SAAM :: Interact

Watch as Bill Christenberry discusses the story of his Dream Buildings. Click on the image above to begin the movie. (Quicktime, 17 MB, 2:30 min.)

Interact

Ask the Artist

William Christenberry works in a variety of media—including painting, photography, and sculpture—often using the rural landscape of his native Alabama as his subject. Like many of his works, SAAM's River House is inspired by vernacular architecture. He built this stilt-raised house drawing on memories of childhood fishing trips with his father.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum will host the exhibition Passing Time: the Art of William Christenberry, beginning with our July 2006 reopening. At the same time the museum will feature a reinstallation of SAAM's folk art curated by Christenberry.

To learn more about the work of this fascinating artist, watch our short video in which Christenberry discusses his renowned "dream buildings" (click on the image above to begin). You can also watch Christenberry's recent lecture as part of SAAM's Clarice Smith lecture series.

Now it's your chance to ask Christenberry your questions! Fill out the form below. SAAM staff will choose questions that the artist will answer in a video interview. Return to this page on January 23 to watch the artist answer your questions.

Update: We are no longer taking submissions for this Interact. We received a number of questions. Thank you. Take a look at Christenberry's responses.

If you have comments or suggestions about this page please email us. The address is saaminteract@si.edu.

[ American Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, William Christenberry ]