Gregory Crewdson

Gregory Crewdson’s images have been described as being ‘like incomplete sentences, with little reference to prior events or what may follow’. His images show photographic influences of Arbus, Eggleston and Evans, yet are amplified by a Spielberg like filmic quality.

Do you think there is more to his work than aesthetic beauty?

Crewdson’s work is definitely beautiful, however the aesthetic is dark and mysterious, not necessarily pleasing in a classic or superficial way. The filmic quality present is not only apparent in the style of lighting and set up but in the feeling that every image created represents a moment, a small part of something much bigger. Acute attention to detail is given to every inch of the set, with regards to colour, lighting, posture and facial expression; Crewdson uses specific actors, chosen for a distinct look and ability to evoke the feelings he has envisaged.

Do you think Crewdson succeeds in making his work psychological? What does this mean?

Every image that Crewdson creates is intended to evoke a feeling; often that either something has happened or that something is about to happen. The cinematic edge from the colour and lighting add to the air of mystery; often dark and brooding, giving the impression that the answer to our question may not be a good one; after all, in the world of film, anything can happen. At the end of a shoot, Crewdson often feels exhausted coming away from a shoot with an ‘aftertaste’ of the feelings he has aimed to portray in his images. His images have the potential to impact on the viewer psychologically; for me personally, many of Crewdson’s images evoke strong feelings of isolation, anxiety and loneliness.

What is your main goal when making pictures? Do you think there is anything wrong with making beauty your main goal? Why or why not?

I love to photograph life. As a viewer, I want an image to make me feel something; as a photographer, I have that same want for people viewing my work. When shooting on the street, I am looking for interaction, either between people or between person and space. On an arranged shoot, I am reluctant to pose people too much; a little guidance but it is the interactions I am hoping to portray.

I think that the main difficulty in trying to make beauty your main goal is that beauty is subjective; therefore what is beautiful to one person may be ugly or even distasteful to another. It is possible to aim for the current mainstream perception of beauty, although this in itself changes over time.

I personally feel, however that beauty is not quite so tangible; for me, in people it stems from personal qualities like innocence and kindness. I find beauty in the wildness of nature and years of living carved into an old building. For me, these things are beautiful because they are interesting, the result of a process, a story.

I was lucky enough to spend a week in Florence recently, a city well known for its beauty. After a day or so marveling over the mesmeric architecture, I was drawn to the myriad of people inhabiting the city, tourists from the world over, street beggars and of course, the locals. I took the opportunity to capture some of the interactions between people and also how people responded to the city itself. Although the viewer may interpret my images differently, I have given my personal reasons for taking each shot in order to back up the points I have made above.

I watched this lady begging on the Ponte Vecchio for a while and witnessed both positive and negative interactions between her and the public. In one image, a shopkeeper looks angrily at her for begging in front of her shop but I prefer the subtlety of the sideways glances from passers by in this image as they pretend not to notice her presence.

I was drawn to the visual humour of the man's dome like podge, reflecting that of the cathedral and also the green umbrella in the background.

This image is one of a set of five in which the man in the black coat eventually takes a sneaky shot of the lady on the bridge while pretending to take a selfie. There is a definite non-verbal dialogue going on between the lady, her friend and the stalker; and me, stalking the stalker.

I think that this image says a lot about generation; the older couple sitting together, interacting the old fashioned way while the lone, younger man communicates with the world via the selfie. I was also really pleased that they turned up in coordinating outfits.

My last image sums up the Piazza della Signoria for me as well as many of the other beauty spots of the city; trance-like tourists taking photos, selfies and videos while locals carry on with their day. The local left of the shot however looks quite confused by the situation, I wonder if it’s because my camera’s not pointing at the statues?

As I work towards assignment five, I am aware of a need to create a narrative in a much more detailed and  contrived way than I am used to. This will be quite a challenge for me, although one I am quite looking forward to.