Eveningside [A1 Auto Sales Bundle] Tech Scout Study and Location Description by Juliane Hiam, 2021-2022

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 — A1 AUTO SALES EXT. EVENINGSIDE - USED CAR LOT - TWILIGHT We are standing at the slightly overgrown and crumbling edge of a used car lot's pavement. It's a strip-mall area on the edges of town. In the distance, we can see some low industrial buildings. One has a light on inside. The car lot's offerings are sparse, just a few cars with slightly sad FOR SALE signs in the windows. We are in close proximity to a floor to ceiling glass window of the manager's office at the used car lot. Beside the windows, a bathroom door is ajar, and we can see a fluorescently lit toilet and sink. Above the window is a very worn sign that reads A1 AUTO SALES. The office is perfunctory, with a metal desk and chairs for customers to sit in. A USED CAR SALESMAN stands inside, lit up by fluorescent tubes. His office, illuminated as it is, and perched up on its concrete platform, makes the edifice seem almost like a small stage. He is motionless, gazing outside at something that has captured his attention ... a WOMAN. The woman is standing beside a CAMPER TRAILER that is hitched to a STATION WAGON. This is her home, and she has just pulled off the road. The woman has a small tub of warm water at the base of the trailer steps, that we might assume she filled in the open bathroom. Steam rises around her as she prepares to wash the feet of a CHILD, who is obscured from our view except for their legs and feet. The woman stands, with a blanket wrapped around her, gazing down at the steaming water. The USED CAR SALESMAN looks on to this scene in wonder.