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xterminal's review
5.0
Gregory Crewdson, Beneath the Roses (Abrams, 2008)
Every working stoplight to be found in Gregory Crewdson's enchanting, fascinating photographic series Beneath the Roses is yellow. This is not coincidence. Nothing is, in Gregory Crewdson's world. It's a symbol, perhaps the least subtle to be found here, that you need to take your time looking at these monstrous photographs, which even in this massive Abrams volume are too small for you to make out every little detail; I just read an essay written by a guy who went over some of them with a microscope and saw things I certainly didn't.
Impressively detailed, occasionally shocking (did they really burn a house down? From the production stills in the back, it looks like that is, in fact, the case), never less than sumptuous. But what really got me thinking is how the staged nature of the photos managed to make them far more intimate than candid photos. There is a great deal to be said about that, and how much it says about the rampant emotional manipulation one finds in everything from big Hollywood productions to home-grown TV commercials, but I'm not the guy to say it all (and someone's probably already done a better job of it than I would anyway). I'm just here to point it out and let you know that once you start thinking about it, you'll be up all night doing so. I should know.
While digging around reading up on Crewson, I've found that this collection got some criticism for being too much like Twilight, the one he did previous. This is my first exposure to Crewson (Twilight, perhaps ironically, is next on my list), and so I should note that perhaps my overly-enthusiastic reaction comes as much from that as from anything else. But I stand by it; as a first exposure to the man's work, this book is just plain fantastic, the kind of thing that will mesmerize you, help you understand how people can spend half an hour staring at a single photograph, and most importantly, make you think about the photographic process, and that larger process of media itself. It's wonderful. **** ½
Every working stoplight to be found in Gregory Crewdson's enchanting, fascinating photographic series Beneath the Roses is yellow. This is not coincidence. Nothing is, in Gregory Crewdson's world. It's a symbol, perhaps the least subtle to be found here, that you need to take your time looking at these monstrous photographs, which even in this massive Abrams volume are too small for you to make out every little detail; I just read an essay written by a guy who went over some of them with a microscope and saw things I certainly didn't.
Impressively detailed, occasionally shocking (did they really burn a house down? From the production stills in the back, it looks like that is, in fact, the case), never less than sumptuous. But what really got me thinking is how the staged nature of the photos managed to make them far more intimate than candid photos. There is a great deal to be said about that, and how much it says about the rampant emotional manipulation one finds in everything from big Hollywood productions to home-grown TV commercials, but I'm not the guy to say it all (and someone's probably already done a better job of it than I would anyway). I'm just here to point it out and let you know that once you start thinking about it, you'll be up all night doing so. I should know.
While digging around reading up on Crewson, I've found that this collection got some criticism for being too much like Twilight, the one he did previous. This is my first exposure to Crewson (Twilight, perhaps ironically, is next on my list), and so I should note that perhaps my overly-enthusiastic reaction comes as much from that as from anything else. But I stand by it; as a first exposure to the man's work, this book is just plain fantastic, the kind of thing that will mesmerize you, help you understand how people can spend half an hour staring at a single photograph, and most importantly, make you think about the photographic process, and that larger process of media itself. It's wonderful. **** ½
travis29759's review
5.0
Some of the most breathtaking images I've seen. The scale of craftsmanship and emotional ambition is stunning.
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