Literary sources: Go to this blog post here: Theory: Literary Sources and copy relevant key texts relating to the subject of your essay and list in alphabetical order in your bibliography. In addition, find your own key texts in relation to artists selected for in-depth analysis in your essay and list these too. These texts could be interviews with the artist, or reviews/ critique’s written by others. See useful online sites/ sources here .

• Research and identify 3-5 literary sources from a variety of media such as books, journal/magazines, internet, Youtube/video that relates to your personal study and artists references .
• Begin to read essay, texts and interviews with your chosen artists as well as commentary from critics, historians and others.
• It’s important that you show evidence of reading and draw upon different pints of view – not only your own.
• Take notes when you’re reading…key words, concepts, passages, page number to be used for in-text referencing etc.

Essay Question

• Think of a hypothesis and list possible essay questions
• Below is a list of possible essay questions that may help you to formulate your own.

possible-essay-questions-to-investigate

Some examples of Personal Study essays from previous students:

Essay Plan
Make a plan that lists what you are going to write about in each paragraph – essay structure

• Essay question:
• Opening quote

To what extent does Cindy Sherman explore stereotypes of women and Justine Kurland explore stereotypes of girlhood?

‘To collect photographs is to collect the world’ (Sontag 1977:3)

• Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?
• Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian. 
• Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
• Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
• Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced
• Bibliography: List all relevant sources used

• Sontag, S. (1977) ‘In Plato’s Cave’ In On Photography. London: Penguin Books

Essay writing: Here is a link to another blog post which will provide you with guideline about how to structure each paragraph in your essay.

To what extent does Cindy Sherman explore stereotypes of women and Justine Kurland explore stereotypes of girlhood?

To explore stereotypes means to focus on something that is a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong. They are able to shape our perceptions of groups of individuals which can lead to misunderstanding and sometimes discrimination. I am going to be looking at the area of female and teenage stereotypes. The artists I want to explore are Cindy Sherman and Justine Kurland. I have chosen Cindy Sherman as she focuses on female stereotypes within her work, her photography is important because of the way it depicts how women are viewed in society. I have also chosen Justine Kurland as her focus on photography is on girlhood. Her photos are representations of both childhood adventures and current experiences. Both artists explore the issues with stereotypes and draw attention to it. Both photographers set up their shoots instead of them being spontaneous photographs. Cindy Sherman regularly alters her appearance beyond recognition through makeup, prosthetics, and costumes. To create her images, she assumes the multiple roles of photographer, model, makeup artist, hairdresser, and stylist. She becomes the character in the story she is attempting to portray through her images. Justine Kurland also sets up her images but not with herself, she is known for her elaborate staging of photographs. Kurland has used staged tableaux to explore the social landscape of girlhood, life on communes, and life in the wilderness. Both photographers’ images represent mirrors. Mirror photos are usually called this when the photographer is trying to demonstrate or reflect something that they feel about themselves. John Szarkowski in his text, said a mirror is “reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it” and “a mirror- a romantic expression of the photographer’s sensibility as it projects itself on the things and sights of the world”. These two artists are mirrors as Cindy Sherman is a women herself and is trying to reflect her feelings and opinions on it to the viewers, and Kurland mirrors her own childhood through the use of other girls a representation.

Cindy Sherman makes her photos come to life by using herself as the main aspect. She doesn’t merely represent stereotypes, she embodies them in different ways which then draws attention to the roles she plays which captivate the viewers. Cindy Sherman is known for creating fictional characters in her photographs, often using props, makeup and clothing to transform her appearance which is seen as an exploration of identity. Cindy Sherman uses elaborate makeup and costumes to create transformations in her appearances and characters. This allows her to explore issues of identity, subjectivity and gender, while challenging the conventions of visual representation. Cindy Sherman said, “I never thought I was acting. When I became involved with close-ups I needed more information in the expression. I couldn’t depend on background or atmosphere. I wanted the story to come from the face. Somehow the acting just happened.” Being a woman, she is able to share her ideas possibly from experience which could make the images more personal to her and important to her. Sherman satirizes the audience’s gaze on the female body and solidifies female aesthetic standards. Cindy Sherman’s work has had a major impact on contemporary photography. Many artists were influenced by her work, and her technique of deconstructing stereotypes and conventional representations is still an important reference for many artists today. She focusses on stereotypes to the extent where it has an impact on the community where she considers social and political issues surrounding stereotypes and woman in general such as female representation in popular culture and the performative nature of identity. In the photo below, It could be interpreted by the viewer that Sherman is impersonating a stereotypical house wife from the late 1950s or early 1960s. This can be clear by the objects she adds to the image to subtly create this thought. the use of the pan and soap bottle suggest to the viewer that she could be pictured in a kitchen. as well as this, she is also wearing an apron. The construction of the picture hints at a number of possible narratives and is open to a range of analyses. One analysis a viewer could make is a negative event occurring. The black and white can cause an ominous feeling or sense of tension and the tone of the image makes it feels like a dark and scary moment for the woman. she can be seen to be looking over her shoulder and the viewer can interpret that to what they like but it was usually be a negative thing she may be looking at as her eyes look concentrated on something that could be making her scared. Sherman is also seen holding her stomach which could be a usual comfort for a woman so this could further suggest something to make her uncomfortable is going on and further shows how she depicts the theme of vulnerability in her photos.

Justine Kurland focusses on themes of freedom, rebellion, and the defiance of gender expectations. Kurland’s main project was called ‘Kurland’s main project was called ‘Girl Pictures’. Kurland started this project in 1997 when she was a graduate student at Yale. Kurland decided to reverse certain stereotypical representations by rather than showing girls as passive or vulnerable, she represented them as strong, confident and free-spirited. The main environment of her images are usually in wild settings like rural or urban places which would be the opposite of a typical environment where girlhood would be imagined to be placed. She first photographed a fifteen year old girl called Alyssum who was the daughter of Kurland’s partner at the time. As well as this she also photographed groups of friends who were teenage girls and she staged the images where she depicted life on communes and life in the wilderness. In her project ‘Girl pictures’ its says “One in six of us will never figure it out. One in six of us will never leave here. One in six of us is bound to disappear. One in six of us, she’ll surprise you”. This quote important as its showing how every teenagers life is different and the decisions they make now will impact where they end up. She represents the stereotype of a teenager who is figuring things out at the same time as going through things. The lighting in the image below is natural and seems to be at either sunrise or sunset. The lighting sets a feeling of calmness to the viewer as it looks tranquil and relaxing. The warming tone also contributes to the idea of tranquility. In this image, Kurland is photographing her partners daughter, Alyssum. This image shows Alyssum in the center of the image holding onto a tree. The way she is holding onto he tree creates a sense of fear as she seems to be clinging onto it and not wanting to let go. Her being in the center of the image I think works really well to create a deeper meaning of the image. the water next to her seems to be travelling one way on the left of the image whereas the direction of the headlights of the cars suggest the road travel the opposite way. as well as that, there’s a pathway on the grass which is also creating a direction. Alyssum’s body faces the road whereas she’s looking over her shoulder at the water which creates the idea that she doesn’t know what direction to go in or what path to take and seems to be lost. This links to stereotypes of young people as its showing the confusion of the mind and having the ability to make decision s for yourself but still not knowing which direction to go. Teenagers could relate to this image as they may also not know what to do or where to go as they enter the part of their life where their decisions have a major impact on their futures.