Beneath the Roses [Hardcover]

Gregory Crewdson (Photographer), Russell Banks (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2008

Best known for his elaborately choreographed, large-scale photographs, Gregory Crewdson is one of the most exciting and important artists working today. The images that comprise Crewdson’s new series, “Beneath the Roses,” take place in the homes, streets, and forests of unnamed small towns. The photographs portray emotionally charged moments of seemingly ordinary individuals caught in ambiguous and often disquieting circumstances. Both epic in scale and intimate in scope, these visually breathtaking photographs blur the distinctions between cinema and photography, reality and fantasy, what has happened and what is to come.

Beneath the Roses features an essay by acclaimed fiction writer Russell Banks, as well as many never-before-seen photographs, including production stills, lighting charts, sketches, and architectural plans, that serve as a window into Crewdson’s working process. The book is published to coincide with exhibitions in New York, London, and Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In these 49 elaborately staged photographs, Crewdson (Twilight) reveals his vision of America in lush and brooding images of dusk, each one bristling with atmosphere: a young boy stares at a naked woman standing in the open door of her trailer; a woman, observed through a motel window, looks at a baby sleeping on the bed; a man stands in a deserted intersection in the rain, his car door open behind him. Although Crewdson's work is frequently interpreted cinematically, and stylistic comparisons are drawn between him and David Lynch and Wes Anderson, in the book's preface, writer Banks argues that analogies to the movies do the photographer a disservice. According to Banks, looking at Crewdson's photographs resembles reading fiction more than anything else; it is not a passive experience (such as watching a movie) but an invitation to actively imagine alongside the artist. Crewdson's sets do boast the budgets and crew normally associated with movies, however, and this collection includes 23 extra pages of set drawings, location shots and images of the actors and props used to create the photographs—perfectly in keeping with a body of work that, as Banks states, tests the limits of realism while making no effort to disguise its artificiality. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Gregory Crewdson is an internationally exhibited artist whose photographs are also the subject of Abrams’ Twilight. He teaches at the Yale University School of Art and lives in New York city.

Russell Banks is an award-winning writer whose works of fiction include Affliction, The Sweet Hereafter, and The Darling. He has contributed essays to Vanity Fair, Harper’s, and many other publications. He lives in upstate New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 140 pages
• Publisher: Abrams; First Edition edition (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810993805
• ISBN-13: 978-0810993808
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 16.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small towns, large fantasies, April 2, 2008

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beneath the Roses (Hardcover)

The first thing Russell Banks mentions in the book's introduction is the comparison between Crewdson's work and Hollywood. Not surprising of course because the photos are produced like the movies only here it's one shot at a time. Looking at the fascinating production photos at the back of the book I'm reminded of Winston Link, another photographer who went to endless trouble for the one shot and mostly in small town America, too.

Crewdson provides you with forty-nine content rich photos, you have to provide everything else and that is not difficult because the people and situations before your eyes pull you into their lives. What is she thinking, is she speaking to him, what is he doing, why are they together? I thought the small town setting ideal for these tableaux, the streets, houses and people seem to fit together and allow the viewer to focus on the characters. Maybe the plates should have been loose in a box making it easier for the viewer to create an ever changing scenario according to their sequence.

I was rather disappointed though with part of the book's production. The photos, thankfully suitable larger than those in 'Twilight', are only printed in 175dpi. These images are saturated with detail and texture and I would have thought a minimum of 200 or preferably 250dpi would be necessary to bring out their quality. So many of them have a long depth of field but also feature some small detail or frozen action that is important: a person in a car; the items on a bedside table or people seen through the window of a motel room.

Like 'Twilight' the back of this book has chapters on Location and Soundstage, both have production shots (unfortunately not captioned) and drawings to show the amazing amount of work that goes into these photos. A look at the Production Credits also confirms this (and reinforces the movie connection) with Lighting, Best Boys, Gaffers, Key Grip, Special Effects, Prop Masters, Wardrobe, Transportation, Hair and Make-up, Casting, Catering, Legal and more. Oh yes, let's not forget Swamp Design by Buzz Gray, too.

Overall a remarkable book but if you are new to his work have a look at Gregory Crewdson which includes twenty plates from 'Beneath the Roses'.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Crewdson's best books, March 31, 2008

By 

David T. Sherman (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beneath the Roses (Hardcover)

There are several books that contain Crewdson's cinematic photography, and I think that most people would agree that this one is the best so far.

In his other books, people have complained that the images were not large enough. This book has larger images. The book contains 49 plates, which measure about 14.5" x 9.5"

The book also has photographs and sketches of a lot of the work that went into the final photographs, such as set design, lighting, props, and more.

Some of the photos in this book are also in the book "1985-2005", but they are larger in this book.

The book still doesn't come close to capturing how breathtaking his full-size 4' x 5' photographs are, but it does a better job than any of his other books. It would make a great addition to any photography book collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing atmosphere, September 8, 2008

By 

M. Hofmann - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beneath the Roses (Hardcover)

This book is amazing. Our curriculum requires to discuss the work of Gregory Crewdson and I ordered this collection without really knowing what to expect. The photos transport a nightmarish and cheerless/gloomy atmosphere- an impressive work of art. Bonus: At the end of the book the reader gets an insight of how the work is done (sketches, details about the technique, etc.). I warmly recommend this piece of art to all people who are interested in photography, art, the movies or/and interesting personalities.