William Christenberry
Encyclopedia
William Christenberry is a photographer, painter
, and sculptor
who works with personal and somewhat mythical themes growing out of his childhood experiences in Hale County, Alabama
.
Christenberry received his bachelor's (1958) and master's (1959) degrees in fine arts from the University of Alabama
, studying under noted abstract expressionist
Melville Price. Since 1968 he has taught at the Corcoran College of Art and Design
in Washington, D.C.
His artistic career began with the painting of large abstract-expressionist canvasses, but gradually he began to be drawn to material that spoke about the place of his childhood. Although he was raised in Tuscaloosa
, Christenberry spent his summers with extended family in rural Hale County. After graduating from the University of Alabama
and beginning a promising, if not immediately rewarding, artistic career in New York City
, he came across the 1941 book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
, in which James Agee
describes in prose, and Walker Evans
in photographs, the experience of living among the dirt-poor farming families of Hale County during the Great Depression
. Some of Evans's photographs made a deep impression on Christenberry.
Shortly after beginning a professorship at Corcoran College, Christenberry began making annual visits to Hale County during the summer to visit family and to explore and make photographs. Originally these all were made with a Kodak Brownie
camera given to him as a child, but he later moved to a large format view camera in order to capture more detail. On one notable occasion in 1973, Walker Evans, who had encouraged Christenberry to take his photographs seriously, accompanied him. This was Evans's first and only return to Hale County since 1936.
One of the results of this pilgrimage was a series of remarkable photographs documenting the decay of individual structures, which are photographed as nearly isolated objects. In 1974, Christenberry began translating some of these photographed buildings into incredibly detailed sculptures that accurately reproduce their state of decay and patina. Although very detailed and properly proportioned, Christenberry does not refer to these creations as models, as he says they are not based on precise measurements, and he prefers that they be called sculptures. The bases for these sculptures often are set in soil taken from these places. On many of these trips, Christenberry has collected old advertising signs and other found objects that inspire him. Some of these are incorporated into his work, while others hang in his studio.
Another series of works was provoked by a terrifying incident when, out of curiosity, he tried to attend a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan
. Confronted at the door by a glaring masked figure, Christenberry fled. Although he destroyed his first two Klan paintings, the subject occupied him for many years, resulting in a dense multi-media construction adjacent to his studio that came to be known as the Klan Room," which was burgled mysteriously in 1979. Christenberry has largely reconstructed the room, which is filled with paintings, found objects, drawings, sculptures, dioramas, and a series of fabric dolls of Klansmen in their hooded robes.
Though known more as a photographer and multi-media artist than as a painter, Christenberry continues to teach painting. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows around the world and is the subject of several monographs.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, and sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
who works with personal and somewhat mythical themes growing out of his childhood experiences in Hale County, Alabama
Hale County, Alabama
Hale County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of Confederate officer Stephen Fowler Hale. As of 2010 the population was 15,760. Its county seat is Greensboro and it is part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Statistical Area....
.
Christenberry received his bachelor's (1958) and master's (1959) degrees in fine arts from the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, studying under noted abstract expressionist
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
Melville Price. Since 1968 he has taught at the Corcoran College of Art and Design
Corcoran College of Art and Design
The Corcoran College of Art and Design, , founded in 1890, is the only professional college of art and design in Washington, DC, located in the Downtown area. The school is a private institution in association with the Corcoran Gallery of Art.The Corcoran Gallery of Art is Washington's first and...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
His artistic career began with the painting of large abstract-expressionist canvasses, but gradually he began to be drawn to material that spoke about the place of his childhood. Although he was raised in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
, Christenberry spent his summers with extended family in rural Hale County. After graduating from the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
and beginning a promising, if not immediately rewarding, artistic career in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he came across the 1941 book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men is a book with text by American writer James Agee and photographs by American photographer Walker Evans first published in 1941 in the United States...
, in which James Agee
James Agee
James Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
describes in prose, and Walker Evans
Walker Evans
Walker Evans was an American photographer best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans's work from the FSA period uses the large-format, 8x10-inch camera...
in photographs, the experience of living among the dirt-poor farming families of Hale County during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Some of Evans's photographs made a deep impression on Christenberry.
Shortly after beginning a professorship at Corcoran College, Christenberry began making annual visits to Hale County during the summer to visit family and to explore and make photographs. Originally these all were made with a Kodak Brownie
Brownie (camera)
Brownie is the name of a long-running and extremely popular series of simple and inexpensive cameras made by Eastman Kodak. The Brownie popularized low-cost photography and introduced the concept of the snapshot. The first Brownie, introduced in February, 1900, was a very basic cardboard box camera...
camera given to him as a child, but he later moved to a large format view camera in order to capture more detail. On one notable occasion in 1973, Walker Evans, who had encouraged Christenberry to take his photographs seriously, accompanied him. This was Evans's first and only return to Hale County since 1936.
One of the results of this pilgrimage was a series of remarkable photographs documenting the decay of individual structures, which are photographed as nearly isolated objects. In 1974, Christenberry began translating some of these photographed buildings into incredibly detailed sculptures that accurately reproduce their state of decay and patina. Although very detailed and properly proportioned, Christenberry does not refer to these creations as models, as he says they are not based on precise measurements, and he prefers that they be called sculptures. The bases for these sculptures often are set in soil taken from these places. On many of these trips, Christenberry has collected old advertising signs and other found objects that inspire him. Some of these are incorporated into his work, while others hang in his studio.
Another series of works was provoked by a terrifying incident when, out of curiosity, he tried to attend a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. Confronted at the door by a glaring masked figure, Christenberry fled. Although he destroyed his first two Klan paintings, the subject occupied him for many years, resulting in a dense multi-media construction adjacent to his studio that came to be known as the Klan Room," which was burgled mysteriously in 1979. Christenberry has largely reconstructed the room, which is filled with paintings, found objects, drawings, sculptures, dioramas, and a series of fabric dolls of Klansmen in their hooded robes.
Though known more as a photographer and multi-media artist than as a painter, Christenberry continues to teach painting. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows around the world and is the subject of several monographs.
Solo exhibitions
- Montgomery Museum of Fine ArtsMontgomery Museum of Fine ArtsThe Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is a museum located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, featuring several art collections. For seventy years, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts has been a showcase for the visual arts in Central Alabama...
, MontgomeryMontgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. January 15-March 27, 2005 - Passing Time: The Art of William Christenberry, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006
- Site/Possession, University of Virginia Art Museum, 2007
- Columbus Museum of Art, January 16 - May 10, 2009
- [Artspace] at Untitled, Oklahoma City, OK, April 9 - June 26, 2010
See also
- William Christenberry, Walter HoppsWalter HoppsWalter Hopps was an American museum director and curator of contemporary art. His obituary in the Washington Post described him as a "sort of a gonzo museum director -- elusive, unpredictable, outlandish in his range, jagged in his vision, heedless of rules."Hopps was born in Eagle Rock, Los...
, Andy Grundberg, William Christenberry, Elizabeth Broun (Foreword), Howard N. Fox (Editor) (Aperture, 2006) - "William Christenberry" Susanne Lange, (Düsseldorf: Richter Verlag, 2002)
- Christenberry, William, and Susanne Lange (ed.) (2008). William Christenberry: Working From Memory. London: Steidl.
- Evans, Walker, and William Christenberry (1990). Of Time and Place: Walker Evans and William Christenberry. Carmel, CA: Friends of Photography.
External links
- Klan Tableau, A film documenting William Christenberry's Klan Tableau in Washington, D.C. (Includes interview with Christenberry.)http://southernspaces.org/2007/klan-tableau
- Christenberry page at the Alabama Arts Council
- Christenberry at About.com
- Audio commentary by Christenberry, December 2006
- Hale, Grace Elizabeth. "Wounds, Vines, Scratches, and Names: Signs of Return in Southern Photography" A review of the University of Virginia Art Museum's exhibit "Southern Views/Southern Photographers," which includes work by Christenberry. Southern Spaces, 23 February 2011. http://southernspaces.org/2011/wounds-vines-scratches-and-names-signs-return-southern-photography
- Jobey, Liz. "William Christenberry: Working From Memory." The Guardian, November 20, 2008.
- William Christenberry, " Place, Time, and Memory", Southern Spaces, 28 September 2007. http://southernspaces.org/2007/place-time-and-memory
- Sprott Church, Sprott, Alabama at the Birmingham Museum of ArtBirmingham Museum of ArtFounded in 1951, the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, Alabama today has one of the finest collections in the Southeast US, with more than 24,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts representing a numerous diverse cultures, including Asian, European, American,...