelatin silver photographs, chiefly contact prints, ranging in size from 4x5 to 16x20 inches; Polaroids (diffusion transfer process); color inkjet prints ranging from 24x30 to 24x37 inches; and negatives. Large exhibit hangings were created partly through a silkscreen process. There are also contact sheets and proof prints. A few slides are also present that document an exhibit installation.

The collection includes one CD with a selection of Watley's images in digital form, and two CDs and two audiocassettes of oral histories conducted by Watley with the Catholic nuns and one Buddhist nun. There is also a series of associated papers, including many drafts of Watley's artist statements and exhibit essays from 1991-2005; informational material about the convents, abbeys, and monasteries; correspondence, chiefly regarding exhibits and grant funding; and personal notes and letters sent to Watley from nuns.

Biographical / historical:

Louanne Watley, documentary photographer, poet, and artist based in Chapel Hill, N.C., spent her childhood in Danville, Kentucky. Watley's initial career was in nursing, working at various hospitals in North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky from 1959-1982, receiving an MSN from Duke University in 1972. She also received a BA in Religion from Duke University in 1970. After her career in nursing and study at Duke University, she discovered poetry and photography. She began taking art classes at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1979 and continues to take photography and other art classes at The University of North Carolina and Duke University. She has also taken master classes with notable photographers such as Keith Carter, Bruce Davidson, Sally Mann, and Emmet Gowin.

Her work has been featured in solo, group, and juried shows at galleries and museums primarily in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, N.C., as well as Nashville, New Orleans, and other cities in North Carolina and Kentucky. She has received numerous awards at these juried shows. Watley's journalistic photos have been published in North Carolina Literary Review and The Sun and her editorial photography has been featured in articles and on the covers of academic and art journals. Her portfolios have also been published in artbooks and journals.

Acquisition information:
The Louanne Watley Photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from Louanne Watley from 2009-2012 and 2022-2023.
Processing information:

Processed and described by L. Colby Bogie, Ted Holt, Paula Jeannet, and Jen Snow, 2010.

Addition processed and described, and overall description updated, by Paula Jeannet, October 2022.

Accession 2023-0195 added by Leah Tams, November 2023.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2009-0288, 2010-0050, 2012-0125, 2022-0099, 2023-0195.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Using These Materials Links:

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Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials in this collection are fragile and may require extra assistance from staff. These include negatives and silkscreened exhibit panels. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Collection contains electronic records that may need to be reformatted. Access copies of electronic records require special equipment. Contact Research Services for access.

Access note. Collection contains audiovisual/photographic formats that may need to be reformatted before use. These include audiocassettes. Contact Research Services for access.

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], Louanne Watley photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University