Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Beneath the Roses








These photographs (naturalism warring nakedly with artifice) were taken toward the end of the first decade of the 21st century in upstate New York by Gregory Crewdson. They belong to a large series partially published by Abrams in a lush-looking book called Beneath The Roses. Each shot involved dozens of assistants, weeks of preparation, mammoth quantities of large equipment, and the voluntary (or paid) cooperation of entire neighborhoods.

Crewdson himself, the photographer, never touches the shutter button. He leaves that part to the techs.