Gregory Crewdson's photographic series capture a particularly American state of normalcy--in dissolution. The viewer, at first seduced by what appears to be an idyllic scene, soon discovers subtle off-kilter elements more akin to Film Noir than an NBC comedy. In a work from his Twilight series, yellow school buses are parked outside white wooden houses, and students stand and lounge around in seeming passivity. Something is happening--what, we don't know. The vision is familiar yet unfamiliar, seemingly benign yet threatening. Crewdson goes to great lengths in dramatizing his disturbing suburban scenes, employing elaborate lighting, cranes, props, and extras, espousing a level of behind-the-scenes preparation more akin to the making of a Hollywood movie than the making of a still image. Here perhaps is one place to locate the eerie unreality and narrativity of his pictures, the creepy attention to detail so out of place, in the ordinary settings he evokes. Middle-class reality meets the other side of the normal here--by way of Sigmund Freud.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Having seen much of the work presented in this book in a gallery in Manhattan earlier this year, I can testify to its quality. Experiencing it live is pretty overwhelming - one really gets sucked into the world of each photograph. I'm afraid this volume does not even come close to recreating the experience. The reproductions are quite small-scale & printed on non-glossy stock, losing huge quantities of the vividness & detail which are these photographs raison d'etre. In person, I was able to spend hours standing in front of these photographs, absorbing the tiniest details. Those same details can't even be made out here. I was truly looking forward to the release of this volume, but I'm afraid after seeing it that I wouldn't bother to purchase it. A real disappointment - hopefully at some point a monograph will be released that's actually worthy of Crewdson's work.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A timely retrospective from one of the most referenced visual artists
March 9, 2006
Format:Hardcover
Having spoken several times with the artist Gregory Crewdson, I'm comfortable in saying that a retrospective of his art is an insight only into his (r)evolutionary techniques and dream narratives. The man himself is a slightly bemused, curious artist with an assured but uncaring knowledge of his impact. A recent panel at Princeton, pitted Gregory against motion pictures' reigning dream narrative king, Spike Jonze. There's a reason Spike's infamous Addidas spot was particularly brilliant...the scenes, the props and even the film coloring were all lifted quite clearly from Crewdson's eponymous single frame masterpieces. This book has the beautiful and haunting recent work, but also features a assortment of compositions from his earliest period; a period that seemed to focus on the grey mood and the everydayness from a Walker Percy life. A period in the early nineties shows the transition to curious composition; with hints of what was to come. Overall brilliant, and I"m sure music video directors will steal openly from the pages of this great book as well.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
You start to look at his photos, and imagine - he has lucky to capture such a special moment. Then you read his book, or watch his movie to understand what really happens during his photography shooting sessions. If you want to take photography serious, you need to read this book... Nothing in his photos is not calculated! Great book!
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Gregory Crewdson is an amazing photographer and this book is full of his eye candy pictures. I bought this book for a quick refrence guide to his photography and found that it is a book worth hanging onto. If you enjoy photography you will love his work.
9 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By jack kerr
Format:Hardcover
i was excited to see this book, before i actually saw it, and disappointed by how few excellent images the artist has produced over the 20 years the book covers. the black and white aerial creations were fascinating, but the earlier color work seems average when put up against other similar work of the time. the later stuff is also very interesting, but they need the scale of a gallery with huge walls to have the intended effect - in a book they just don't translate.
i would suggest jeff wall or philip lorca di corcia before this book, and mitch epstein or joel sternfeld for the real choice stuff.
i would suggest jeff wall or philip lorca di corcia before this book, and mitch epstein or joel sternfeld for the real choice stuff.
11 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By P. Kuhn
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book is fantastic! However to my horror it was packed very badly and the book arrived scratched and a damaged. Amazon expects me to pay for all shipping costs to get a refund of the book value only. Since I live in Australia the return shipping would surpass the value of the books sent. I emailed Amazon with this issue 2 weeks ago and NO REPLY!
DO NOT BUY FINE ART BOOKS FROM AMAZON!!
DO NOT BUY FINE ART BOOKS FROM AMAZON!!
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A. Davidoff
Format:Hardcover
My son is an English major with a strong interest in art/photography. Crewdson's work is quite interesting. His pieces make you "think" and invokes a wide array of imagination.
0 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
My purchase experience was only ok. It took a little while for it to get to me, the condition was stated as 'used, like new' it was really 'used, like used' a few tears in the cover, the book was slightly warped. if i had known this before hand, i would not have saved myself the measly 3 dollars and bought the New one. it should have been significantly cheaper than the new price because it was significantly not new.
But honestly, im not upset because i love Gregory Crewson and the images in the book, not its condition, is what i really care about.
But honestly, im not upset because i love Gregory Crewson and the images in the book, not its condition, is what i really care about.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Charged twice
Hello, I am writing to inform you that I received this book corbro amounting to 41.74 twice.
You have charged me twice for the same book, please give me back the amount of... Read more
You have charged me twice for the same book, please give me back the amount of... Read more
Published 20 months ago by antogal
5.0 out of 5 stars
EVERYDAY
this is the way that i see life. i am a an employee of a funeral home, and attending mortuary school. that hazy life that Crewdson depicts is everyday to me. A work of art. Read more
Published on January 2, 2006 by Julian R. Coronado
1.0 out of 5 stars
More of the Same
More self absorbed swill!!!
Published on December 31, 2005 by PhotoFan
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