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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

I heart William Christenberry


Last night, I had the privilege to hear and meet William Christenberry at MassArt. He was in town again on the occasion of his Aperture show at MassArt (opening tonight). I was sick as a dog when he lectured at the PRC last year and if I could have, I would have crawled there. Thus, I was very excited he came back to Boston. (You can see images from that appearance on
our flicker site.)

What a gentleman! He tickled us with his stories and enchanted us with his images. Best of all, he mentioned a new book from Steidl, Working from Memory, which I am eager to own.

Some quotes from him:
"My mother would approve of this one," (and note he apologized for saying ain't and other mild words, "it ain't rustic, worn out, and bullet ridden"

He quoted Emily Dickinson, "Memory is a strange bed"

Why did you start taking photos?...he replied he wanted a "record of something that has changed and will never reappear"

When asked advice he could give to the younger artists, "find something you really love," build a "love affair" with your subject and "work on that"

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