Gregory Crewdson is the leading figure in a major movement in photography, one that favors fantasy over realism and is often inspired by the cinema. Crewdson is interested in the psychology underlying the American suburban experience and finds photography to be the ideal medium to create the tense and often eerie scenes he envisions. His photographs emphasize the human condition; the melancholic nature of life in the suburbs and the alienation between individuals. An important early influence was a visit with his father at age 10 to an exhibition of photographs by Diane Arbus at MoMA. His father was a psychoanalyst who practiced in the basement of their Brooklyn home. Much like a film director he achieves his startling images by working with a professional crew including a director of photography, a camera operator, a production designer, actors and a casting director. Astonishingly elaborate sets are the rule for most of the “incidents” he creates. These tableaux are often based on paintings by American artists, including Edward Hopper and Norman Rockwell as well as scenes from well-known movies by directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg. Crewdson is observed and questioned closely during his work on ten new images in as many different sets.