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