Great Houses Of Texas

One of the hallmarks of Crewdon's brilliant work is the astonishing detail and clarity. Alas, the company that printed this book doesn't share these same high standards. Muddy, is the term that best captures the reproduction quality throughout this book. As an admirer of Crewsdon's art and a firm believer that this may be one of e most important series of photos of its time, this book is "must have" for my library. I'm just disappointed that some of the artist's finest works have been compromised in print. 5 Star images: 1 Star Reproduction.

In his opening essay of this volume of photographs, Russell Banks describes the cinematic qualities of Crewdson's work; in particular, how "the pictures are assembled and staged." Though not necessarily immediately obvious in all of the individual pictures, after looking for awhile the viewer does begin to recognize the artificiality of the moments. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however. In many cases, particularly when the setting is an exterior, it works very well. The eye searches out the odd detail in the landscape. In the interiors, however, it seems to work less well. In these, the overall effect seems to be oddity and garishness.More interesting is the theme of isolation that runs through these photos. Even in the shots where more than one person is present, each seems trapped inside their own space. Raised to an even higher degree in some of the wide exteriors, you end up searching out the individual who is nearly swallowed up by the rest of the picture. Perhaps it is that very searching quality required by some of the photographs that makes them the most moving of the group.When I first received this book, I wasn't sure if I would like it. I was first put off by the unwieldiness of its size--bigger than a normal volume and wider than it is high. As I looked through the photographs and grew to like many of them, I realized the importance of the book's size and shape--to take advantage of the movie aspect ratio Crewdson uses as well as the need for as much space as possible in his wide, detailed exterior shots.In fact, I went to see a gallery presentation of some of the photographs in this volume. The prints hanging on the wall were large, perhaps six feet or more wide, which I thought did much better justice to Crewdson's work. I found this experience to be of great benefit. When I came home and looked through the book again, I was moved to look even more closely at some of the pictures, seeking out that isolation and detail.Still, as I said, I think Crewdson's work is uneven. The exteriors, for the most part, greatly outdo the interiors and there is a tendency towards a garishness I don't like in some of his work. However, when he hits the right notes, his landscapes are as beautiful and interesting as anything I've seen.

Is a beautiful book of one of the most important photographers. Is inspiring and the last part of the book is interesting. We can see the "behind the scenes" of many of these pictures.

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.

I love Crewdson's work, I will eventually have every book he publishes. If you like this genre of photography, this is a must have. Yes, sometimes, the color of the printing is a little muddy and the paper isn't as bright as I would have expected for the price, but the content and reading experience are priceless.

Just buy it immediately - it's magnificent!

It's a fine Crewdson book, but I have a real problem with the essay by Russell Banks. Call me nuts, but I like to read my own "meaning" into photographs, or, more often, just enjoy them without reading in any generalized social or political comment. With Crewdson, you will naturally read in a lot, but it doesn't have to be social, political, or generalized. It can and, for me, should be, individual. Not a commentary on America, Reagan's America, American society, not a general commentary at all. Banks uses the book as an occasion for an attack on America. I get the distinct feeling that if it were a book of photos of side show freaks or dumps he would generalize that as an apt comment on the USA. Very offensive, almost like finding something smelly stuck between the pages. Example: "We Americans are permanently fallen creatures" And our unrealized fantasies have "turn[ed] us violent." Sick, I say, and out of place, even if it reflect's Crewdson's own views. "Shut up and sing," I guess you could say.

I was not familiar with the photographer Gregory Crewdson until I recently watched the documentary film Beneath the Roses (2005), which takes you on a journey to understand the beauty of this photographer's mind and artistic process. I was so engaged with the film I just had to order his book Beneath the Roses. I love the pictures. Worth the purchase.

Receiving this book was an absolute delight. Having only paid £20 for a hardback book I really didn't know what to expect, but honestly if you are currently unsure, take it from me and buy this book. It is beautiful, and £20 is an absolute bargain for its quality. Its a large, good quality book and the prints of the photos are wonderful. Having watched Crewdson's documentary film Brief Encounters I wanted to look at the photos properly and not just on my laptop. This was such a treat to open and enjoy, and there are also behind the scenes photos of the production side at the back of the book too which I found fascinating. I'm extremely happy with my purchase, its well worth the money and I have a lot of photography books.

This is a quality publication with excellent reproduction of these haunting pictures. Be Aware it's quite a big book so if that's an issue check the dimensions.

Many art/photo books are too small to really appreciate the work but Beneath the Roses by Gregory Crewdson has beautiful, large photographs printed on quality paper and a sturdy hardcover that make this a top quality piece.Crewdson is a master of staged scenes in which he creates mystical, ethereal and often dramatic images. He is a brilliant modern photographer and this book showcases many of his beautiful images. It's a joy to study the huge, colorful photos.The only negative is the corners of the hardcover were slightly damaged as are many books I've received from Amazon but not badly enough to worry about returning. It obviously devalues items somewhat though and Amazon should improve their packing as at least 80% of the books I've bought have minor damage. Can't complain too much though as books are so much more expensive in Australia.

The photographs in this book are out of this world. I just had to obtain a copy after seeing a exhibition of this artist works in Wellington New Zealand, what's more even after postage I saved a considerable amount than if I had bought it in New Zealand

I love photography and Crewdson. One of his best book I'd say!

Brilliant. Just brilliant. And The sheer size of The book exceeded my coffee table.

Perfectly printed and designed book of Crewdson's work.

good book well received

An absolutely beautiful book. Stunning images that make you look twice. Hopperesque with bells on. given as a gift and really appreciated.

Incredible.

I feel Crewdson style is very well cover in this body of work, you can feel the amount of preparation in each photograph. If you work with large format camera, this is an excellent repertoire of how it looks like when done right, focus, light and composition are truly impressive in every photo. Once you pass the incredible technical aspect of his photography, this book offers depth in each scene depicted, I always go back to it as there is so much substance to absorb. This book is definitely in my top 5, I recommend it to lovers of photography as an art form.

Gregory Crewdson ist ein ungewöhnlicher Photograph: er macht regelrechte Tableaus, die er minutiös vorbereitet, ausleuchtet - er überlässt hier nichts dem Zufall - selbst die Ampelschaltung wird von ihm bewusst gesetzt. Jedes Photo gleicht somit fast einem (rätselhaften) Kurzfilm, als ob eine Szene eingefroren ist. Und er lässt unserer Phantasie, unserer Imagination einen weiten Spielraum, die Bilder zu interpretieren. Es sind Photos aus der amerikanischen Provinz, völlig unglamourös, man fühlt sich an Stimmungen aus David Lynch Filmen erinnert (allen voran Blue Velvet). Immer lauert ein nicht näher zu bezeichnendes Grauen, eine unheimliche, latent aggressive Stimmung in diesen gemäldegleichen Bildern (andere Assoziationen würden sicher Hopper betreffen). Es sind Bilder von Vereinzelung, Einsamkeit und Leere/Langeweile in einer meist eher entvölkerten Stadt.Crewdson schafft also höchst kunstvolle Photos, die einen zum Nachdenken anregen, die einem Einblicke in etwas zeigen, was man vielleicht gar nicht sehen will - und wo man doch nicht wegschauen kann/will. Weil die Bilde einen fesseln, in einem nachwirken. Und einem nicht freundliche Visionen eines Amerika zeigen, das nichts Grandioses hat.

This is a book of Gregory Crewdson's seriously epic scenes that are powerful, rich and intensely thought provoking. Each image is a world unto itself. Crewdson's work is so important to the world of photography and art and I would consider this book a 'must have' for any art/photography book collection. The printing is very well done and the detail of these large format images translates beautifully to the pages. The contrast of the printing is well handled, which is important to preserve the details in the darker areas in many of these scenes.Other professional photographers will definitely appreciate the production photographs that begin on page 111 covering the finding of locations, sketches of set ups, behind-the-scenes photos of lighting used, sets built, images of details within the scenes and polaroids. Crewdson's shoots are on the scale of many motion picture shoots so it is fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes. Inspiring.If you've read this far then you should probably just buy the book. Then when it arrives, find a nice quiet room with a nice hot of tea and get lost in Gregory Crewdson's worlds.

Nice paper but the photos are on the grainy side, it is probably the artist's choice but I would have preferred something crisper. The book is well bound. The only thing I can say about the content is that the artist fixates on certains things that makes his work depressing.

Absolutely stunning book! Seeing these images printed puts them on a whole new level. The book is larger than I expected but the print quality is amazing. There are some images I’ve never seen online, included. Very happy I bought this item.