cindy shermans work is mainly self portraits, which she uses to explore identity and gender. she dresses up in different outfits, puts strange make up and wears extravagant wigs, to alter her person to become a different one to portray different characters and story lines. sherman was once a painter but decided to persue a career in photography. quote from MoMA states that Sherman has always enjoyed exploring identity “as she has explained, “I wish I could treat every day as Halloween, and get dressed up and go out into the world as some eccentric character.””. after moving to New York Sherman created the untitled film stills, were she dressed up as different characters from mid-20th-century B movies and photographed herself in various locations. these photographs quickly became very popular and were used to spark up conversations on feminism, postmodernism and representation. the untitled film stills are still her most famous pieces of work. all the film stills were left untitled as a way to distance her away from them and the character she has depicted. a quote from MoMA stating how cindy sherman is more interested in the grotesque than the glamourous characters, “I’m disgusted with how people get themselves to look beautiful; I’m much more fascinated with the other side,””. a quote from artnet describes how sherman likes to dress up and act as something different, ” “It seems boring to me to pursue the typical idea of beauty, because that is the easiest and the most obvious way to see the world. It’s more challenging to look at the other side.””. is dressing up a part of an act of escapeism for cindy sherman, but the question is what, what is she escaping?
The colours that are incorporated in this image are garish and bright, and don’t really complement each other, but clash. The background is almost over powering of the face within the image, was this the purpose? It brings about the question of what relevance does it have to the face that Sherman has portrayed. The lines within the background lead the viewers eye towards the face in the image. Overall this image has a high level of composition. Who is Cindy Sherman trying to be here? Someone who likes to look pretty and glamorous? However she seems to be mocking them, as the makeup is over the top and excessive. Sherman was the youngest child in her family and always felt separated from her family because she was born along time after the rest of her siblings. So does she pretend to be different people to almost try and gain attention from people to make up for the lack of recognition from her family. During her childhood Sherman was obsessed with her appearance, and enjoyed to wear makeup, so does this image relate to her past self, and maybe she is mocking who she was?
| what | self portraits in different outfits, ones i am comfortable in, ones i am uncomfortable in, my mums dresses |
| who | myself |
| how | with my camera on a tripod on timer mode |
| where | in my bathroom, where there is bright lighting |
| why | using sherman as inspiration, i would to take portraits that reflect my identity and who i am not |
links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sherman
https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1154
https://www.moma.org/artists/5392
http://www.artnet.com/artists/cindy-sherman/
https://www.thebroad.org/art/cindy-sherman
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/jan/15/cindy-sherman-interview