Untitled (Ophelia)

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Untitled (Ophelia)
Gregory Crewdson , 2000/01
Digital c-print; Edition number 6 of 10
127 cm × 152.4 cm
Art Institute of Chicago , Chicago

Link to the picture
(please note copyrights )

" Untitled (Ophelia) " is the name of a digital c-print by photographer Gregory Crewdson . The photograph was published as one of 40 works in the “Twilight Series” (1998–2002) and measures 127 cm × 152.4 cm. The “Twilight Series” is shaped by the North American suburban backdrop and focuses on the spatial impression and its atmospheric effect. Crewdson's portrayal of Ophelia lying dead in a flooded living room is inspired by the painting of the same name by John Everett Millais .

Image description

The scene takes place in a water-flooded living room of an American suburban house in which the furniture protrudes like islands. The lack of movement and the corresponding stagnation of the water cause the objects to be reflected on the surface of the water. In the center is a woman lying motionless and pale on the surface of the water with a view of the ceiling. She stands out from the gloomy surroundings with her light-colored clothing and skin and appears almost static due to the lack of movement. Only on closer inspection do the manifold details such as B. the pill box on the living room table or the slippers on the stairs in the background. The naturalistic representation is permeated with alienating elements, which is why photography raises many questions.

inspiration

John Everett Millais: Ophelia (1852), Tate Britain , London

The photograph is based on a scene from Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet and the painting Ophelia from 1852 by John Everett Millais, which is based on it . Millais depicts the fictional event of Ophelia's death lying in a river, whereby in retrospect, above all, the exact depiction of the natural landscape was admired. Above all, the flowers in which Ophelia swims receive a high symbolic content in the painting, as they create a reference to the songs of the theater scene. Crewdson also builds the relationship to the tragedy through the floral wallpaper in the background. Crewdson's father, who worked as a psychiatrist at home, had other opportunities to influence the ideas and designs of his photography, which is said to have helped Crewdson to hear about therapy discussions in his youth. The alienation of the normal living space could be traced back to this and an allusion to the transmission of the emotional states.

Light choreography

The light choreography is an elaborate design element of great importance in Crewdson's staging, which goes beyond the simplicity of a single, defined light source. He tried to create advantages for himself or his representation from the light by making the source of the light almost indeterminate. On the one hand, there are two lamps in the room, of which the left one on the banister seems to be switched off at first glance, but the reflection of the water makes it clear that it is switched on. In addition, the curtains of the windows also seem to let light through, which leads to uncertainty as to whether the soft light belongs to dawn or dusk or whether bad weather conditions ensure the lower incidence of light. Despite the rather dark room design, Ophelia clearly stands out because the light choreography makes it seem as if it is spotlighted and at the same time reflecting the light. Due to the different and ambiguous light sources, the "real" photography looks like a dream. The light mediates accordingly between the fiction and the dream that seems like reality and the reality that seems like a dream, creating a surreal inversion. In addition, all three forms of the symbolism of light can be found again. Both the representative symbolism of the light in the reflection of the water and the transparency symbolism in the translucent light of the windows and the real symbolism that can be found in Ophelia to emphasize them. The surreality and inexplicability of the scene is reinforced by the lighting concept and made incomprehensible to the human mind, as a metaphysical level is reached. In addition, the stagnation of light makes it possible to make the photograph look like an isolated section of a film.

Origin and references

Crewdson worked with a large, professional crew in a film studio to end up taking the photo with a large format camera, making him the director of the plant himself. The original idea of ​​the picture arose intuitively from an everyday situation of Crewdson, but the planning of the construction up to the final installation is very precise. The final version of the photograph is preceded by a long time with extensive, detailed, detailed work in the field of digital painting . The symbolic value of the individual picture components also plays a major role in Crewdson's development phase, so that some elements are difficult to classify and thus stand out massively. Obscurities arise for the viewer that raise questions, such as the water in the living room. Here, for example, the question arises as to where the water comes from and why it does not flow off or something similar. The detailed planning made it possible for him to accept the intensity of the moment as the central challenge. In this type of display parallels to Hitchcock's film can Vertigo established: Hitchcock said the color and image design a significant role to create visual connections that also provide for a mixture of dream and reality in the viewer, as in Ophelia the Case is. Another reference in terms of surreality can be drawn to David Lynch's feature film Blue Velvet , which also operates with the coloring and symbolism.

Artist's intention

Gregory Crewdson tried to reproduce the world as it is, which is why he chose everyday objects and backdrops, such as the furnished living room. However, photography made it possible to manipulate what appeared to be and make it more difficult to classify the situation in space or time, which is particularly evident through the light choreography. The ambiguous light source and the accompanying surreality make the viewer think more deeply about what happened in the picture. In addition, there is an alienation of the actually everyday living room environment, which appears confusing and unreal when viewed for longer and longer. Because of this and because of the detailed design, it is hardly possible to make a clear statement about Ophelia's situation and only allows speculations about the sometimes uncanny situation. In the end, more is hidden than revealed by the photography, which makes it clear that Crewdson represents the world from his point of view and lets emotions and fears flow into it, which are nevertheless socially relevant. Because one of his greatest fears lay in reality itself. Since it is about his own fear, the picture has no socio-critical approach, but is simply supposed to appear random and stimulate thought. In the case of Ophelia, this is made clear by the unexplained cause of death. B. have fallen down the stairs or have swallowed some of the tablets, which led to death.

reception

Ophelia was part of a traveling exhibition about Crewdson in German-speaking countries at the Kunstverein Hannover in 2005 and 2006 in Krefeld's Haus Lange, Haus Esters , the Fotomuseum Winterthur and the Landesgalerie Linz . A review in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung summed up: The Twilight Series (1998–2002) are the artist's most famous photographs to date. " Crewdson would like these recordings to be understood as 'framed films' in the spirit of David Lynch , as hinted at stories that find their - mostly gruesome - progression only in the mind of the viewer."

Ophelia photography tends to evoke negative feelings in the viewer. Many associate the picture with a contemporary representation, but it is frightening. For her, the scenery looks like a space between heaven and hell. The ambiguity about Ophelia's condition creates confusion that leads to loneliness and depressed feelings. Ophelia itself serves as identification, whereby the apparent inner brokenness is transferred to the viewer. Although photography tends to evoke negative feelings and associations in the viewer, it retains attention and appreciation through the interesting and elaborate design, which is additionally supported by the inexplicability.

Crewdsons Untitled (Ophelia) is the cover photo of the illustrated book Twilight by Rick Moody and Johanna Drucker's illustrated book Sweet Dreams. Contemporary Art and Complicity , in which she also describes the photo in detail, and Deanne Williams' collection of essays, The Afterlife of Ophelia .

literature

  • Rick Moody (Ed.): Twilight: Photographs by Gregory Crewdson. Harry N. Abrams, New York 2002, ISBN 0-8109-1003-9
  • Stephan Berg (Ed.): Gregory Crewdson: 1985-2005. Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 2005, ISBN 3-7757-1622-X . Catalog of the exhibitions in Hanover (2005), Krefeld, Winterthur and Linz (2006). Texts in German and English.
  • Johanna Drucker : Sweet Dreams. Contemporary Art and Complicity. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2006, ISBN 978-0-226-16505-9
  • Deanne Williams (Author), Kaara L. Peterson (Ed.): The Afterlife of Ophelia. Palgrave, New York 2012, ISBN 978-1-137-01646-1
  • Klaus Behringer: Untitled (Ophelia), from the Twilight Series 1998-2002 . In: State Institute for School Development Stuttgart for the Promotion of Art Education (Hrsg.): Masterpieces of Art . Volume 54. Neckar-Verlag GmbH.
  • Conversations with artists: Gregory Crewdson . In: State Institute for School Development Stuttgart for the Promotion of Art Education (Hrsg.): Masterpieces of Art . Volume 54. Neckar-Verlag GmbH, pp. 86-88.
  • Susan Sontag: About Photography . In: State Institute for School Development Stuttgart for the Promotion of Art Education (Hrsg.): Masterpieces of Art. Volume 54. Neckar-Verlag GmbH, pp. 90-91.
  • Jack Craher: Beneath the surface , American Photo (magazine) May / June 2002, p. 63.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Klaus Behringer: Untitled (Ophelia), from the Twilight Series 1998-2002 . In: State Institute for School Development Stuttgart for the Promotion of Art Education (Hrsg.): Masterpieces of Art . tape 54 .
  2. ^ Klaus Behringer: Untitled (Ophelia), from the Twilight Series, 1998-2002 . In: State Institute for School Development Stuttgart for the Promotion of Art Education (Hrsg.): Masterpieces of Art . tape 54 .
  3. ^ Conversations with artists: Gregory Crewdson . In: State Institute for School Development Stuttgart for the Promotion of Art Education (Hrsg.): Masterpieces of Art . tape 54 . Neckar-Verlag GmbH, p. 86-88 .
  4. ^ Stephan Berg: Gregory Crewdson: 1985-2005 . ISBN 978-3-7757-1622-2 , pp. 150-157 .
  5. ^ Klaus Behringer: Untitled (Ophelia), from the Twilight Series, 1998-2002 . In: State Institute for School Development Stuttgart for the Promotion of Art Education (Hrsg.): Masterpieces of Art . tape 54 .
  6. ^ Stephan Berg: Gregory Crewdson: 1985-2005 . ISBN 978-3-7757-1622-2 , pp. 10-21, 84-91, 150-157 .
  7. ^ Susan Sontag: About Photography . In: State Institute for School Development Stuttgart for the Promotion of Art Education (Hrsg.): Masterpieces of Art . tape 54 , p. 90-91 .
  8. ↑ Jochen Stöckmann: Das Zwielicht der Vorstadt , FAZ, October 11, 2005, accessed on November 26, 2017
  9. ^ Gregory Crewdson. Retrieved November 22, 2017 .
  10. ↑ Part2. Responses. Retrieved November 22, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Jack Craher: Beneath the surface , American Photo (magazine) May / June 2002, p. 63 (available from Google Books )
  12. ^ Johanna Drucker: Sweet Dreams. Contemporary Art and Complicity , University of Chicago Press 2006, ISBN 978-0-226-16505-9 (image description available at Google Books )
  13. ^ Deanne Williams (author), Kaara L. Peterson (ed.): The Afterlife of Ophelia , Palgrave, 2012, ISBN 978-1-137-01646-1 (description p. 4)