We are asked to view the following video about Gregory Crewdson and consider the questions from the text
Do you think there is more to this work than aesthetic beauty
Do you think that Crewdson succeeds in making his work 'Psychological'? What does this mean?
What is your main goal when making pictures? Do you think there's anything wrong with making beauty your main goal Why or Why not?
Crewdson and Beauty
While Crewdson creates beautiful images, his work can be seen as deeper constructs. Crewdson works his way through his feelings and builds and builds on parts of his images to create a final finished piece of work. These pieces are polished pieces of cinematic proportions; at times his narrative is so small that it is almost buried under the weight of the final image. Crewdson takes his time to create a cinematic setup in the style of Kubrick, working with the lighting director to get exactly the right counterbalance of light for the scene. It Is shown in the video that Crewdson will then take multiple exposures and composite parts of the different exposures until he has a final tableau.
Psychological Work? What Does it mean?
I believe that his work is influenced by his own early realisations while growing up in home, where his father worked a psychological analyst. Psychoanalytic thinking has obviously deeply imbedded into his brain and it shows in his work.
After reviewing a number of his series, I can see an idea of alternative 50s Americana advertising under the influence of a nightmare, where darker beings are about to erupt into the scene.
Very much like Jeff Walls' "A ventriloquist at a birthday party" there is the undercurrent of Norman Rockwell meets Stephen King. These images create more questions than answers and leave the viewer with a sense of unease as they are put on the back foot by the narrative. Crewdson is attempting to create a sense of anxiety that either at any moment something is going to happen or something has already happened and we have not yet realised the magnitude of the issue. Very similar to the coastal town of Antonio Bay that we pan across at the start of 'The Fog' Carpenter (1980)
Main Goal
My main goal is to express myself, I have lifted a camera and as part of the course I have started to communicate my life to the world, I am opening up on the issues and difficulties that I face on a day to day basis. In that I have become an activist for my problems and for the unseen to suffer from the same difficulties. I want to create pictures which express my protestation at being a 'missing' person and that I can contribute to society.
Beauty can be captured within this, and I don’t think it can be an issue if it is your main goal, especially if you wish to express the aesthetic if beauty as beauty itself takes any forms not just in the human body, but in landscapes, still life, portraiture, etc
I have to admit that most of Crewdson work leaves me a bit disappointed; his scenes look predicable, like stills from a poorly funded horror film. I understand what he is trying to achieve but I just don't get the 'hype' and a lot of his work makes me feel that the women in the scenes are nothing more than objects to be stared at and desired.
References
The Fog, 1980. [Film] John Carpenter, USA: AVCO Embassy Pictures.
Artsy. 2016. About Gregory Crewdson. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/gregory-crewdson-untitled-40. [Accessed 16 August 2017].
Youtube. 2017. Collected Videos of Gregory Crewdson. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gregory+crewdson. [Accessed 16 August 2017].
Youtube. 2012. Gregory Crewdson's Photography Capturing a Movie Frame | Art in Progress | Reserve Channel. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7CvoTtus34. [Accessed 16 August 2017].
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