︎Editor’s Letter︎Alex Zafiris︎Editor’s Letter︎Alex Zafiris︎Editor’s Letter︎Alex Zafiris︎Editor’s Letter︎Alex Zafiris
Untitled [Eddington], Gregory Crewdson, 2024. Courtesy A24.
Editor’s Letter
Alex Zafiris
Alex Zafiris
In the spring of 2024, Gregory Crewdson arrived in the small town of Truth and Consequences, New Mexico, to create a photograph. The nature of the excursion was different: it was an invitation from Ari Aster, who had taken over the streets to shoot his new feature, Eddington.
This was for a collaboration of sorts. While the two did not directly work together on this image, it sprung from Aster’s ideas, sets, and lifelong admiration of Crewdson’s work. Eddington captures the chaotic disconnect that occurs within a community during the early days of the pandemic. Intangible forces overwhelm the residents: infectious disease and Big Tech. Long held resentments, secrets, and fears resurface, divisions ensue, and everyone flails for control. A terrifying reality emerges, split off from everything we know and understand. Aster confronts this uncanny new world with the kind of dark humor that arises from deep concern.
Crewdson usually turns down these kinds of requests, but his high regard for Aster’s work led him to accept. He did not intend to reproduce a frame from the film but instead to build upon it, reflecting his own interpretation of the themes. Without any direction, he intuitively chose to position the protagonist Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) on the crossroad where much of the narrative happens. The gun shop is fake; the character, the story, are a construction. But the emotion is something we all know and recognize.
Eddington arrived in theaters in July of last year. A special limited edition print of Crewdson’s photograph was available from A24, the production company. The reaction to the film was very polarized—for some, it was too much, for others, profound validation. Many, including critics, misunderstood that it was a satire. Aster very publicly admitted his fear of the future and his desire to make a film about how it feels to be alive in this moment. “It feels crazy,” he said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “We’re living in a time of total obscenity.”
Crewdson has long been evoking these kinds of tensions—and all the contributors of this issue are well versed in them, too. They grapple with absurdity, rage, and the unknown with great sensitivity, curiosity, and humor. They are chasing answers, exchanging ideas, and exploring new terrain. They’re embracing both the chaos and the control.
Let us know what you think, and pitch us ideas: alexzafiris@gmail.com