'Final Friday' with William Christenberry to Discuss His Exhibition

Oct. 12, 2007 — On Oct. 26, William Christenberry, renowned artist and educator, will speak about his current exhibit during the Gladys S. Blizzard Lecture at the University of Virginia Art Museum on Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m., titled “Site/Possession.” A reception will follow the talk. Christenberry’s exhibit is part of the museum's ongoing mission to explore those things that make us particularly American.

Christenberry’s work focuses primarily on the South, stemming from his boyhood experiences in Hale County, Ala. Hale County has historically been connected with the Ku Klux Klan, and this relationship left deep impressions on Christenberry. A major part of his exhibit is the " Klan Room Tableau," a work inspired by his curious foray into a Klan meeting, a moment that moved him both personally and artistically. "Tableau" forces its viewer to come face-to-face with the evil and violence of the Klan, an experience Christenberry knows well.

In addition to "Tableau," “Site/Possession” also includes more than 50 of his drawings, as well as paintings, photographs, constructions and dream buildings. Christenberry’s Final Fridays talk will center upon his life and his work, the inspirations behind and reasons for many of his works.

Christenberry is a multi-media artist, who currently has an exhibition of photos taken with an old Brownie camera touring the United States, and has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution American Art Museum in Washington. He has been on the art faculty at the Corcoran College of Art and Design since 1968.

The Gladys S. Blizzard Lecture is named for a former Museum educator, who crated the "Come Look With Me" series or children's books. "William Christenberry: Site/Possession" is made possible with the generous support of The FUNd, the Oakwood Foundation, the Glenstone Foundation, the Council for the Arts, the Arts Enhancement Fund, Barbara and Richard S. Lane, CaryBrown-Epstein, Irwin and Linda Berman, Betsy and Frank Karel, The Virginia Commission for the Arts, Dr. Robert L. and Lucinda W. Bunnen, Yvette Kraft,Soul of Virginia Magazine and additional anonymous support.

The museum is open to the public without charge Tuesday through Sunday, 1-5 p.m.  Parking is available on Bayly Drive, off Rugby Road.

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