In a Lonely Place transports the viewer to the intersection of beauty and alienation. Themes of isolation, sadness, and desire form the connective tissue between Gregory Crewdson's seminal bodies of work. This latest monograph provides a unique opportunity to view a comprehensive set of images from Beneath the Roses, Sanctuary, and Fireflies in a single hardbound volume. The text and imagery work in communion to provide Crewdson's audience with insight into the artist's inspirations and artistic motivations. �

In Beneath the Roses, Crewdson mesmerizes his audience with the beauty of cinematic artifice, while simultaneously providing an entry point into a dark implied narrative.�In one photo, a late model sedan is the first to round a corner through a fresh snow pack on Main Street. The trunk lid is slightly ajar so one can barely begin to make out its contents, which are dimly illuminated by an interior light.�A woman appears seated in a diner on the street corner in a composition that directly references Edward Hopper's painting, Nighthawks.�Crewdson engages the viewer by presenting a mystery, a question that can never be resolved, suspending his audience in a moment between before and after.�These images possess a disturbing psychological undercurrent, which subtly reveals the sinister side of small town life. �

Crewdson eventually makes a complete departure from the highly saturated color depictions of rural America.� In Sanctuary, he makes a series of photographs in black and white and takes his camera abroad. As a master of the directorial approach to photography, Crewdson must have felt at home wandering the back lots and dilapidated movie sets of Rome's Cinecitta.�These studios were founded by Mussolini for propaganda purposes in 1937 and were later bombed by Western Allies during World War II. The reader accompanies the artist as he navigates through a labyrinth of broken scaffolds and deteriorating facades that once convincingly mimicked neoclassical architecture.�In contrast to Beneath the Roses, Sanctuary is a beautiful representation of a fallen utopia that is all but completely devoid of a human presence.�The first image in the series confronts the reader with a set of weathered wooden doors swung wide open.� This passageway reveals the interior of a triumphant arch basked in evening sunlight.�In several instances, these post apocalyptic landscapes become a metaphor for hope.

Years before Crewdson conceived the hauntingly enigmatic images of Beneath the Roses and Sanctuary, he photographed fireflies scribing their presence in light over a dark foreboding foreground.�While some of these images seem similar or redundant, each of them is distinct as the photographer uses the camera to record the unique marks made by these creatures during their annual mating ritual.�These images possess a calming simplicity that offers quiet respite after contemplating the intense story lines of the aforementioned work. These black and white photos evoke feelings of isolation, a characteristic that is present in all of Crewdson's work. The artist uses the camera to contemplate his role as the lonely observer.

I thoroughly enjoyed the images in this 160 page volume and I found the texts to be relevant and informative.�Crewdson goes into great detail about his inspirations drawn from artists such as Edward Hopper, Diane Arbus, Philip-Lorca diCorcia and many others.�Craig Burnett contributed the essay A Flaneur Among the Ruins, in which he elaborates on Crewdson's use of light as a "symbol of desire."� This book will undoubtedly be a valuable and important addition to the Crewdson library. —Daniel W. Coburn