In Eveningside (2021-2022), Crewdson explores moments of contemplation within the confines of quotidien life, in places of employment, and in moments just outside of those work structures. The figures populating the pictures are sparse, and are often seen through storefront windows, in mirror reflections, or positioned underneath the mundane proscenium found in the midst of their everyday routines: railroad bridges, doorways, porches, the overhanging roofline of a bank teller drive-thru, a dairy bar, a corner market, or a hardware store. Bringing his vantage point closer to the figures, using a heightened range of light and darkness, special effects such as fog, rain, smoke, and haze, and for the first time using his now ubiquitous full production and lighting team in a monochromatic palette, the result is a rich gothic atmosphere, evocative of film noir and classic cinema, but with the capabilities and clarity of the most current technology available in digital photography.
Edition: 1 of 1
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T&A TOOLS
EXT. EVENINGSIDE - HARDWARE STORE - TWILIGHT
We are standing at the center of a street, gazing toward a brick hardware store with a large flat marquee overhanging the front door. Beyond it, there are several houses before the street disappears out of frame at a bend in the road. There is something classical, perhaps even southern about the architecture of the hardware building. A weather-beaten shingle hangs at the front of the marquee that reads T & A TOOLS.
It's late twilight, and the light of day is fading. The long shadows of late afternoon have just muted into darkness.
There is a pickup truck with a utility trailer facing camera, parked in the center of the street. A WOMAN sits in the passenger side of the truck. The driver's side door of the truck is open, and a MAN stands in the street, gazing at a couple of large weathered WOODEN CRATES on the trailer. Another crate is placed in the entryway of the hardware store, and a second in the middle of the street. It's clear the man has been working to move the crates. A trail of dirt and skid marks sit between the trailer and the doorway as if he has been walking back and forth, dragging them. His hands and clothes are dirty. He looks upon the crates with a weary but satisfied expression.
