Customer Reviews

Christenberry: Reconstruction: The Art of William Christenberry

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A visual treat. The artist has captured the look and feel of rural Alabama. Whether it is a photograph, assemblage, painting or drawing, there is a basic truth and honesty to these works.They evoke the time from the depression to the present in a haunting and beautiful way. Mr, Christenberry is indeed a poet.

This book was published as the monograph to a traveling national exhibition on William Christenberry which was curated by the Center for Creative Photography's curator of photography, Trudy Wilner Stack, back in 1996. It is a splendid introduction to Christenberry's work. Through his photography, sculpture and painting, Christenberry has explored the South's rural manmade landscape and its tortured psychological landscape, focusing in on the Ku Klux Klan. Working in color, Christenberry comes across as a latter day Walker Evans, showing much empathy and respect for the culture he depicts in his photographs, with, of course, a notable exception for the Ku Klux Klan. Anyone interested in seeing a fine introduction to Christenberry's work should look no further.

As unique and genuine an artist as America has produced, Christenberry receives admirable attention in this work. The depth and breadth of his talent is showcased, with attention paid to all of the mediums he employs: painting, sculpture, and photography. Southerners will especially appreciate the evocative quality that rings through these pieces, but their appeal is not limited to art enthusiasts from that region alone. The gravity of the work has a wide appeal.

This is a must-have for those who appreciate the work of William Christenberry. Informative text, faithful reproductions of Christenberry's photos, and first-time glimpses into his early work, Reconstruction supplies us with a first-rate chronicle of the life, inspiration, and work of an important 20th century American artist.