Gregory Crewdson

[seenew]

Any fans here? I just heard of him today in my large format class. His work is amazing, and it's almost exactly what I want to do when I get the chance (obviously not right out of school). His stuff is all staged and very surreal, often working with large lighting crews and set designers. It's almost like a movie in a single frame. My professor said the average cost of just one of his productions is $20,000.

anyway, some work below:

click for larger version (below)

 

[seenew]

 

[thats nice]

fantastic work

 

[Abstract]

"They're OK."

 

[Westside guy]

They don't really float my boat, personally. Rather than "movie in a single frame", to me they look more like "one frame from somewhere in the middle of a movie". But that's just me.

 

[Doylem]

Well, I can admire the artistry and the technical virtuosity... but they don't 'involve' me. That is: I'm not particularly curious about how or why these characters got into these strange situations... and I don't really care what happens next. Everyone looks a bit half-witted to me, like they've been sniffing dry-cleaning fluid...

 

[Lovesong]

The colors and lighting is incredible. The subject matter is rather nondescript, and the scenes are way too ornate to be effective. I do love the one with the woman with all the flowers in her kitchen, mainly due to her facial expression, but the rest of the images base their effects solely on their surrealism.

Art is of course subjective.

 

[onomatopoeia]

to me they look more like "one frame from somewhere in the middle of a movie". But that's just me.

I certainly get that from many of the examples. This leads me to wonder if there isn't some context which brings some of these images together. Is he really trying to tell a bit of a story in a single frame or are the various images supposed to play off of one another? I don't know...I'm asking.

 

[seenew]

Is he really trying to tell a bit of a story in a single frame or are the various images supposed to play off of one another? I don't know...I'm asking.

Good question, I'm not entirely sure if he works in series or not.
I know that I read somewhere that he has said he's been influenced by movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That explains a lot of the awesome lighting..

 

[jaydub]

I personally love this kind of artwork. It leaves me searching for more details in each photo, and it seems like he's placed those details precisely where my mind tells me to look.

Thanks for sharing this artist.

 

[seenew]

I personally love this kind of artwork. It leaves me searching for more details in each photo, and it seems like he's placed those details precisely where my mind tells me to look.

Thanks for sharing this artist.

No problem! I love it, too. I feel like this is exactly what I want to do. It's like, I've worked for so long with painting and drawing, that this is a logical direction to take with my photography. Complete control of the scene and lighting... It really is like painting or drawing...

 

[Abstract]

I think people here really like the photos, but the photos aren't worth the setup or cost you mentioned. Does he sell the photos for $40,000 or something?

 

[Maldini]

I think people here really like the photos, but the photos aren't worth the setup or cost you mentioned. Does he sell the photos for $40,000 or something?

Exactly, I like the photos but i wonder why the production cost that much

 

[Westside guy]

I think people here really like the photos, but the photos aren't worth the setup or cost you mentioned. Does he sell the photos for $40,000 or something?

You need a qualifier (some, many, a few) in front of "people" in your first sentence.

As Lovesong said, art is subjective. I can see that the guy has loads of technical ability; but I just don't like the images. They seem pointless. It's like I'm browsing some random poorly-received movie's compendium on imdb's "images from the movie" page (you know, like this except the movie and actors are unknowns) - they don't hold me or pull me in.

 

[zdobson]

Artists...

 

[seenew]

I don't see how they can't hold your interest. In probably all but 2 or 3 I want to know more about what's going on, especially outside the scene. It's engaging, allowing you to use your imagination, which is much more potent than any artist's implement.

 

[Doylem]

I don't see how they can't hold your interest.

Watch me...

 

[Westside guy]

I don't see how they can't hold your interest. In probably all but 2 or 3 I want to know more about what's going on, especially outside the scene. It's engaging, allowing you to use your imagination, which is much more potent than any artist's implement.

It's all about taste.

I love Hitchcock films - absolutely LOVE them. I've met people, though, that don't find them interesting at all. I can list off all the amazing things Hitchcock puts in his films, and they'll just say "okay, and this interests me why?" I can't understand their viewpoint; but I do know it exists (even though it's totally wrong!).

 

[FrankieTDouglas]

Crewdson is definitely one of my favorite photographers. I have his "Twilight" monograph. At this point he's like an art director with his photos, bringing in crews that have very specific purposes while he directs the scene.

What do his photos mean? Who cares... even if he told you, someone would disagree and offer their own opinion. In truth, most of his photos are born as images that pass through his head. Where they come from is anyone's guess, but I'm going to go with "imagination." His productions are movie sets, just filmed with an 8"x10" view camera rather than at 24 frames a second.

Makes me want to switch MFA programs and go to Yale so Crewdson could be my professor.

The staged, surreal, directorial world of photography is very, very interesting to me. Check out ParkeHarrison for something similar yet unique unto itself.