Gregory Crewdson Explained

Gregory Crewdson
Birth Date:	26 September 1962
Birth Place:	Brooklyn, New York
Education:	Brooklyn Friends John Dewey High School; SUNY Purchase, BA, 1985; Yale University, MFA, 1988
Occupation:	Fine-art photographer, professor
Employer:	Yale University School of Art
Awards:	Skowhegan Medal for Photography, National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artists Fellowship

Gregory Crewdson (born September 26, 1962) is an American photographer^[1] who makes large-scale, cinematic, psychologically charged prints of staged scenes set in suburban landscapes and interiors. He directs a large production and lighting crew to construct his images.^[2]

Early life and education

Crewdson was born in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. As a child, he attended Brooklyn Friends School, and then John Dewey High School.

As a teenager, he was part of a power pop group called the Speedies.^[3] Their song, "Let Me Take Your Foto" was in 2005 used by Hewlett-Packard in advertisements to promote its digital cameras.^[4]

Crewdson attended Purchase College, State University of New York, where he initially planned to study psychology.^[5] At Purchase, he enrolled in a photography course taught by Laurie Simmons^[6] and also studied with Jan Groover.^[7] He received an MFA in photography from the Yale School of Art.^[8]

Life and work

Crewdson is a professor and the director of graduate studies in photography at Yale School of Art.^[9]

Crewdson's photographs are elaborately planned, produced, and lit using crews familiar with motion picture production who light large scenes using cinema production equipment and techniques.^[10] He works with a lighting team, art director, make-up and wardrobe department, props and effects to create mood, atmosphere, and open-ended narrative images.^[11] He has worked with the same director of photography, Richard Sands, along with other core team members, for some 25 years.^[12] He works much like a director with a budget similar to that of a movie production,^[13] each image involves dozens of people and weeks to months of planning.^[14]

Using shots that resemble film productions, Crewdson deconstructs American suburban life in his work.^[15] He has cited the films Vertigo, The Night of the Hunter, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Blue Velvet, and Safe as having influenced his style,^[16] as well as the painter Edward Hopper^[17] and photographer Diane Arbus.^[18]

Crewdson's most widely-known bodies of work include Twilight (1998–2002), Beneath the Roses (2003–2008), Cathedral of the Pines (2013–2014), An Eclipse of Moths (2018–2019),^[19] and Eveningside (2021–2022). Crewdson's only body of work made outside of the U.S. was Sanctuary (2009), set at the abandoned Cinecittá studios outside of Rome.^[20] Nearly all of his other work before and since was made in the small towns and cities in Western Massachusetts.^[21]

In 2012, he was the subject of the feature documentary film .^[22] The film series followed the construction of and an explanation by Crewdson of his thought process and vision for pieces of Beneath the Roses.

Personal life

Crewdson lives primarily in western Massachusetts in a former Methodist church.^[23] His long time partner, Juliane Hiam,^[24] is a writer and producer^[25] and the two work closely together.^[26] Hiam has also appeared as a subject in numerous of Crewdson's pictures.^{[27] [28]} Crewdson has two children, Lily and Walker, from a previous marriage.^[29] Crewdson is an open-water swimmer^[30] and has said that the meditative state he achieves with his daily swimming practice is fundamental to his creative process as an artist.^[31]

Publications

• Hover. Artspace Books, 1995. .
• Twilight: Photographs by Gregory Crewdson. Harry N. Abrams, 2002. . With an essay by Rick Moody.
• Gregory Crewdson: 1985–2005. Hatje Cantz, 2005. .
• Fireflies. Skarstedt Fine Art, 2007. .
• Beneath the Roses. With Russell Banks. Harry N. Abrams, 2008. .
• Dream House. With text by Tilda Swinton. John Rule, 2009. .
• Sanctuary. With Anthony O. Scott. Hatje Cantz, 2010. .
• In a Lonely Place. Hatje Cantz, 2011. .
• Gregory Crewdson. New York: Rizzoli, 2013. .
• Cathedral of the Pines. New York: Aperture, 2016. . With a text by Alexander Nemerov.
• An Eclipse of Moths. New York: Aperture, 2020. . With an introduction by Jeff Tweedy.
• Alone Street. New York: Aperture, 2021. . With an essay by Joyce Carol Oates and an interview with the artist by Cate Blanchett.
• Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside, 2012–2022. Milan: Skira Editore, 2022. . Text by Jean-Charles Vergne.
• Gregory Crewdson. Munich, London, New York: Prestel, 2024. . Edited by Walter Moser, with texts by David Fincher, Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat, Beate Hofstadler, Astrid Mahler, Watler, Moser, Matthieu Orléan, and Emily St. John Mandel.

Solo exhibitions

• Gregory Crewdson: Photographs, White Cube Gallery, London, 1995^[32]
• Gregory Crewdson: Hover, Luhring Augustine Gallery, New York, NY, 1997^[33]
• Gregory Crewdson. House Taken Over, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain, 1998; and traveled to Salamanca, 1999^[34]
• Gregory Crewdson: Twilight, Luhring Augustine, New York, NY, 2002;^[35] White Cube, London, 2002;^[36] Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA, 2002^[37]
• Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses, Luhring-Augustine Gallery, New York, 2005;^[38] White Cube, London, 2005;^[39] Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA, 2005 (all three concurrently)^[40]
• Gregory Crewdson: 1985–2005, Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover, Germany;^[41] and traveled to Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Germany, 2006;^[42] Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland; and Landsgalerie Linz, Austria, 2006^[43]
• Gregory Crewdson: Fireflies, Skarstedt Fine Art, New York, NY, 2006^[44]
• Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA, 2008;^[45] Gregory Crewdson, White Cube, London, 2008;^[46] Gregory Crewdson, Luhring Augustine, New York, NY, 2008^[47]
• Gregory Crewdson: In a Lonely Place, traveling show, C/O Berlin, Berlin, 2011; Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Kulturhuset, Stockholm, Sweden, 2011;^[48] Copenhagen, Denmark, 2011/2012;^{[49] [50]} Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia, 2012;^[51] Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia, 2013;^[52] City Gallery Wellington; and Dunedin Art Gallery, Dunedin, New Zealand, 2013^[53]
• Gregory Crewdson: Fireflies, Wave Hill, Bronx, NY, 2014;^[54] SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM, 2015;^[55] Berkshire Botanical Garden, Leonhardt Galleries, Stockbridge, MA, 2021^[56]
• Gregory Crewdson: Sanctuary, Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY. 2010;^[57] Gagosian Gallery, Rome, Italy, 2011;^[58] TIFF '11 Festival, Toronto, Canada, 2011^[59] La Fábrica Gallery, Madrid, Spain^[60]
• Gregory Crewdson: Dream House, The San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA, 2015^[61]
• Cathedral of the Pines, Gagosian Gallery, New York, 2016;^[62] Galerie Templon, Brussels and Paris concurrently, September–October 2016;^[63] The Photographers' Gallery, London, 2017;^[64] Centre of Contemporary Art, Toruń, Poland, November 2017 – January 2018^[65]
• Gregory Crewdson: Sanctuary, Galerie Wilma Tolksdorf, Frankfurt, Germany, April–July 2017^[66]
• The Becket Pictures, FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 2017^[67]
• Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside (a survey of work from 2012 to 2022), Gallerie d'Italia, Turin, Italy, October 2022 – January 2023,^[68] exhibition traveled to the LUMA Foundation at Rencontres d'Arles, Arles, France, July–September 2023,^[69] and VB Photography Center, Kuopio, Finland, June 12-Sept. 15 2024^[70]
• Gregory Crewdson: Forest Fables, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, September–October 2023^[71]
• Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside, Reflex Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Mar 11-May 6, 2023,^[72] Alan Koppel Gallery, Chicago, Apr 7-Aug 11 2023,^[73] Templon, Paris, France, Nov. 8-Dec. 23 2023^[74]
• Gregory Crewdson: Retrospektive, The Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria, May 29-Sept 8 2024^[75]

Awards

• Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographer's Fellowship^[76]
• Skowhegan Medal for Photography, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME.^[77]
• Skowhegan Medal for Photography^[78]
• National Endowment for the Arts fellowship^[79]
• Honorary Doctorate, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, MA.^[80]
• Honorary Doctorate, SUNY Purchase, NY.^[81]
• Distinguished Artist Award, St. Botolph Club Foundation, Boston, MA.^[82]

Collections

Crewdson's work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions worldwide, including:

• Albertina Museum, Vienna^[83]
• The Broad, Los Angeles^[84]
• The Getty Museum, Los Angeles^[85]
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles^[86]
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York^[87]
• Museum of Modern Art, New York^[88]
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco^[89]
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum^[90]
• Victoria and Albert Museum, London^[91]
• Whitney Museum, New York^[92]
• Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven^[93]

Films about Crewdson

• (2012) – feature documentary directed, produced, and shot by Ben Shapiro^[94]
• There But Not There (2017) – short documentary about Crewdson's casting process, directed by Juliane Hiam^[95]
• Making Eveningside (2022) – short interpretive documentary directed by Harper Glantz, set to original music by Stuart Bogie and James Murphy (electronic musician) about the making of Eveningside

Notes and References

1. News: Cue mist! Gregory Crewdson, the photographer with a cast, a crew and a movie-sized budget. June 20, 2017 . June 30, 2017 . Sean . O'Hagan . Sean O'Hagan (journalist) . . London .
2. Web site: Larocca . Amy . March 27, 2008 . Loneliness and Multitudes .
3. Web site: Sommer . Tim . August 3, 2002 . In the Late '70s, Teen Punks Ruled New York. These Are Their Stories. . .
4. Web site: Yablonsky. Linda . 2005-09-11 . A Photographer's Pop Star Moment. .
5. Web site: Weingart . Ken . May 18, 2016 . An Interview with Gregory Crewdson .
6. Web site: Abrams . Amah-Rose . 2016-04-15 . Beautiful Intimacy and Isolation with Gregory Crewdson . 2023-01-13 . Artnet News . en-US.
7. News: Jan Groover, Postmodern Photographer, Dies at 68. The New York Times. January 12, 2012. Kennedy. Randy.
8. http://rogallery.com/Crewdson/Crewdson-bio.html Gregory Crewdson Biography
9. http://art.yale.edu/GregoryCrewdson Yale University School of Art: Gregory Crewdson
10. Web site: Gregory Crewdson. V&A. March 19, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100416073829/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/photography/past_exhns/twilight/crewdson/index.html. April 16, 2010.
11. Web site: Fletcher . Kenneth . June 2008 . regory Crewdson's Epic Effects .
12. Web site: Rick Sands: Breaking the Light Barrier .
13. Web site: Cue mist! Gregory Crewdson, the photographer with a cast, a crew and a movie-sized budget. The Guardian. June 20, 2017.
14. Web site: Gregory Crewdson's Epic Effects. Smithsonian Magazine.
15. Book: Smith, Ian Haydn. The short story of photography : a pocket guide to key genres, works, themes & techniques. 2018. 978-1-78627-201-0. London. 1002114117.
16. Web site: Five in Focus: Gregory Crewdson's Five Favorite Films. Focus Features. March 19, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110418032119/http://filminfocus.com/article/gregory_crewdson. April 18, 2011.
17. Web site: Gregory. Crewdson. Aesthetics of Alienation. Tate Etc.. March 19, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110608051942/http://www.tate.org.uk/tateetc/issue1/article10.htm. June 8, 2011.
18. Web site: Gregory Crewdson. White Cube. March 19, 2011. May 9, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080509143701/http://www.whitecube.com/artists/crewdson/. dead.
19. Web site: Photographer Gregory Crewdson and his eerie rooms of gloom. The Guardian. October 9, 2016.
20. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Sanctuary The Epic Photographer Shoots Rome's Fabled Film Studio Cinecittà. Nowness.
21. News: How Gregory Crewdson Spends His Summer. The New York Times. July 19, 2016. Schwiegershausen. Erica.
22. News: Catsoulis . Jeannette . 2012-10-30 . Captured by a Camera, a Poetry of Lost and Missed Connections . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-10-05 . 0362-4331.
23. Web site: Lubow . Arthur . For Gregory Crewdson, Truth Lurks in the Landscape . . August 20, 2020 .
24. Web site: Schwiegershausen . Erica . How Gregory Crewdson Spends His Summer . . July 19, 2016 .
25. Web site: Kroll . Justin . October 26, 2017 . Scarlett Johansson in Talks to Star in Focus Drama 'Reflective Light' .
26. Web site: Submerged and Interior: An Interview with Gregory Crewdson . October 24, 2016 .
27. Web site: Stanley . Roderick . August 15, 2017 . How Gregory Crewdson captured the dark heart of America, with a little help from his friends .
28. Web site: Booth . Hannah . August 4, 2017 . Juliane Hiam remembers posing for Gregory Crewdson's Cathedral Of The Pines, 2013 . .
29. Web site: Lauren . Mechling . Inside a Brooklyn Apartment Where the Walls Talk . Town and Country . October 28, 2022 .
30. Web site: Notes on Swimming: Route and Repetition .
31. Web site: For Photographers, Living Life Is a Constant State of Preproduction . Rosenberg . David . February 5, 2016 .
32. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Photographs, at White Cube Gallery .
33. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Hover, at Luhring Augustine, Soho .
34. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: House Taken Over .
35. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Twilight .
36. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Gregory Crewdson .
37. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Twilight .
38. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses .
39. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses .
40. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses .
41. Web site: GREGORY CREWDSON 1985-2005 .
42. Web site: Gregory Crewdson 1985–2005 .
43. Web site: Gregory Crewdson – Photographs 1985–2005 .
44. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Fireflies .
45. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses .
46. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Beneath the Roses .
47. Web site: Gregory Crewdson, Beneath the Roses .
48. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: In a Lonely Place .
49. Web site: "Gregory Crewdson: In a Lonely Place" at Det Kongelige bibliotek. December 28, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111219090406/http://www.kb.dk/da/index.html. December 19, 2011.
50. Web site: "Gregory Crewdson: In a Lonely Place" at C/O Berlin. August 23, 2011.
51. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: In a Lonely Place .
52. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: In a Lonely Place .
53. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: In a Lonely Place .
54. Web site: Chasing Fires in the Dark . The New York Times.
55. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Fireflies .
56. Web site: Fireflies: The Photographs of Gregory Crewdson .
57. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Sanctuary .
58. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Sanctuary .
59. Web site: Five Exhibits to See at TIFF Future Projections .
60. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Sanctuary: The Epic Photographer Shoots Rome's Fabled Film Studio Cinecittà .
61. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Dream House .
62. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Cathedral of the Pines. April 12, 2018. Gagosian Gallery.
63. Web site: Gregory Crewdson 'Cathedral of the Pines' .
64. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Cathedral of the Pines. The Photographers' Gallery.
65. Web site: Exhibition Of Gregory Crewdson Photography .
66. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Sanctuary .
67. Web site: Gregory Crewdson : Interview with FRAC Auvergne .
68. Web site: Gregory Crewdson. Eveningside | Gallerie d'Italia Torino .
69. Web site: Gregory Crewdson at Les Rencontres d'Arles .
70. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside .
71. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Forest Fables .
72. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside .
73. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside .
74. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Eveningside .
75. Web site: Gregory Crewdson: Retrospektive .
76. Web site: How I Got That Grant: The Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographer's Fellowship . May 27, 2015 . Beem . Edgar Allen . PDN Photo District News .
77. Web site: Skowhegan Medal for Photography .
78. https://www.skowheganart.org/honorees Skowhegan Awards Honorees
79. Web site: 1992 Annual Report . 2023-01-13 . www.arts.gov . en.
80. Web site: Montserrat College of Art commencement . The Salem News .
81. Web site: Purchase College, SUNY Commencement Honorees .
82. Web site: St. Botolph Club Distinguished Artist Award Recipients .
83. Web site: Collection by Artist, Gregory Crewdson .
84. Web site: Collection by Artist, Gregory Crewdson .
85. Web site: Collection by Artist, Gregory Crewdson .
86. Web site: Collection by Artist, Gregory Crewdson .
87. Web site: Search The Collection. 2023-01-14. www.metmuseum.org.
88. Web site: Collection by Artist, Gregory Crewdson .
89. Web site: Collection by Artist, Gregory Crewdson .
90. Web site: 2023-01-14. The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation. The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation.
91. Web site: Collection by Artist, Gregory Crewdson .
92. Web site: 2023-01-14. Gregory Crewdson. whitney.org.
93. Web site: Collection by Artist, Gregory Crewdson .
94. Web site: 2013-03-08 . Movie review: 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters' of art in progress . 2023-10-05 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
95. Web site: King of cinematic stills: Gregory Crewdson's casting secrets . Canon, UK .