Written Response Thing (Wes Riley)

The whole of Gregory Crewdson’s work captures a highly atmospheric and almost cinematic quality. The lighting in his photographs are reminiscent of that present on a movie set, and the color choices throughout his works appear theatrical in nature.

His piece “Penitent Daughter” depicts a rather dramatic scene between a mother and daughter (at least that is what is suggested to the audience). The mother is standing outside of her parked car, with brown, paper grocery-bags around her. In front on her car, her daughter is standing in her underwear with her head down. With the car’s driver-side door being open, the headlights still on, a young child still in the passenger seat observing the situation, and a grocery bag spilled out into the ground, it is apparent that a great deal of movement and energy had transpired a few moments before the picture was taken. The viewer is lead to the assumption that the mother jumped out of her car upon seeing her daughter, not even bothering to properly park the car in the driveway to the left side of the composition. Interestingly, despite all the obvious action that had occurred, the figures are very still and not very emotive considering the drama of the scenario. This contributes to the works staged feeling.

Additionally, Gregory Crewdson’s choice of automobile and costumes makes the “Penitent Daugther” seem like a still-frame from a film made in the 80’s. Overall, the works atmospheric aesthetic and lack of context or explanation makes for a tantalizing mystery surrounded by an infectious air of adventure.

Formally, the composition of Crewdson’s piece is successful in engaging the viewer. There are two strong diagonals running through the photograph, the line of houses that take up the upper half of the frame and the line created by the car and standing figures that takes up the lower half. These diagonals meet at some point in the background, effectively leading the viewer’s eyes throughout the entirety of the piece. While there is no presence of a really high value, there is still a good range created with the stage-like lighting; the dark trees in the background are nicely silhouetted against the night sky. It is also important to note that it dimensions of the image itself mimics the landscape format of a widescreen film showing. This choice of image size further contributes to the cinematic mood of the work.