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By Nolan Vallier
Collection Overview
Title: David M Nolan Photographs and Personal Papers, 1978-2015
ID: 12/9/137
Primary Creator: David M. Nolan (1945 -)
Extent: 6.7 cubic feet
Arrangement: Materials are arranged into two distinct series: Series 1. Photographs and Series 2. Personal Papers. The first series which highlights Nolan's professional career as a photographer are broken into seven distinct sub-series that highlight his professional interests and are arranged chronologically by subject area, the last of which contains numerous projects and photographs that were discarded in the previous projects, these include: sub-series 1. Fine Art, Nudes, and Nature Stills, 1978-2010; sub-series 2. Danville Manor Nursing Home, 1982-1990; sub-series 3. Illinois Arts Council Vermillion County Life Project, 1985-1988; sub-series 4. Iron Range Community Documentary Project, 1987-1988; sub-series 5. Urbana-Champaign Blues Concerts and Festivals, 1994-2000; sub-series 6. Contact Sheets, 1978-2010; and Photo of the Month, 2014-2016.
Date Acquired: 09/16/2014. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: Danville, Illinois, Photographs, Photography, Popular Music--Illinois--Urbana-Champaign, Vermilion County, Illinois
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Consists of photographic prints, negatives, and press clippings documenting the work of photographer David M. Nolan of Danville, Illinois. Photographic subjects include blues performances in Champaign, Illinois, daily life in Danville and Vermilion County, Illinois, nature, still life, and human models.
Biographical Note
David M. Nolan (May 4, 1945 - June 1, 2021) was born in Warren, Ohio and lived much of his life in Danville, Illinois beginning in 1977. From the age of 12, Nolan held an active interest in photography. At Southern Illinois University Nolan studied geography and design, but he supported his interests in photography as a student by working at the Buckminster Fuller Archive and by working semi-professionally as a wedding photographer. Nolan initially worked as a city planner for Decatur, Illinois, Warren, Ohio, and Danville, Illinois, but since the mid 1970s has worked at Danville Manor Nursing Home as a counselor for the mentally ill. In 1978, after taking courses with Orville Stokes, Nolan rekindled his interest in photography and began to shoot photographs professionally. He was initially impressed with Depression-era photographs and began modeling his own style of photographs on the work of photographer Walker Evans. Many of his photographs from the 1970s and 1980s are of people on the streets. His early professional work also centers around fine art and nudes, two subjects that continue to be at the core of his photography. In 1985, he received a grant from the Danville Area Arts Council to capture through film community life in Vermillion County, Illinois. Soon after completing this project, Nolan was accepted into a Minnesota-based workshop in 1987 that culminated in a project called the Iron Range Community Project. Soon after this he moved to Warren, Ohio to work as a city planner and to assist his father with his trucking company. In addition, while in Warren, Ohio Nolan set up his first darkroom and began filming blues musicians. Nolan continued to photograph blues musicians when he moved back to Danville, Illinois in the early 1990s. Since then Nolan has become a member of the Danville Art League and is a member of the board of directors at the Urbana Museum of Photography. At the request of an exhibitor in 2009, instead of presenting nude portraits Nolan branched out of photography into the realm of sculpture and exhibited a collection called "Altered Images. In 2014 Nolan began a mail art project which he called the "photo of the month" mailing.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music
Accruals:
Accrual acquired January 22, 2015 from David Nolan, which includes photo of the month, personal archaeology exhibit brochure, and a newspaper clipping.
Acquisition Source:
David Nolan
Acquisition Method:
Gift
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Photographs, 1978-2015],
[
Series 2: Personal Papers, 1985-2015],
[
All]
- Series 1: Photographs, 1978-2015
- This series encapsulates Nolan's career as a photographer and is arranged chronologically by project type.
- Sub-Series 1: Fine Art, Nudes, and Nature Stills, ca. 1978-2010
- This subseries includes human figure images and nature stills that have been filmed and edited using a variety of different methods and techniques. Some of these techniques include: black and white images, motion bluring, bracketing, kinetic photography, long exposure shots, multiple exposure shots, short focus shots, infra red photographs, hand colored photographs, mixed-media photographs (namely photographs with added copper and colored paper), and photographs printed on handcrafted paper. The nudes within this subseries reflect both Nolan's experiemental work with photography and his desire to portray a wide social landscape.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Matted Fine Art and Nudes, ca. 1990s-2010
- Folder 2: Matted Fine Art, ca. 1990s-2010
- Folder 3: Matted Fine Art and Nudes, ca. 1989-2010
- Box 2
- Folder 1: Matted Nudes, undated
- Folder 2: Nudes and Fine Art, ca. 1992
- Folder 3: Matted Nudes, ca. 1996
- Folder 4: Matted Fine Art and Nudes, undated
- Box 3
- Folder 1: Matted Nudes, 1989-2010
- Folder 2: Matted Fine Art and Nudes, 1978-2010
- Folder 3: Matted Fine Art and Nudes, ca. 1989-1992
- Box 4
- Folder 4: Matted Fine Art and Nature Stills, ca. 1990-2010
- Folder 5: Fine Art and Nature Stills, ca. 1990-2010
- Box 10
- Folder 1: People and Nudes, ca. 1978-2010
- Folder 2: Nature and Still Life Photographs, ca. 1978-2010
- Box 12
- Folder 19: Winter abstracts (ice on windows) negatives, undated
- Folder 20: Infra Red Landscape negatives, undated
- Folder 21: Wide angle negatives, undated
- Folder 22: Landscape negatives, undated
- Sub-Series 2: Danville Manor Nursing Home, ca. 1982-1990
- This subseries features images of residents at the Danville Manor Nursing home and events they participated in. The images in this subseries were never shown in a gallery, yet show Nolan's interests in documenting the social landscape of the nursing home.
- Box 5
- Folder 1: Matted Danville Manor Nursing Home Photographs, 1982, ca. 1980s
- Folder 2: Matted Danville Manor Nursing Home Photographs, ca. 1980s
- Box 11
- Folder 8: Danville Manor Nursing Home Photographs
- Box 12
- Folder 23: Danville Manor contact sheets, ca. 1982-1987
- Folder 24: Danville Manor photo negatives, 1982-1987
- Sub-Series 3: Illinois Arts Council Vermillion County Life Project, 1985-1988
- This subseries includes images relating to the Illinois Arts Council Vermillion County Life project, which was a documentary project that aimed to photograph the social landscape of Vermillion County. The series captures local events, customs, ceremonies, and parades as well as images of ordinary life, street images, images of farm life from mid 1980s. Certain images of interest within this subseries include photographs of Danville's reaction to the Iranian Hostage Crisis, two photographs of members of the Ku Klux Klan, and images of the Allerton Centenial Celebration.
- Box 6
- Folder 1: Matted Vermillion County Life Photographs, ca. 1985-1988
- Folder 2: Matted Vermillion County Life Photographs, ca. 1985-1987
- Box 7
- Folder 1: Matted Vermillion County Life Photographs, ca. 1985-1987
- Folder 2: Matted Vermillion County Life Photographs, ca. 1985-1987
- Box 8
- Folder 1: Matted Vermillion County Life Photographs, ca. 1985-1987
- Folder 2: Matted Vermillion County Life Photographs, ca. 1985-1987
- Box 10
- Folder 3: Vermillion County Life Photographs, 1985-1987
- Folder 4: Vermillion County Life Photographs, 1985-1987
- Folder 5: Vermillion County Life Photographs, 1985-1987
- Box 11
- Folder 1: Vermillion County Life Photographs: David Nolan Portraits, 1985-1987
- Folder 2: Vermillion County Life Photographs: American Servicemen, 1985-1987
- Folder 3: Vermillion County Life Photographs: People on the Street, 1985-1987
- Folder 4: Vermillion County Life Photographs: Bars and Restaurants, 1985-1987
- Folder 5: Vermillion County Life Photographs: Ku Klux Klan and Protest, 1985-1987
- Folder 6: Vermillion County Life Photographs: Farming Life, 1985-1987
- Folder 7: Vermillion County Life Photographs: Parade, 1985-1987
- Box 12
- Folder 25: Iran Hostage Crisis Danville negatives, ca. 1980
- Folder 26: Turtle Races negatives, 1985
- Folder 27: Couple smiling by truck negatives, 1985
- Folder 28: Man in white hat negatives, 1985
- Folder 29: Bicentennial Tree, Oakwood, IL negatives, 1985
- Folder 30: Clowns and Ridge Farm negatives, undated
- Folder 31: Patomic Horse Show negatives, 1985
- Folder 32: St. Patrick's Day, O'Leary's negatives, 1986
- Folder 33: Hoopston Halloween Parade negatives and contact sheets, 1982
- Folder 34: Skinner's Farm and Steam Days negatives, undated
- Folder 35: Vermilion County Fair Queen negatives, 1985
- Folder 36: War Memorial negatives, 1985
- Folder 37: Horse trader negatives, 1985
- Folder 38: July 4, 1985 negatives, 1985
- Folder 39: Plastic cows negatives, undated
- Folder 40: The Great Pumpkin and Save the Farmer negatives, 1985
- Folder 41: Psychic Fair and bean harvest negatives, undated
- Folder 42: People in a wading pool negatives, 1985
- Folder 43: Allerton Centennial Parade negatives and contact sheets, 1986
- Folder 44: Alex at Rendezvous negatives, 1988
- Folder 45: Mr. Magic and Joyce K. and friends negatives, undated
- Folder 46: People behind trees negatives, undated
- Folder 47: Danville Street negatives, undated
- Folder 48: Vermilion County Life photo negatives, ca. 1984-1985
- Sub-Series 4: Iron Range Community Documentary Project, 1987-1989
- This Subseries includes photographic materials that Nolan submitted as an entry for the Iron Range Community Project, a community documentary project in Minnesota's Iron Range that included photography, visual art, and poetry from the region.
- Box 12
- Folder 49: Iron Range Community Project submission, 1987
- Folder 50: Iron Range Project submission negatives, 1987
- Sub-Series 5: Urbana-Champaign Blues Concerts and Festivals, 1980-2000
- This subseries includes blues artists performing in various locations near the Urbana-Champaign area, Danville, and Rantoul including the following named performers: Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, Sam Myers, Robert Lockwood Jr., James Cotton, Dave Weld, "Honeyboy" Edwards, Koko Taylor, Debbie Davis, Sleepy LaBeef, Little Ed and Dave, Duke Robillard, Sonny Rhoades, Saffire-Uppity Blues Women, Mighty Blue Kings, Keith and Kathy Harden, Susan Hoeffer, Carla Payton, Lonnie Brooks, Pinetop Perkins, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Chubby Carrier, Eddie Snow Band, Chico Banks, Willie Smith, Junior Wells, Mighty Joe Young, Little Milton, Big Daddy Kinsey, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. These named composers can be found in Nolan's blues negatives.
- Box 9
- Folder 1: Matted Blues Photographs, ca. 1980s
- Includes: James Cotton, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Ronny Baker Brooks, Honeyboy Edwards, Robert Lockwood Jr..
- Folder 2: Matted Blues Photographs, ca. 1980s
- Includes: Sam Myers, Sleepy LaBeef, Mighty Blue Kings, Little Milton, Big Daddy Kinsey, Eddie Clearwater, Robert Lockwood Jr., Big Daddy Kinsey.
- Box 10
- Folder 6: Blues Photographs, ca. 1994-2000
- Includes: Mighty Joe Young, Little Milton, and the Blind Boys of Alabama.
- Folder 7: Blues Photographs, ca. 1994-2000
- Includes: Sam Myers, Big Daddy Kinsey, Sleepy LaBeef, Sonny Rhoads, Jr. Wells, Pinetop Perkins, Jonny Copleland and Son, Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, and James Cotton.
- Box 12
- Folder 51: Blues concert prints, 1995-1996
- Includes: Johnny "Clyde" Copleland, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, Sam Myers, Robert Lockwood Jr., James Cotton, Dave Weld, "Honeyboy" Edwards, Koko Taylor, Debbie Davies, and Sleepy LaBeef.
- Folder 52: Blues concert negatives, 1995-1996
- Susan Hoeffer, Carla Payton, Sonny Rhoades, Lonnie Brooks, Honeyboy Edwards, Jr. Wells, Pinetop Perkins, Muddy Waters Tribute Concert, Mighty Blue Kings, Traci Knaub, Jimmy Rodgers, AC Reed, Sugar Blue, Chubby Carrier, Eddie Snow Band, Lil Ed and Dave, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Little Milton, Cico Banks, Big James, Willie Smith, Dave and Jack, Robert Lockwood Jr., Big Daddy Kinsey, Keith and Cathy Hardin, Zalike Reggae, Trisha, James Cotton, Debbie Davis, Sam Myer, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, Johnny Copeland, Duke Rabliard, Coco Taylor, and Saphire-Uppity Blues Women.
- Folder 53: Blues concert negatives, 1986-1998
- Includes unidentifed blues and rock bands performing in Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding area. Locations include: the Malibu Club, Friendly Tavern, and the Blind Pig.
- Oversize Portfolio Case 1: Oversized Blues Photographs, ca. 1996
- Contains three large photographs, including one of the Blind Boys of Alabama and two of the 1996 Urbana Blues Festival.
- Sub-Series 6: Contact Sheets, ca. 1978-2010
- This subseries contains contact sheets that include a combination of images from the previous subseries as well as unidentified images from other projects Nolan abandoned or did not have printed.
- Box 12
- Folder 54: Contact sheets (1 of 2), undated
- Folder 55: Contact sheets (2 of 2), ca. 1989-1992
- Sub-Series 7: Photos of the Month, 2014-2015
- This subseries includes a mail art project begun in 2014 that highlights fine art images of sculptures that Nolan created for a fine art sculpture exhibition that took place in lieu of exhibiting nudes in 2010.
- Box 12
- Folder 16: Photos of the Month, 2014
- Folder 17: Photos of the Month, 2015-2016
Envelope 1: 2015
Envelope 2: 2016
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: Photographs, 1978-2015],
[
Series 2: Personal Papers, 1985-2015],
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All]
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