LCD Directions 2

Leo Cini-colo Disserta-tionConcept 1

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As discussed, Crewdson’s inspiration does not derive simply from cinema. We surely cannot look long at his photographs before we are reminded of the paintings of Edward Hopper, another artist obsessed with the bleak isolation of suburbia, and the hole in the ‘American Dream’. Indeed if Hopper painted his version of Ophelia it would probably bear huge resemblance to Crewdson’s ‘lady in the flooded house’.

However a more bizarre influence he cites in interview with his friend and critic Bradford Morrow is Duchamp’s final work, “Etant Donnes” (See Appendix 5. & 6.). He goes so far as to describe it as being “Absolutely” the “most important visual influence” (Morrow, B. 1997) in his mind when approaching his projects.

Fine Art|

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“Etant Donnes” was created in total secrecy by Duchamp after the world thought he had left art behind to play professional chess. It is an installation piece that consists of a false wooden board door in which there are two holes, eye distance apart. By looking through these holes there is seen the entrance of a cave from within, looking out over a vast river valley. In the grass at the threshold of the cave lies a naked woman holding up a lamp. It is a romantic picturesque scene, however by way of controlling the peep-holes Duchamp prevents the ‘peeper’ from seeing the face of the woman. It is of course a three dimensional diorama, a representation of reality, but ultimately, a set.

Crewdson uses the camera in the same way as Duchamp’s peep holes. Creating a private living sculpture, a tableaux, then photographing it so that it is fixed. Able only to be viewed as he intended. In sculpture this is rare, but in cinema it is the norm. As much as the viewer would like to they can never walk into the scene and observe the characters in situ.

This imbues Duchamp’s work with something that is intrinsically ‘photographic’. Raymond Bellour cites the essence of the ‘photographic’ so concisely and appropriately when he describes it as being, “a state of “inbetween-ness”: in movement, it is that which interrupts, that paralyzes.” (Page 253. Beckman, K & Ma, J. 2008). What Duchamp had done was remove the camera, he had created the purest example of a photographic moment, like Plato’s cave or the earliest camera obscura. The only lens involved was the viewers eye, and so gone is Crewdson’s “failure of reproduction”.

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9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

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The remaining question seems to be what essentially differentiates the ‘cinematic’ and the ‘photographic’? Is it time and movement or is it more than that? They both seem to be frustratingly intangible concepts and yet they are digested on a twenty-four hour basis around the world; as much a part of modern life as eating and breathing.

In his essay accompanying Crewdson’s latest book “Beneath the Roses”, Russell Banks compares the photographs of that series to the “glossy stills” posted in cinema lobbies to announce forth-coming features (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). Celebrating their ability to allow individual interpretation. “Movie going is essentially a passive experience… we check our imaginations at the door.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). This may be a little sweeping considering some of the broader cinematic texts explored in this essay, however it is true for a large part of ‘conventional’ cinema.

44

Tense and Reality

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Banks describes the way that audiences cannot “plug in” their “pasts… fantasies and denials” when engaged with a film. In this way the photograph has an ambiguity that may be advantageous or hindering. Whichever, it allows the viewer to ‘read’ the photograph at their own pace as “in complete control of our rate of perception we read a novel.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008).

Although artists such as Marker or Duchamp play with this notion it remains a truth that photographs remain instantaneous. They are accessible at a glance or a prolonged study. They can be carried in a pocket or hung in a gallery, and essentially they imprint themselves on the mind.

The ‘cinematic’ experience is more commonly based on the theatrical. A viewing that lasts for a fixed duration. Whereas the ‘human’ experience exists always and forever in the present. This may explain why Campany’s observation that photographs exist “inextricably to the past” (Page 11. Campany, D. 2008) is what makes them so accessible to our formation of memory. When remembering a film the human brain edits together critical moments. Whereas with music, a piece can be remembered in its entirety, visually the brain compresses memories and visions into hybridised pictures, butchered out of the present narrative in which they once existed. This inescapable process favours the still image for sheer permanence of memory. It speaks out with a clear message in a visual language, and Crewdson is as fluent in this language as is possible.

When asked the plot of a film an audience member will recite a chronological rendition of what they, and everyone else in the screening-theatre witnessed. Crewdon’s images however contain a deceptively simple façade, which, like one-way glass allows the viewer to look into a world, and at the same time, see themselves reflected back. Any sort of narrative or morality is brought from Crewdson’s

45 BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson

2

3

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mind, the physical presence of the image, and the viewer.Bradford Morrow told Crewdson he found his work “Aesopian”

(Morrow, B. 1997) as in from Aesope’s fables. They explore morals and states relevant to the entire human race; tenderness, madness, fragility. There are certainly films existing which are just as successful in their portrayal of these subjects. However the stillness and gravitas Crewdson imparts in a snap-shot works outside of narrative. It is distilled into a blend of those states, apart from time. That is the essentially ‘photographic’.

46

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009.6

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The remaining question seems to be what essentially differentiates the ‘cinematic’ and the ‘photographic’? Is it time and movement or is it more than that? They both seem to be frustratingly intangible concepts and yet they are digested on a twenty-four hour basis around the world; as much a part of modern life as eating and breathing.

In his essay accompanying Crewdson’s latest book “Beneath the Roses”, Russell Banks compares the photographs of that series to the “glossy stills” posted in cinema lobbies to announce forth-coming features (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). Celebrating their ability to allow individual interpretation. “Movie going is essentially a passive experience… we check our imaginations at the door.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). This may be a little sweeping considering some of the broader cinematic texts explored in this essay, however it is true for a large part of ‘conventional’ cinema.

44

Tense and Reality

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Banks describes the way that audiences cannot “plug in” their “pasts… fantasies and denials” when engaged with a film. In this way the photograph has an ambiguity that may be advantageous or hindering. Whichever, it allows the viewer to ‘read’ the photograph at their own pace as “in complete control of our rate of perception we read a novel.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008).

Although artists such as Marker or Duchamp play with this notion it remains a truth that photographs remain instantaneous. They are accessible at a glance or a prolonged study. They can be carried in a pocket or hung in a gallery, and essentially they imprint themselves on the mind.

The ‘cinematic’ experience is more commonly based on the theatrical. A viewing that lasts for a fixed duration. Whereas the ‘human’ experience exists always and forever in the present. This may explain why Campany’s observation that photographs exist “inextricably to the past” (Page 11. Campany, D. 2008) is what makes them so accessible to our formation of memory. When remembering a film the human brain edits together critical moments. Whereas with music, a piece can be remembered in its entirety, visually the brain compresses memories and visions into hybridised pictures, butchered out of the present narrative in which they once existed. This inescapable process favours the still image for sheer permanence of memory. It speaks out with a clear message in a visual language, and Crewdson is as fluent in this language as is possible.

When asked the plot of a film an audience member will recite a chronological rendition of what they, and everyone else in the screening-theatre witnessed. Crewdon’s images however contain a deceptively simple façade, which, like one-way glass allows the viewer to look into a world, and at the same time, see themselves reflected back. Any sort of narrative or morality is brought from Crewdson’s

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson

2

3

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mind, the physical presence of the image, and the viewer.Bradford Morrow told Crewdson he found his work “Aesopian”

(Morrow, B. 1997) as in from Aesope’s fables. They explore morals and states relevant to the entire human race; tenderness, madness, fragility. There are certainly films existing which are just as successful in their portrayal of these subjects. However the stillness and gravitas Crewdson imparts in a snap-shot works outside of narrative. It is distilled into a blend of those states, apart from time. That is the essentially ‘photographic’.

4645

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009.

6

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999

999

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The remaining question seems to be what essentially differentiates the ‘cinematic’ and the ‘photographic’? Is it time and movement or is it more than that? They both seem to be frustratingly intangible concepts and yet they are digested on a twenty-four hour basis around the world; as much a part of modern life as eating and breathing.

In his essay accompanying Crewdson’s latest book “Beneath the Roses”, Russell Banks compares the photographs of that series to the “glossy stills” posted in cinema lobbies to announce forth-coming features (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). Celebrating their ability to allow individual interpretation. “Movie going is essentially a passive experience… we check our imaginations at the door.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). This may be a little sweeping considering some of the broader cinematic texts explored in this essay, however it is true for a large part of ‘conventional’ cinema.

44

Tense and Reality

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Banks describes the way that audiences cannot “plug in” their “pasts… fantasies and denials” when engaged with a film. In this way the photograph has an ambiguity that may be advantageous or hindering. Whichever, it allows the viewer to ‘read’ the photograph at their own pace as “in complete control of our rate of perception we read a novel.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008).

Although artists such as Marker or Duchamp play with this notion it remains a truth that photographs remain instantaneous. They are accessible at a glance or a prolonged study. They can be carried in a pocket or hung in a gallery, and essentially they imprint themselves on the mind.

The ‘cinematic’ experience is more commonly based on the theatrical. A viewing that lasts for a fixed duration. Whereas the ‘human’ experience exists always and forever in the present. This may explain why Campany’s observation that photographs exist “inextricably to the past” (Page 11. Campany, D. 2008) is what makes them so accessible to our formation of memory. When remembering a film the human brain edits together critical moments. Whereas with music, a piece can be remembered in its entirety, visually the brain compresses memories and visions into hybridised pictures, butchered out of the present narrative in which they once existed. This inescapable process favours the still image for sheer permanence of memory. It speaks out with a clear message in a visual language, and Crewdson is as fluent in this language as is possible.

When asked the plot of a film an audience member will recite a chronological rendition of what they, and everyone else in the screening-theatre witnessed. Crewdon’s images however contain a deceptively simple façade, which, like one-way glass allows the viewer to look into a world, and at the same time, see themselves reflected back. Any sort of narrative or morality is brought from Crewdson’s

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson

2

3

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mind, the physical presence of the image, and the viewer.Bradford Morrow told Crewdson he found his work “Aesopian”

(Morrow, B. 1997) as in from Aesope’s fables. They explore morals and states relevant to the entire human race; tenderness, madness, fragility. There are certainly films existing which are just as successful in their portrayal of these subjects. However the stillness and gravitas Crewdson imparts in a snap-shot works outside of narrative. It is distilled into a blend of those states, apart from time. That is the essentially ‘photographic’.

4645

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009.

6

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The remaining question seems to be what essentially differentiates the ‘cinematic’ and the ‘photographic’? Is it time and movement or is it more than that? They both seem to be frustratingly intangible concepts and yet they are digested on a twenty-four hour basis around the world; as much a part of modern life as eating and breathing.

In his essay accompanying Crewdson’s latest book “Beneath the Roses”, Russell Banks compares the photographs of that series to the “glossy stills” posted in cinema lobbies to announce forth-coming features (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). Celebrating their ability to allow individual interpretation. “Movie going is essentially a passive experience… we check our imaginations at the door.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). This may be a little sweeping considering some of the broader cinematic texts explored in this essay, however it is true for a large part of ‘conventional’ cinema.

44

Tense and Reality

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson3

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Banks describes the way that audiences cannot “plug in” their “pasts… fantasies and denials” when engaged with a film. In this way the photograph has an ambiguity that may be advantageous or hindering. Whichever, it allows the viewer to ‘read’ the photograph at their own pace as “in complete control of our rate of perception we read a novel.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008).

Although artists such as Marker or Duchamp play with this notion it remains a truth that photographs remain instantaneous. They are accessible at a glance or a prolonged study. They can be carried in a pocket or hung in a gallery, and essentially they imprint themselves on the mind.

The ‘cinematic’ experience is more commonly based on the theatrical. A viewing that lasts for a fixed duration. Whereas the ‘human’ experience exists always and forever in the present. This may explain why Campany’s observation that photographs exist “inextricably to the past” (Page 11. Campany, D. 2008) is what makes them so accessible to our formation of memory. When remembering a film the human brain edits together critical moments. Whereas with music, a piece can be remembered in its entirety, visually the brain compresses memories and visions into hybridised pictures, butchered out of the present narrative in which they once existed. This inescapable process favours the still image for sheer permanence of memory. It speaks out with a clear message in a visual language, and Crewdson is as fluent in this language as is possible.

When asked the plot of a film an audience member will recite a chronological rendition of what they, and everyone else in the screening-theatre witnessed. Crewdon’s images however contain a deceptively simple façade, which, like one-way glass allows the viewer to look into a world, and at the same time, see themselves reflected back. Any sort of narrative or morality is brought from Crewdson’s

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson

2

3

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mind, the physical presence of the image, and the viewer.Bradford Morrow told Crewdson he found his work “Aesopian”

(Morrow, B. 1997) as in from Aesope’s fables. They explore morals and states relevant to the entire human race; tenderness, madness, fragility. There are certainly films existing which are just as successful in their portrayal of these subjects. However the stillness and gravitas Crewdson imparts in a snap-shot works outside of narrative. It is distilled into a blend of those states, apart from time. That is the essentially ‘photographic’.

4645

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009.

6

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The remaining question seems to be what essentially differentiates the ‘cinematic’ and the ‘photographic’? Is it time and movement or is it more than that? They both seem to be frustratingly intangible concepts and yet they are digested on a twenty-four hour basis around the world; as much a part of modern life as eating and breathing.

In his essay accompanying Crewdson’s latest book “Beneath the Roses”, Russell Banks compares the photographs of that series to the “glossy stills” posted in cinema lobbies to announce forth-coming features (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). Celebrating their ability to allow individual interpretation. “Movie going is essentially a passive experience… we check our imaginations at the door.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008). This may be a little sweeping considering some of the broader cinematic texts explored in this essay, however it is true for a large part of ‘conventional’ cinema.

44

Tense and Reality

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson3

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Banks describes the way that audiences cannot “plug in” their “pasts… fantasies and denials” when engaged with a film. In this way the photograph has an ambiguity that may be advantageous or hindering. Whichever, it allows the viewer to ‘read’ the photograph at their own pace as “in complete control of our rate of perception we read a novel.” (Page 6. Crewdson, G. 2008).

Although artists such as Marker or Duchamp play with this notion it remains a truth that photographs remain instantaneous. They are accessible at a glance or a prolonged study. They can be carried in a pocket or hung in a gallery, and essentially they imprint themselves on the mind.

The ‘cinematic’ experience is more commonly based on the theatrical. A viewing that lasts for a fixed duration. Whereas the ‘human’ experience exists always and forever in the present. This may explain why Campany’s observation that photographs exist “inextricably to the past” (Page 11. Campany, D. 2008) is what makes them so accessible to our formation of memory. When remembering a film the human brain edits together critical moments. Whereas with music, a piece can be remembered in its entirety, visually the brain compresses memories and visions into hybridised pictures, butchered out of the present narrative in which they once existed. This inescapable process favours the still image for sheer permanence of memory. It speaks out with a clear message in a visual language, and Crewdson is as fluent in this language as is possible.

When asked the plot of a film an audience member will recite a chronological rendition of what they, and everyone else in the screening-theatre witnessed. Crewdon’s images however contain a deceptively simple façade, which, like one-way glass allows the viewer to look into a world, and at the same time, see themselves reflected back. Any sort of narrative or morality is brought from Crewdson’s mind, the physical presence of the image, and the viewer.

Bradford Morrow told Crewdson he found his work “Aesopian” (Morrow, B. 1997) as in from Aesope’s fables. They explore morals and states relevant to the entire human race; tenderness, madness, fragility. There are certainly films

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson

2

3

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existing which are just as successful in their portrayal of these subjects. However the stillness and gravitas Crewdson imparts in a snap-shot works outside of narrative. It is distilled into a blend of those states, apart from time. That is the essentially ‘photographic’.

4645

BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009

Page 82. Bright, Susan. 2006. Art Photography Now. London. Thames & Hudson BOMB Magazine. 1997. Interview with Gregory Crewdson by Bradford Morrowhttp://www.bombsite.com/issues/61/articles/2090 accessed on October 12th 2009.

6

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