July 10, 2009
William Christenberry returns every year to Alabama to chronicle the slowly morphing rural landscape of his childhood: faded barns, kudzu-covered buildings, and a certain old barbecue joint. He explains how he avoids cliches while capturing familiar images of the South.
(Originally aired: September 1, 2006)
I love photography, but I am still a complete amateur at understanding it as an art form. I took a bunch of pictures at my great uncle's very old farm in Minnesota that seem similar to Christenberry's work. (the texture of the wood in the half-fallen down buildings was gorgeous). Can someone explain what makes these images so special? I also went to DC and took pictures of the non-tourist areas (particularly on my daily walk to Howard U), with the same idea of capturing the real place rather than the romanticized version. But I was entirely unsatisfied with the images. Perhaps it is in part what Evans said--Christenberry's lens is an extension of his eye.
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