"Down a Dark Passage" (Nuns Series): Papers and Exhibit Materials, 1961, 1985, 1991-2010, bulk 2000-2010

Extent:
1.0 Linear Foot (3 boxes)
Scope and content:

Series contains papers and print materials related to photographer Louanne Watley's project documenting the life of aging nuns in various abbeys and monasteries in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia, and exhibits of her work.

Materials include correspondence; promotional postcards; pamphlets about the institutions; and older publications about related subjects. Some of the correspondence declines a request for a visit or documents the issues raised by a photographer's presence in a religious community; other pieces are requests for grant funding. There are also short personal notes and correspondence to Watley from the nuns she photographed.

Of interest is a handmade book with comments from the nuns to Watley, reflecting on her visit and the experience of being photographed.

Other folders house copies of Watley's curriculum vitae, drafts of her artist's statements over the years, and drafts of essays she wrote about her photographic career and the evolution of the Nun Series. Some of these pieces are typed, others are handwritten. One of the earliest pieces among the writings is a short poem, "Evelyn," written in 1994.

Photographic work related to the exhibit is found in the Photographic Materials series in this collection.

Original folder titles have been retained.

Contents

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Using These Materials


Collection 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.

Use & permissions:

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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