In collaboration with Numéro art
His images exude a sense of solitude. Yet, their production requires a team of forty people, months of preparation, as well as lighting and equipment similar to those used on a film set… As Gregory Crewdson explores a new aesthetic in his work with his first series of black-and-white photographs, he shares the stories behind three of the pictures currently on show at Templon in Paris.
Gregory Crewdson: ‘A policeman had to intervene for the shoot to take place’
‘I discovered the street in Morningside Home for Women (2021-2022) while driving around the neighborhoods of North Adams, Massachusetts. I was looking for a place to inspire my next story. Then, I came across this row of mismatched houses, set against the mountains, beneath all those intertwined telephone cables. I immediately knew that this would be the next location for one of my works. But first, my team and I had to secure the necessary permits. In addition to a production worthy of a film set, we had to close the streets for several days, clear the neighborhood of cars, install fog machines and lighting… But that wasn’t even the most complicated part – the owner of the house in the foreground didn’t want to take part! He finally agreed after the local policeman in charge of closing the street convinced him. And we turned his house into a kind of shelter for vulnerable women. I don’t know why, but that was the idea that came to me when I discovered the street. I wanted to put a woman wearing a hospital bracelet, standing in the middle of the road, facing the porch, right next to a cab. I love taxis, because they are transitional – they transport you from place to place. In fact, those were the three elements that I decided to highlight in the photo – the porch, the woman, and the cab. It’s a storyline with no clear beginning or end. It’s always up to the viewers to make their own interpretations, to create their own version of the story.
Gregory Crewdson: ‘Here, I created a troubling, even disturbing atmosphere…’
‘Originally, The Family Doctor (2021-2022) wasn’t supposed to take place here. I had found another venue, which was suddenly closed for construction before I could even apply for permission. Then, I finally discovered this abandoned building a few blocks away from the previous photo. The owner was about to sell the place, so we only had a small window of opportunity. But nonetheless we recreated an entire interior, with a doctor’s office, a waiting room, a consultation room, and the nurse, sitting outside on a car… I wanted to create a timeless environment, whether it was through the settings, the clothes, or even the vehicle, which all seem both modern and utterly old-fashioned. For the record, when we found the car, it was completely covered in bird droppings and I refused to clean it, as the detail was perfect for this photo. Coincidence or not, in the glove compartment we also found a doctor’s certificate… Here, I created a troubling, even disturbing atmosphere, with the nurse who is waiting for a bus that never seems to arrive, located right in the line of the completely lost gaze of the young boy being examined. I also pulled my camera back to capture the industrial surroundings in the background and the abandoned garage next door and we added some fog again. I like the idea of a surgery in a completely run-down place. It has a certain oddness about it. Would you go and see this doctor? Personally, I’m not sure I would trust him… Actually, there was a doctor facing the boy in the original photo, but I felt like there were too many characters in the composition, so I took him out.
Gregory Crewdson: ‘I want to create a sense of dread and loneliness…’
‘Eveningside Tattoo (2021-2022) also deals with an empty place. I’m often inspired by these abandoned stores or buildings. The only problem was that we didn’t know who owned this property. Thanks to some people who were in a bar down the street and who teamed up with us, we were able to find the owner. Here, I immediately had the idea of reproducing a tattoo parlor – I love the idea of drawing on the skin, of telling a story about oneself. We recreated an interior, repainted the walls, added these signs to indicate that it was a store…Some might ask why I didn’t just choose a real tattoo parlor, but my photographs are always inventions and are as much about what is visible as what is not. Here, as in all my compositions, the setting is minimalist, and the details don’t really give us any information about the place. Once again, it’s up to the viewers to interpret for themselves. We see this woman on her own, looking into the mirror, with her dress open at the back revealing a perfectly round tattoo. I wanted to work with her reflection, but this wasn’t easy as all the windows reflected the surroundings. So we had a huge, fifteen-meter-high facade installed, covered with a black cloth to block out the outside lights. I was then able to capture the woman’s reflection and during editing add it in to one of the windows. This was the hardest one to produce in the series on an organizational level. It was my first time working with black-and-white photography. I was inspired by all those historical images and by the film noir genre of the mid-20th century. Through abandoning color, I wanted to create a sense of dread or loneliness, while preserving the aesthetic that is particular to black-and-white photography.’
This article is part of an ongoing editorial collaboration with Numéro art. Read the original article here.
Gregory Crewdson is represented by Gagosian (New York, Basel, London, Los Angeles, Geneva, Hong Kong, Paris, Rome) and Templon (Paris, Brussels, New York).
‘Eveningside’
Until December 23, 2023
Templon, Paris
English translation: Emma Naroumbo Armaing for Numéro art.
Published on November 28, 2023.
Caption for full-bleed image: Gregory Crewdson, The Family Doctor, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and Templon.