Jersey Legends- Erren Michaels

+Jersey Legends by Erren Michaels

Mood board of her work

Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills comprises of over seventy black and white photographs made between 1977 and 1980. When thinking about this series, some aspects of her entire body of work immediately come to mind: disguise and theatricality, mystery and voyeurism, melancholy and vulnerability. The artist initially started these series in her apartment, using her own interior as setting for the scenes. Soon however, she moved her camera and props outside and shot in urban and rural landscapes as well, requiring a second person to assist her in taking the photograph. The artist Robert Longo, with whom she lived at that time, assisted her for a while, as well as her father, other family members, and friends.

What is Cindy Sherman’s message?

Sexual desire and domination, the fashioning of self-identity as mass deception, these are among the unsettling subjects lying behind Sherman’s extensive series of self-portraiture in various guises. Sherman’s work is central in the era of intense consumerism and image proliferation at the close of the 20th century.

Deconstructing “Woman”

Started when she was only 23, these images rely on female characters (and caricatures) such as the jaded seductress, the unhappy housewife, the jilted lover and the vulnerable naif. Sherman used cinematic conventions to structure these photographs: they recall the film stills used to promote movies, from which the series takes its title. The 70 Film Stills immediately became flashpoints for conversations about feminism, postmodernism, and representation, and they remain her best-known works.

Sherman is able to change her identity by adopting performative behaviours that have come to define femininity. Through the photographic series I have examined, Sherman’s photographs visually describe the feminist social constructionist argument that there is no natural identity behind the mask of gender. Women affirm their gender identity through performative behaviour; gender is constituted through the ongoing and repetitive assemblage of female representations depicted in culture. These behaviours position the male as a spectator, fixing his gaze on the sexualized female. Sherman’s photography is a depiction of the different ways culture defines “woman.” Her art plays on the feminist idea that gender arises exclusively within culture and deconstructs dominant gender ideologies, representing the underside of popular culture’s definition of “woman.” She exposes the arbitrariness of performativity and presents a variety of female identities that are found within popular culture, and reveals that these are nothing more than constructions. Behind each character there is no central identity. Each is a series of manipulations according to cultural conventions. There is no essential femininity; the whole self is an imaginary construct that can be changed through performativity.

The series features Sherman posing as various female stereotypes from generic black and white Hollywood B films of the 1950s. She is unrecognizable from one photo to the next, changing her appearance as she tackles the different identities, each an illustration of a cultural representation of women. Sherman plays the role of a young woman studying her own reflection. The photo visually portrays a woman assembling her identity, caught in the act of construction. It implies the lack of a fixed identity. Though Sherman is both the woman in front of the lens and behind it, she appears masked through make-up and costume, disguised to resemble familiar female stereotypes; her women are images of women, “models of femininity projected by the media to encourage imitation and identification” As in her other works, Sherman adopts the format of stereotypical female roles. However, her characters are unlike those found in magazines. “Instead these women suggest awkward adolescents or young women uncomfortable with their sexuality”. She interrogates the format and photographic genre of the centrefold and aims to destroy dominant notions of beauty and eroticism. The spread offers no context before or after the image, meaning that audiences must construct their own narrative, generally based on texts already embedded within popular culture.

She is not perpetuating the stereotypes but is assuring female audiences that there is no fixed femininity. Defending Sherman, Mulvey argues that as the gaze behind the lens, she is not perpetuating the objectification of women, but rather subverting the gaze. In each photograph, Sherman explores contemporary ideas about female identity – one being the trope of a sad female longing for a male companion. The male spectator engaged in scopophilia pleasure should feel as though he has interrupted a private movement. As the woman behind the lens, Sherman exposes the role of the male gaze in an attempt to make those who objectify the constructed woman feel like the violators they are.

“I’m disgusted with how people get themselves to look beautiful; I’m much more fascinated with the other side,” She stated in 1989

At the time, images of ailing bodies were painfully on view in the news during the AIDS crisis; these added poignancy to her investigation of the grotesque and of various types of violence that could be done to the body. In these series and throughout all of her work, Sherman subverts the visual shorthand we use to classify the world around us, drawing attention to the artificiality and ambiguity of these stereotypes and undermining their reliability for understanding a much more complicated reality.

Image Analysis

This image stood out to me the most as she is interpreting the stereotype of a woman. This could link to her message of ‘ Deconstructing a woman’, within this image there is a sense of objectification and housewife aesthetic. I state this because the image depicts a domestic scene in which the character – seemingly a housewife – stands at her kitchen sink. The construction of the picture hints at a number of possible narratives and is open to a range of analyses. Though almost cropped from the picture, the woman’s gaze – out of frame and away from the viewer, accentuated by eye makeup surely unnecessary in her own kitchen draws my attention. For me, though the image offers a portrait that I read as a stereotypical representation of a housewife from the late 1950s or early 1960s. Sherman’s gaze indicates an awareness of the world beyond the confines of the frame; the way her hand rests protectively on her stomach suggests the possibility that this is not without threat, creating a tension within the image. I think this image is a mirror due to the fact it is reflecting as of the artist herself. I also think it is a mirror as she is trying to intend an element and theme of gender roles within society during this time, but how she feels about it. She is also wearing an apron to emphasize the role she is playing. As well as this, the photo is set up to take an image of herself. It is obvious it is a staged approach due to the unfocused saucepan pointing directly at her, and the placement of the camera, clearly being on the counter to see from a lower angle. Furthermore, the gaze away from the camera also tells us it is a staged photoshoot and is not natural in any way, purely to reflect the artist. I think this image is a subjective expression, as in a way every viewer could have a different take on it. For example, as she is portraying gender roles in society in the late 1950’s she could not be intending to express herself, but how women as a whole felt during this time through a sense of reality. Therefore, she would be expressing the external world during this time.  This brings to the debate is the only natural thing in this image herself? Therefore, this famous image of Cindy Sherman, reflects her as an artist, however meanwhile reflecting stereotypes of women in the 70’s. Sherman in my opinion, is sexualizing herself and playing the role of the ‘ house wife’ to execute the theme of stereotypes successfully as women in that time were seen only to make children and be there for the husband.

Another image analysis

This image has slight similarities but a few differences. A main difference to me is that the previous image was of Sherman, and also taken by Sherman, or so we assume. However, this image is not Cindy Sherman and is possibly taken by Cindy Sherman. The main factor that effectively stood out to me was the apron and the gaze. This is similar to the previous image as this woman is also portraying the role of the ‘ house wife’ which is a typical stereotype of women. Although, this image has a different setting. This one does not tell much and shows a dirty door. From what I personally get from this image, could be waiting for the husband to come home or putting coats back, I assumed this through the coat pegs. This in my opinion, is ‘deconstructing women’ as a women’s role in the 1950’s was to look after their home. The image of American women in the 1950s was heavily shaped by popular culture: the ideal suburban housewife who cared for the home and children appeared frequently in women’s magazines, in the movies and on television. Another effective factor that significantly got my attention was the female gaze. The subject is looking away from the camera, possibly looking at the male in the household or to something else. Either way, this creates a sense of objectification as women were only seen to be makers of the household. The black and white is used in almost all of Sherman’s images which I like as it keeps the older aesthetic which is relevant as Sherman’s images were in the 70’s, however it also creates an element of mystery and keeps people analysing images and attempting to find a story.

Image Analysis

This image stood out to me because of context and time lines. Cindy Sherman took her images between the 70’s and 80’s. This time line was when it was expected or stereotypical for women to be the house wife. Being the house wife normally meant for the female to be waiting at home meanwhile the husband was at work and looking after the children. Males were seen to be the educated ones and women not. This is proved through the second wave feminism movement took place in the 1960s and 1970s and focused on issues of equality and discrimination. Starting initially in the United States with American women, the feminist liberation movement soon spread to other Western countries. This allowed equal education for male and females. This image does not focus on the role of the house wife but instead of education. This significantly links to Sherman’s message of ‘ Deconstructing woman’ as Sherman has taken a self portrait of her in the library, grabbing a book. This is relevant to the timeline as this would of been a new acceptable thing for women to learn themselves equally to men. Not only this, women were seen as weak and nurturing to their children which was the only objective women were expected to do. One element that catches my eye is the female gaze, like every other one of her images. She is always looking away from the camera, potentially objectifying herself in the others, but possibly not this one. The purpose of the ‘female gaze’ becomes to connect with the female viewer via the female creator, coming together in a way that serves them, and upholding the idea that women are powerful and can control their own destiny. That is why one of the most notable differences between the male and the female gaze is intent.

Originally being a fashion designer for a period of ten years, in 2001 Carolle Bénitah began to make herself known as a French Moroccan photographer whose work was largely concerned with themes of memory, nostalgia, family and the passage of time. Her work was a form of reinterpreting herself and her own history as a daughter, wife and mother; defining her own identity. Bénitah tends to incorporate embroidery, beads, ink and collaging into her work through pairing these different art mediums with old family snapshots, or images taken during her childhood.

HER WORK:

These selection of images are taken from her three-part series entitled ‘Photos-Souvenirs‘, created between 2009 and 2014, intending to explores the memories within her Moroccan family and adolescence by reworking these images into a new form, creating heavy contrast, texture and depth into her work. Her work focuses on Freud’s concept of the uncanny; representing the suppression of emotions and perceptions alongside incoherent experiences during her life. While the images that she used were taken from approximately 40 years ago at the time, it meant that she could turn her attention to her own history and decipher what occurred at the time to allow her to express the emotions she may have not been able to portray at the time due to her being a child with a good perception of the world, as children do. Through this series, it enabled her to unravel the fears and secrets of her inner child that have constructed her into who she was as an adult, using those experiences who formulate her identity and differing perceptions of the world that would become more realistic and conscious. The concept of nostalgia is evident throughout this series where her images of her as a young girl would convey the sense of relativity whilst seeming so distant and unknown, creating tones of strangeness and comfort, juxtaposing each other.

Embroidering is perceived as a majorly feminine activity due to the fine work and precision it requires because of its delicacy, leading on to symbolise the way that traditionally, this is linked to the mother and daughters of the family taking up sewing and embroidery whilst waiting for the ‘man of the home’ to return. As Bénitah was born in 1965, she stated that:

‘Embroidery is intimately linked to the milieu in which I grew up. Girls in a “good family” used to learn how to sew and embroider — essential activities for “perfect women”. My mother embroidered her trousseau.’

Through utilising the expressions and insights practiced within her childhood, this gives her the ability to symbolise these developing opinions by pairing embroidery with old family archives. I like the concept behind this because whilst the image and the embroidery is supposed to represent these traditional roles at the time, it makes the snapshot have movement within it, adding direction and form into something that is old in order to formulate a new fresh piece. This could be representative of all of the ever-developing perceptions of life within society.

This reflection back onto childhood experiences confronts Bénitah to face her own inner conflicts and past repressions, whether they she may be consciously aware of them or able to use this as an aid to overtly face unpleasant memories in her subconscious. This would enable her to understand her current identity through being able to come to terms with what has occurred in her life as these experiences would have shaped her outlook on life, regardless of the emotions they convey. As well as this, the consistent use of the same shade of red in the images ensures that they all collaboratively link up to guarantee that the viewer can identify the story here and be capable of forming their own personal narrative through interpreting Bénitah’s story in their own perspective. This allows the viewers of her work to make a more personal and intense adaptation to draw their own conclusions and ideas based off of factors in their own lives. This can be a very powerful technique because it leads people to resonate with her work, for example if a parent of a young child sees this they may recognise a similar story from their own childhood, and begin to attempt to make sure similar things don’t occur for their child.

I would like to incorporate the methods of Carolle Bénitah into my own personal study about my experience of growing up with a brother who has Bipolar disorder because I feel that the concepts of our work, while not the same, correlate clearly. I think this use of an obscure metaphor in order to portray a story of loss is very effective through the ambiguous format that the lines move in. It is a way of visually expressing a story that the picture alone wouldn’t be relevant to or able to reveal. Because my intention behind my personal study is tapping into the human psyche as it concerns topics of psychological change, behavioural differences and the impact this has on a family dynamic, I feel that this will be a good starting point for me to experiment with and develop upon in order to make my work very metaphorical and symbolising. This idea of “performing a kind of exorcism of inner demons and past repressions” connotes a tone of liberation which could be very compelling in my work, and allow me to freely express myself, the concept and message that I am trying to send.

ANALYSIS OF HER WORK:

This specific image from Carolle Benitah’s series of Photos Souvenirs, engaging with her childhood constraints and anguish, particularly caught my eye. Upon initial sight, it is evident that this image was taken from around the 1970s to the 1980s from the overall tone of the archived image of Benitah’s family being a more yellowed tone due to age; instead of it just being black and white, the film has gained a cast of discolouration as well as a large crease in the top left corner from being folded. This connotation also stems from the aesthetics of the individuals in the image, wearing respectable and modest apparel that was very common in the 70s, whereas in the 21st century, children may be wearing more casual clothing such as a tracksuit, instead of such a humble appearance. As well as this, the different hairstyles portrayed in the image highlight the large contrast in generational trends to successfully demonstrate how old this image is. For example, the woman on the right holding the baby has had curlers in her hair in order to create a feathered look, which was the general choice for women in the 70s. As the embroidery string used is red, this immediately makes the image become eye-catching and more visible due to it juxtaposing the original image’s more vintage, recessed tone. Benitah has embroidered an empty silhouette around each person within this family image at an angle that is slightly off – the silhouette isn’t accurately outlining each individual. As this series is Benitah’s form of establishing her identity, this could be representative of looking outward herself, picking apart each family member and therefore, making her have an almost ‘out of body’ experience by revising over her past life events. This metaphor stems from the distance that the silhouette has with each person. Because this uses ambiguous shapes, this creates dynamic lines within Benitah’s work that add a sense of direction, causing the viewer to scan the image for a reasonable response. I feel that Benitah’s concept behind this can be perceived as forcing the viewer to become familiar with her family and really have to look at each individuals face and demeanor in the image. This would assist her in trying to portray a story of her childhood as it allows the viewer to gain an initial impression of what that person is/was like. Leading on from this, Benitah has formulated a randomised pattern of plus signs or crosses over four of the individuals faces. I feel that this may be a obscure metaphor for absenteeism and loss, hiding the faces of the people behind these markings. It adds a sense of anonymity, creating questions as to why these people have been concealed within their own family image. Because family snapshots kept as memories and keepsakes, this may be symbolising that the four people within the image have became part of an unpleasant memory that Bénitah desperately wants to forget and ignore instead of coming to terms with it. This evokes tones of mourning, deconstructing the myth of an ideal family and altering an image to hint at a personal secret behind it. Due to the needle piercing the image during the embroidery, this has left small holes and tears in the image that are only visible if the image is truly explored in detail. The violent nature of the needle stabbing the image, almost looking explosive, may suggest conflict, drama and/or pain because of the aggressive nature behind it – in this case, pricking the archived outlines of family members to erase their identities from being in the saturated image. Because of this image imitating the ‘snapshot aesthetic’, when the archived image has been photographed, there are slight patches of the light bouncing back off the image. This reflection, possibly from the cold artificial lighting from photographing this image again at a ‘birds eye’ angle, could be interpreted as a sort of ‘calm after the storm’. What I mean by this is that this reflection of like may act as a symbol for her own person growth by creating this study, healing some sort of unresolved trauma from her childhood that was gained from events that occurred relating to this image, due to brightness tending to correlate with cleanliness or holism.

Links:

https://www.souslesetoilesgallery.net/artists/carolle-benitah

https://www.souslesetoilesgallery.net/exhibitions/the-farther-i-remember

https://www.lensculture.com/articles/carolle-benitah-photos-souvenirs