Analyse af Gregory Crewdsons 'Dream House'

Analyzing a photograph: Gregory Crewdson: Dream House, 2002

Above is a picture from the collection “Dream House”, taken in 2002. It contains a man, looking in through a window at a woman and child, who are laying on the couch and floor respectively. The man is standing in what seems to be something like a greenhouse and has a lamp of sort in his hand. The child, who is laying on the floor, is surrounded by writing or drawing utensils. In the room, there is also an armchair, two lamps, two tables and large curtains over the windows. The man is surrounded by flowers, which look to be fake. It takes place during the night, and it might be spring, considering the blooming flowers (although it does seem to be in a greenhouse, so we can’t quite be sure)

The atmosphere is uncomfortable and dark. It feels as if something is wrong. The woman, who is laying on the couch, looks like she is either dead or not quite present, staring into the distance, which is not pleasant to look at. The man seems to be longing for something – or maybe he’s disappointed. Despite the situation, he doesn’t seem sinister. The colours are dark, and not particularly saturated, which attributes to the uncomfortable and mysterious feeling. It’s particularly uncomfortable, because while they’re quite realistic colours, yet they’re not quite what we would see in real life – the uncanny valley effect, perhaps. It is most likely purposeful, as the photographer is known to try to evoke such feelings in the viewer. It also seems very deliberate simply looking at the picture. The lighting is faint, making the picture seem washed out and distant. The photographer seems to be using the colours to highlight the subjects (the whites and blues surrounding the woman and child, as well as the green behind the man)