When we refer to Gregory Crewdson's artworks, frequent words popped into our minds usually are peaceful ,lights and family .The perfect world is always the permanent motif of Gregory Crewdson's works. Today I want to talk about three images of Gregory Crewdson's all of which are set in the suburb which is so Gregory Crewdson.
The first one is one corner of a little tranquil village in the urban with few paths expands far away. The houses and the trees are so still .The spots on the road and the lights from the windows indicate that there are people in this village. One strong beam of light from the sky fell on the tree.
The second one is located in backyard of a pregnant woman's house. Two people are laying on the ground .One is sleeping and the other one playing is kind of the son of the woman . As the same as the first one there are heavenly strong beams of light fell on the people .
The third one is located in backyard of a couple's house. The couple is sleeping on the ground with nothing covering their bodies. And the big trees and the little warm light inside the house make people feel calm.
All of the three images give us a sense of peace and heaven. Gregory use the three most consecrate things: human body ,pregnant woman and the lights in his artwork to indicate his theme ,the ideal perfect world which transcends the chaos and annoyances of the life .The last one is a raw portrayals of couple of a family. Just like Garden of Eden, the image is made up of the trees, house and nothing else but two naked people. Garden of Eden is the thing people usually refer to when mention the perfect world. Adam and Eve are naked because they have nothing to cover for. Gregory use the naked elements in his work to state his desire for a honest and peace world. In addition, it is said that giving birth is the most beautiful time in the world. Meanwhile, pregnancy is considered as godliness. Gregory use this social ideas to state his annunciation theme. At last, light is usually considered as seed of the hopes that God sprinkle. Above all, Gregory use his camera present his desire to the perfect world and his best wishes to the whole human beings.
However, this is not the only thing Gregory wants to state. Just as what Gregory says his pictures must first be beautiful, but that beauty is not enough. "He strives to convey an underlying edge of anxiety, of isolation of fear".(Gregory Crewdson's Photo Alchemy, NA, 2006).Gregory’s work is like a paradox which connects the reality and the surreal world. In the first image, the village is beautiful and calm which makes the village a perfect world like the heaven. However, it is also the calm sense that leads the theme of the image to loneliness. The tranquility belongs to heaven not human reality. In real world, there should be cars, tools and walking people. In fact the tranquility represents the fear of loneliness because normal life should be very lively. The absence of these leads people to a solitary situation which is very sad and scare. The other two images seem a little harmony because of the exists of families. However, when we focus on the edges of the images we find that they are full of dark. In a word, Gregory’s work is a contradiction of peace and loneliness, light and dark, reality and metal world.
However, this is not the only thing Gregory wants to state. Just as what Gregory says his pictures must first be beautiful, but that beauty is not enough. "He strives to convey an underlying edge of anxiety, of isolation of fear".(Gregory Crewdson's Photo Alchemy, NA, 2006).Gregory’s work is like a paradox which connects the reality and the surreal world. In the first image, the village is beautiful and calm which makes the village a perfect world like the heaven. However, it is also the calm sense that leads the theme of the image to loneliness. The tranquility belongs to heaven not human reality. In real world, there should be cars, tools and walking people. In fact the tranquility represents the fear of loneliness because normal life should be very lively. The absence of these leads people to a solitary situation which is very sad and scare. The other two images seem a little harmony because of the exists of families. However, when we focus on the edges of the images we find that they are full of dark. In a word, Gregory’s work is a contradiction of peace and loneliness, light and dark, reality and metal world.
