Great Houses of Texas

This book is amazing. Our curriculum requires to discuss the work of Gregory Crewdson and I ordered this collection without really knowing what to expect. The photos transport a nightmarish and cheerless/gloomy atmosphere- an impressive work of art. Bonus: At the end of the book the reader gets an insight of how the work is done (sketches, details about the technique, etc.). I warmly recommend this piece of art to all people who are interested in photography, art, the movies or/and interesting personalities.

Beneath The Roses I saw a couple of pictures in Beneath the Roses and had to own it. I have never spent longer on a picture book, savoring four or five pictures for several days before moving on to the next batch. Readers (readers?) in the northeast will find themselves going "I know that street!". I have no idea why I found the pictures so fascinating but I surely did. I kept staring at them wondering "What is going on here?" and never figuring it out. Find this book. Look at two pictures. If you like them - buy the book! By the way, the production is great. Heavy paper and no centerfold breaks in the pictures.

Though some readers may quibble over the title of this book, it is clear that the book is focussed on the greatest houses still occupied in Texas. This is a subtle but important distinction. The houses shown are not dead great houses, of which there are many in Texas and many of which are greatly admired; Germany instead has focussed on private homes occupied by individuals. With that in mind, it is a fascinating read.

The first thing Russell Banks mentions in the book's introduction is the comparison between Crewdson's work and Hollywood. Not surprising of course because the photos are produced like the movies only here it's one shot at a time. Looking at the fascinating production photos at the back of the book I'm reminded of Winston Link, another photographer who went to endless trouble for the one shot and mostly in small town America, too. Crewdson provides you with forty-nine content rich photos, you have to provide everything else and that is not difficult because the people and situations before your eyes pull you into their lives. What is she thinking, is she speaking to him, what is he doing, why are they together? I thought the small town setting ideal for these tableaux, the streets, houses and people seem to fit together and allow the viewer to focus on the characters. Maybe the plates should have been loose in a box making it easier for the viewer to create an ever changing scenario according to their sequence. I was rather disappointed though with part of the book's production. The photos, thankfully suitable larger than those in 'Twilight', are only printed in 175dpi. These images are saturated with detail and texture and I would have thought a minimum of 200 or preferably 250dpi would be necessary to bring out their quality. So many of them have a long depth of field but also feature some small detail or frozen action that is important: a person in a car; the items on a bedside table or people seen through the window of a motel room. Like 'Twilight' the back of this book has chapters on Location and Soundstage, both have production shots (unfortunately not captioned) and drawings to show the amazing amount of work that goes into these photos. A look at the Production Credits also confirms this (and reinforces the movie connection) with Lighting, Best Boys, Gaffers, Key Grip, Special Effects, Prop Masters, Wardrobe, Transportation, Hair and Make-up, Casting, Catering, Legal and more. Oh yes, let's not forget Swamp Design by Buzz Gray, too. Overall a remarkable book but if you are new to his work have a look at Gregory Crewdson which includes twenty plates from 'Beneath the Roses'. ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

There are several books that contain Crewdson's cinematic photography, and I think that most people would agree that this one is the best so far. In his other books, people have complained that the images were not large enough. This book has larger images. The book contains 49 plates, which measure about 14.5" x 9.5" The book also has photographs and sketches of a lot of the work that went into the final photographs, such as set design, lighting, props, and more. Some of the photos in this book are also in the book "1985-2005", but they are larger in this book. The book still doesn't come close to capturing how breathtaking his full-size 4' x 5' photographs are, but it does a better job than any of his other books. It would make a great addition to any photography book collection.