Perfect Intimacy
“Wanted: A few good women. Must be able to totally give of themselves and say "no" to the ways of the world. Candidate must be willing to turn away from home, family, possessions, the prospect of marriage and children--and she must be totally ready to lose her own will. She must be prepared for long hours of manual labor, service to community, and--above all--be willing, indeed desire to pray, pray, pray.”
It was a sunny winter day. I went through a large metal gate, and climbed up a tangled road surrounded by a modest garden until I reached the front door. At this moment the urban world receded and monumental religious architecture enveloped me. It was very quiet. I pressed the buzzer and waited. A few minutes passed before I could hear the echo of movement and the opening and closing of doors. Finally the door in front of me opened. For me it opened into a new world. My journey had begun. The inside of the building didn’t look as old as the outside wall and it was well maintained. I saw that every window was heavily gated, and the main doorway was constructed of heavy wood and metal. I stepped through that door to continue my exploration of women and their private spaces - to objectively experience the cloistered world these women live in, and to symbolically capture their essence, the state of mind and the spiritual identity of these women who were influenced by western culture in yet another way. During the last two years I made extensive visits to nuns in three different Carmelite monasteries. The first one was at Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, where the original order was founded and assumed it's name in the year 1200. The second monastery was at the birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem, Palestine. The third was the first Carmelite monastery in the United States founded in 1790 at Port Tobacco, Maryland. These monasteries occupy their locations like bubbles in the middle of estranged, non-religious neighborhoods. Here, behind closed doors, the nuns live contented and absorbed in a state of unconditional love and surrender to their savior.
*The opening quote comes from the website of the Port Tobacco Monastery in Maryland (http://users.erols.com/carmel-of-port-tobacco/).
>>> photographers:network selection 2005
>>> photographers:network selection 2004
