I’ve recently found this BBC Two clip of Gregory Crewdson setting up for a series of images. The size of his team is outrageous. This isn’t what I thought he meant by a team. This is something like id expect to see on a Netflix film. He doesnt even take the picture himself. Not sure in. my eyes how he can be called a photographer, is this not a visual maker or something.
He has the vision I presume to see the compositions and how the lighting is used but, on the other had he has a touch up team editing the shot, which I guess a lot of professional photographers have but I presume they are behind the camera at least?
The clip goes on to mention that this particular series he was constructing was going to sell in regions of $60K to potential sellers. I wonder how much it cost to construct these series. Closing a street, turning the lights off, cost of the production team and kit, wages for the guy that takes the picture, etc.
• Do you think there is more to this work than aesthetic beauty?
I have to say I’ve watched a few clips of his work; nearly all have a cinematic feel more than a photographic feel. I have to say I don’t find his style has much of a connection to me. Stage manage photography doesn’t do anything for me. I find it incredibly dull. There is a dark side to his images where I dont think I want to find out why. Some remind me of the Sky Atlantic TV series called Ture detective which covered crimes of a serial killer with a messed up killer and mentally challenged detective. Although some remind me of Edward Hooper’s paintings of Night Windows and Offices, Crewdson does go into to mention his work during the second clip.
• Do you think Crewdson succeeds in making his work ‘psychological’? What does this mean?
I found elements extremely hard to grasp and understand what it is he’s trying to portray to the point I find slightly disturbing. It might just be me. I just don’t get him. I find him a little confused. You could say he’s trying to show his mental state with these pictures however I’m not sure i would like to find out his mental state.
• What is your main goal when making pictures? Do you think there’s anything wrong with making beauty your main goal? Why or why not?
I’ve always tried to find something of beauty within a composition before it becomes a picture. Applying rules and how light, dark, shadows and subject are used will ultimately be your final piece. I like to think that a combination of those elements becomes the beauty of a picture. Why else would you take it. Beauty is, however, subjective as with everything else. It’s how you show that I feel. Crewdson’s work must have an element of beauty I see that in how he lights his pictures with that strong cinematic feel to it. I’m not looking at the composition or the subject. I’m seeing how he’s used light to create that beautiful effect—light is needed in the first place to build a photograph.
The first clip I watch, the music adds a sense of drama to the images of darkness and unknown.
Biography
Crewdson, G., Photography, -, & -, P. (2016, April 3). Gregory Crewdson II – Photography – David Lynch.YouTube. Retrieved May 26, 2020, fromhttps://youtu.be/CrU9-KSHtdY [accessed 20200625]
in, P., & Crewdson, G. (2017, September 11). Photographers In Focus: Gregory Crewdson.YouTube. Retrieved May 26, 2020, fromhttps://youtu.be/BpIRm5BsXeE [accessed 20200526]
Part Two Context and Narrative BA HONS in Photography OCA 