Artist Research no. 2: Gregory Crewdson

 Gregory Crewdson embodies the film- style photographer/ director/ doesn't even touch the camera photograph maker. This guy creates huge sets, shuts down entire street blocks, blows in hundreds of gallons of fogs, yells down from cherry picker cranes to "figures" and has scores of people at his disposal for lighting, he even has an art director, and some guy who takes the pictures for him, he admits he never even looks through the viewfinder. One could make a very convincing argument that his name should not be the one listed as artist, but then again, he's the one who's brain envisions these things. I think he represents the most modern day Brassai, and his "decisive moment." He tries to create the moment just after the before, and snaps the shutter right before the after has begun. His images are wrought with tension, and unease. What I find most fascinating about his images is the light. He shoots right at that magic moment where twilight is almost night and the light filters in just right, but then he blasts it with 1000's of watts of artificial light from giant hot lights, balanced with just the right amount of bedside table light and that one lone street light, maybe a car headlight or two will create a touch of fill. His sets are completely fabricated, he is known to have cleared entire blocks to allow just the right amount of untouched snow to fall onto deserted streets. I don't have quite the funding he has available at his disposal, but I can sure try to emulate his balance of artificial and natural light. 

All images Copyright Gregory Crewdson

Perhaps, well not perhaps, it is not sound reason to suggest that we can all one day work like Gregory Crewdson, but I have to hope that maybe one day I can. And to finish this post are two quotes from him, well one is from him, one is a message left on his answering machine after he saw a woman's house he liked and left a note on her door asking if he could make a perfect circle of mulch in her backyard and photograph it. 

“It’s funny, when you’re making pictures you’re not really – I’m not – conscious of really the motivations behind the photographs or what they mean, ever. It wasn’t until much later, I was producing the show, that I realized there’s a lot of cars with doors open. I thought, ‘Whoa, strange. I wonder what that means.’ "

- Gregory Crewdson

" Do what you have to do."