{"id":3088,"date":"2018-05-25T21:15:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-25T16:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cgauthier.ca\/en\/?p=3088"},"modified":"2018-05-28T02:36:45","modified_gmt":"2018-05-27T21:36:45","slug":"through-the-lens-of-gregory-crewdson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cgauthier.ca\/en\/2018\/05\/25\/through-the-lens-of-gregory-crewdson\/","title":{"rendered":"Cinematographic Photography Through the Lens of Gregory Crewdson"},"content":{"rendered":"

The \u00ab photography of setting a scene \u00bb (staged photography \/ cinematic photography)<\/p>\n

Gregory Crewdson’s vision<\/h2>\n

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1962 —<\/p>\n

Crewdson\u2019s father was a psychoanalyst. During his childhood, Crewdson was fascinated to know the inner workings of the professional firm in their family home in Brooklyn. His father repeatedly told him that if he saw a patient that he recognized in the street, he should always pretend to not know them.<\/p>\n

On a humorous note, as a teenager, he was part of a group of punk rock called “The Speedies<\/strong>“, which was active in New York. Their song, “Let me take your photo” has proved to be prophetic to the career of Crewdson. In 2005, Hewlett Packard has used the song in an advertising in order to promote its digital cameras.<\/p>\n

Song: Let me take your photo<\/a><\/p>\n

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He studied at different colleges within New York and completed a Masters of Fine Arts at Yale Univeristy, without having yet fully realizing his interest for photography. In 1993, he obtained a position as a teacher at Yale, which he continues to do today.<\/p>\n

His first photographic project was carried out between 1992 and 1997. Entitled “Natural Wonder”, it is a series of composition of still lifes with a macabre expression.<\/p>\n

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Artistic Inspiration<\/h2>\n

Grewdson\u2019s cinematographic style embodies his natural ability to capture a detail-oriented world created within any space. It illustrates the psychological perspective by exploring its own anxieties and desires.<\/p>\n

All of his outdoor photography is captured at dusk, in order to balance the combination of natural light and multiple light sources to create the desired atmosphere.<\/p>\n

In general, he is not behind the camera. Crewdson prefers to keep his attention with the extras and the Technical Team, which can represent up to a hundred people. His meeting with the Director from Photo XX has been notable in its capacity to develop images more complex learned the techniques of production film.<\/p>\n

“When I compose my images, I never think of what could have happened before or what could happen later” indicates Crewsdon. “I do not reflect in a linear way, I think in terms of composition and images”.<\/p>\n

Crewsdon\u2019s photographs can sell up to $150,000. “My goal is to develop something fragile, mysterious and beautiful. ”<\/p>\n

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The film \u00ab\u00a0Brief Encounter\u00a0\u00bb<\/h2>\n

In 2012, Crewdson is the subject of a documentary entitled “Brief Encounter”, produced by Ben Shapiro. This film describes the inspiration and production techniques for his work “Beneath the Roses”. He explains his method of artistic creation and creative process.<\/p>\n

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Crewdson tells the story of how at the age of 10, he and his father went to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which was exhibiting Diane Arbus<\/strong>\u2019s work. This experience had imprinted him because\u00a0 he began understanding the psychological effects of an image, the shock value and fear it can produce. He felt that his own vision of the world was aligned to that of Arbus and this experience had established the framework for his future vision as an artist.<\/p>\n

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Influence and inspiration: Staged Photography<\/h2>\n

As a professor of photography at the Yale Univeristy, Gregory Crewdson embodies the new generation of staged photography, including artists such as Jeff Wall<\/strong> (1946 – _) (Canadian photographer) or James Casebere<\/strong> (1953 – ) who are pioneers of this style.<\/p>\n

Consult the images<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wall_Portfolio<\/p>\n

Consult the images<\/span>:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Casebere_Portfolio<\/p>\n

His inspiration derives from the dark side of America, anxiety, and the poor concern for monotony that exists in smaller towns.<\/p>\n

Crewdson works as a director and produces elaborate and detailed storyboards for this photographic landscapes He\u2019s equipped with a full team of film and stage workers (set designers, makeup artists, etc) and special effects worthy of science-fiction films. According to Crewdson, in comparison to other artistic mediums, only photography can communicate a strong emotion while being silent.<\/p>\n

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Set design of photographic scenes by method of storyboarding<\/em><\/p>\n

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Crewdson finds his inspiration from the works of director David Lynch (Elephant Man, Blue Velvet – he claims that this film has changed its vision of the world), Alfred Hitchcock, Edward Hopper and Diane Arbus. Gregory Crewdson\u2019s imagination plays with the rules of fantastical cinema, Hitchcock to Lynch or even Spielberg.<\/p>\n

There is often a parallel between Crewdson\u2019s photography and the Edward Hopper<\/strong>\u2019s paintings. However, the famous painter knows how to create much more of anticipation with scenes that are less revealing. Hopper\u2019s work is minimalist and preserves only the essential pieces of the scene allowing more room for imaginative interpretation. For example, his method of painting the sun-reflected light on the brick wall tells us a the futility of the time and solitude.<\/p>\n

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