Crewdson’s work is deliberately cinematic in style, drawing us into a purposefully fictional tableaux. Some commentators view this as ‘legitimate’ image making, whilst others see the work of DiCorcia’s & Wall’s work as more of the ‘real deal’. I believe that this is because they almost mistrust what they are seeing, and don’t want to let themselves go on a trip, not knowing where it will take them. With Crewdson’s work, we know that the before and after are there for us to create, and to, if albeit briefly, exist in, but that is the beauty of his work.
Asked to watch a YouTube video about/containing Gregory Crewdson, which I was unable to download, I watched four other interviews to get more of an insight as to how the man works, and his thoughts and what he is looking for.
Question: Do you think there is more to Gregory Crewdson’s work than aesthetic beauty?
Answer: Aesthetic beauty is certainly an objective that GC sets out to obtain. However this is only part of his journey, and with every step, he creates something else because of his need to do things in a certain way. For example; Because his images are heavily weighted in the style of ‘tableaux’, and his attention to every minute detail (“move your head forward 1 cm” (the camera is 40ft away))1, he brings to every image intrigue and a composition that compels you to ask so many questions about the content of the image. I love seeing an image for the first time and being bombarded with so much information that I have to take a step back, work out what I think I am seeing then try to workout where the beginning of the story is. For me they are like being presented with a picture story book where the leaves of the book have all been taken out and laid out before me, and it is then for me to work out the story.
Question: Do you think Crewdson succeeds in making his work ‘psychological’? What does this mean?
Answer: His work is psychological, for the reasons given above. Each image is a story, although Crewdson tells us that he is not interested in what has happened either before or after the moment of his scene2. The psychology of each image is that he is only interesting something in the moment, like a hyper distilled version of Cartier-Bresson’s ‘decisive moment’. It is left purposely for you the view to create the story, what happened in the moments leading up to, and the consequences that followed ‘his’ instant in time. The psychology of his images is encouraged by him, and highlighted by his exhibition ‘Beneath the Roses’, where he has deliberately left all exhibits untitled to give them an “open ended” feel.
Question: 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?
Answer: For me the beauty that I strive for, or see in some of my images, isn’t a classic beauty, but more an inner feeling I get when I know that what I’ve achieved is either (in my mind) perfect, or done to the best of my ability, and everything, i.e. all of the components, have come together perfectly as I have orchestrated them. Producing what I see in my minds eye before the image is made, makes it a thing of beauty. In a nutshell; Anything that I have produced, that has come out as I had envisaged, is a thing of beauty!
References
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNPwVLU38pc There But Not There: Gregory Crewdson Documentary. Minutes 14 onward.
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqYNGJlA6Z4&t=1s Epson Print Your Legacy | Photographer Gregory Crewdson.
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB5XqQFVTE0 Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters Official Trailer #1 (2012) – Documentary Movie HD
Gregory Crewdson has become legendary in his construction of a set with so much attention to detail, often using hundreds of people to construct sets and star in too. His productions can take a year to come to fruition. They are so heavily laden with ‘mise en scene’ articles/people that the skill required can often be how to cut to the chase. Nothing is a red herring, but there are so many leads that you can easily be drawn down a parallel idea route. All of his human subjects have an ethereal presence to them. You could be forgiven for thinking them to be androids that have stopped. This has the effect of one viewing them in isolation, and thinking that they actually provide no clues or answers to what is presented, instead relying on the material objects that surround them! This does however encourage us to look and seek more deeply than we perhaps would normally. No matter the proximity of the people, all interaction appears to have been removed. It gives us a snapshot, a moment in time, allowing the viewer to create the before and after.
I see! 