Susan Bright on Gregory Crewdson

“The sinister and seething underbelly of suburbia has long been a source of inspiration for artists. Built as aspirational and almost paradisiacal habitats for the middle classes, these areas outside of the city centre become, for American artist Crewdson, sites for bizarre and unexplainable happenings. Tapping into a host of paranoid fears, it is as if the lid has been lifted to expose the fantasies and anxieties of those living there. The almost claustrophobic calmness of the inhabitants in his tableaux contradicts the activities around them, causing an uncanny tension that we, as viewers, understand and react to like the moment before a catastrophe in a science-fiction film." (Susan Bright, Art Photography Now P.80)

I have typed up the text from my book and would like to refer particularly to her comment on the work being 'uncanny'. This is something i completely relate to when viewing Crewdson's images. The scenes are so familiar, yet captured in a way we feel we have never seen for longer than split second when the lighting is just perfect and the expression of a person takes on the unfamiliar. To me, his work is so effective as it freezes these 'freak' sporadic moments and allows us to absorb it for much longer.

More images and my thoughts on Crewdson

More images and my thoughts on Crewdson

I find it extremely difficult to string together the words to justify the work of Gregory Crewdson. 
His pictures, frequently showing any old American town, any old mundane everyday scene, somehow create an immense sense of atmosphere in a single frame. The present the everyday in a fresh light, intact there is something relatively uneasy about the images, yet i can't quite pin point what it is, the unusual saturation and contract of colours, the overall sharpness and detail in every element of the photograph.
There is something in the cinematic aesthetics of the photographs which is almost uneasy and relatively dream like to me.
The mood created is so intense and surreal, yet relatable to the extent that the viewer becomes part of the story, or at least we certainly feel part of the narrative told in the frame. His work is, in a way fairly eerie. His style is easily identified, there is particular 'look' that no other photographer seems to have 'mastered' in such a powerful way.
I think the images attain the power to leave a lasting impression on the mind long after seeing them, they certainly leave a permanent stamp on my mind
There is also the element of the images that make split seconds in everyones days seem picturesque like the images, moments when the light filters through the trees in a certain way, moments when then mundane takes on the qualities of 'eerie' i see in Crewdson's work. 

Gregory Crewdson - Text from Charlotte Cotton

I looked in my book "The photograph as contemporary art" as my initial starting point for researching some of the photographers mentioned in relation to this brief, the below extract is typed up, word for word as it appears on pages 67-68 in the book, written by Charlotte Cotton.

“American artist Gregory Crewdson (b. 1962) has said that his elaborately constructed melodramas are influenced by his memory of childhood. His psychoanalyst-father’s office was in the basement of their New York City home, and Crewdson would press his ear to the floorboards to try and imagine the stories being told in the therapy sessions. In the mid1990s, Crewdson’s tableau photographs were set in models of suburban backyards and undergrowth built in his studio. They are a mix of the bizarre and the disturbing, yet are so highly camp and entertaining. Stuffed animals and birds perform strange and ominous rituals, while plaster casts of Crewdson’s body are shown being slowly devoured by insects, surrounded by lush foliage. Crewdson later shifted into a more directorial mode. In his black-and-white series Hover (1996-97), he staged strange happenings in suburban housing areas, photographing them from a crane above the rooftops. More recently, in his Twilight series, he worked with a cast and crew of the kind found on a film set. Here it is not only the display of rituals and the paranormal but also the construction of archetypal characters who carry out these acts that create the psychological drama. Significantly, at the back of the book about the Twilight series is a ‘documentary views’ section that shows the entire production process, the crew members, and the moments before and after a photograph is taken, confirming the degree to which Crewdson’s tableau photography is a production issue.”

(The Photograph As Contemporary Art by Charlotte Cotton, p.67-68)

The image below is the example that accompanied the above text in the mentioned book.        

As soon as i saw the above image, i was reminded of an image by Tom hunter (see below)

I remembered that Tom Hunters work, this image in particular was a recreation of a famous pre-Raphaelite painting  (see below)

The painting by John Everett Millais  was recreated by Hunter; in a completely modern context. The story behind Ophelia,  is taken from Hamlet. Ophelia who through the death of her father and brother is driven to madness,  and drowns herself. The emotion is meant to be one of not only sorrow but of sympathy; the character of ophelia is presented as one of innocence, reservation and simplicity; her madness was something bought on by her irrationality and her circumstance. Millais tries to capture this through her expression on her face as she lies in the water; her arms poised in a helpless manner: almost as if to say woe is me. 

Hunter rekindles many of these concepts within his work; but makes the image realistic within the 21st century.  The model is deliberately wearing “modern” or clothing synonymous with the 21st century. One of the most powerful elements of this image as a modern recreation, is the train bridge in the background; although very subtle, it completely changes the context of the image, and brings the scene ‘back to reality”. The emotion in Ophelia’s face and expression has been removed by hunter; here he composes her almost as if she is dead: pale and motionless. This brings to mind the element of a sinister death as opposed to a sympathetic peaceful one.

Thinking about Hunter, and his recreation, who i am thankfully so familiar with due to research for a previous assignment last year, I would imagine Crewdson was too, inspired by John Everett Milliais's painting.

circular narrative

"Starting from the top for example, I read a letter to myself from myself, and am instructed to send it to myself. I then put it in an envelope and stamp it, I post it, I wait for it to be delivered, it gets delivered, I open the envelope, and the cycle starts again. My visual influence was from the book Envelopes by Harriet Russell, in which she sends herself many envelopes with cryptic clues for the postal staff to work out where to send them!

My reading of a circular narrative was that the narrative kept repeating itself, like a circle; there is no start or end. If photograph 1 and 6 are the same, then the circular flow it interrupted by two identical images side by side. I hope this is making sense to someone as I seem to be the only one thinking this today! "

Yet to be realised - BRIEF

This brief also relates  to theme of “narrative” and will be included in this blog also.

The “Yet to be Realised” brief is a collective student project, in which each student receives an image, unpicks and interprets it, creates there response and passes their image only on to the next person, who, not having seeing the image sent the person previous has to interpret the reading of the image created by the person before them.

We were all provided with a list which was a ready organised order, i presume done at random. Each person has a date which they will receive an image. And the vast majority of us have 24 hours only to respond to this and pass our image to the next person. The image can be a found image or one we have taken. until i receive my image i don't know what i will be doing as i am yet to discover the appropriate approach to continue the story.

Initial proposal - circular narrative brief

Elizabeth Chandler - BA(HONS) Photography - Level 5

Areas of Photographic Practice A - Circular Narrative

Project Proposal (Deadline  Tuesday 30th October 2012 - 1:30pm HT013)

I am highly enthused by this brief and have many ideas as to how I can develop my series of images. Each idea been extremely diverse and interpreting my initial given image in a different manner.

I have narrowed these ideas down to a few which I feel are strongest and wish to discuss here, in my initial proposal. 

After discussion with tutors and fellow peers, in addition to extensive research I hope to pin point the one strongest concept which I can then further develop and take forward to create my final submission.

The ideas stimulated from unpicking the image given to me relate to visible change In this instance, my first idea would be to look at alterations caused by the weathering of the environment in which we live. In the image we see a large arrow on what we could assume is a city, certainly a street scene. 

I propose to explore the deterioration of such street markings over time and present this in a series of images, returning back to the original state. This would replicate the life cycle of such markings and represent the constant maintenance required in order to ensure roads are safe and well illustrated.

To do this, I would find a location that matched (as closely as possible) to the one in the original image and take a series of images. I would then use photoshop to digitally weather the appearance of the road signs.

I could consider capturing peoples feet and cars in the images, to highlight the point that it is through constant use of the space that the scene is altered over time. I could even consider, If possible to attempt to create a scene towards the end of my series which shows the original state being restored.

In relation to the above discussed idea, I thought about looking at the visible change of a scene over time and how this is altered by the interaction of people using that space. For example the build up of rubbish throughout the day, again returning back to it’s original state after the road sweepers have done their work.

This series would be working with a 24 hour cycle which works perfectly in terms of the structure of a circular narrative. Again in order to create this I would look for a scene as close, aesthetically to the one in the image given to me and shoot as a typology at different intervals throughout the 24 hours.

Another idea I had was to consider focusing on the people that interact with the space and the significance of their presence. So for example, in the day commuters and workers. Versus the night time, the club scene and so on. I would have to consider the framing of the images. as to reveal relevant details which help identify the change of people using the space. I.e Shoes, briefcases, shopping bags ect. 

A final idea I had was to think of the image as being the start and end point of a 360 degree pan of the area, Although I like the idea of how this has potential to look, I am not sure it would flow as well as my other ideas. 

Considering the general theme of my initial ideas, my first thought for a title was “Visible Change” this is something that may or may not be appropriate depending which idea I choose to peruse, however it will be useful and serve it’s purpose as a working title upon which to develop my ideas.

With the first three ideas, I would be working to achieve a series of images which in a sense sits as a chronological time line displaying the progression of a given theme throughout a specified period of time.

I would be exploring the ‘visible changes’ that occur in that space and inspecting, through research the implications of these changes and how we as humans utilizing the space could be seen to be responsible for such. With any of the above stated ideas the work would be aimed at an art gallery setting, with people interested in such being the target audience. 

Thinking about the message of the images. It would depend on the idea i decide to peruse, however i think with my three main ideas, the work would be commenting on the interaction between people and places. Or the weather and it’s effect, in conjunction with the people using the spaces.

I will be certain with the assignment to pay attention to the flow of the images ensuring the colouration, viewpoint, format, angles, lighting and mood all flow in a sensible manner where appropriate. Doing so, I hope will guarantee the overall effect of the series. 

Circular narrative - BRIEF

This is a project in which we have to create a narrative series both begins and ends with the same image, each student has been randomly provided with an image which will form the beginning and end of our circular narrative piece.
We must produce a minimum of 5 images, that flow together as a set in a cohesive manner, telling a story. Together they will generate a meaning, that will must be easily understood by the audience.
Below is the photo I was was randomly given.

I have many ideas to begin with, i plan to wittle this down to no more than 4 which i will type up in my initial proposal and present in class in order to generate some notion of what idea appears strongest.