For my final photography project on UNION. I’ve decided to explore the topics of femininity and girlhood, taking inspiration from Cindy Sherman. Sherman’s photography really resonates with me because she challenges traditional ideas of women and what we’re meant to do in society. Her ability to show the complexity of womanhood—strength and vulnerability—will be a huge influence on how I approach my project.

Cindy Sherman was born in 1954 and started taking painting classes, but she got frustrated and disliked it so she moved on to photography as a way of expressing herself and challenging the conventional standards of women. My favourite aspect of her work is that she poses herself as the model for her photographs. She dons different costumes, makeup, and props. She completely transforms herself to tell a tale. Sherman has explained, “I was closely duplicating other art, and then I realized that I could just use a camera and spend my time on an idea instead.” This shift to photography allowed her to express herself and explore concepts of gender, identity, and cultural expectations in a more individualized and focused way towards herself.

Sherman’s photography is not so much about depicting women in stereotypical positions—she turns them on their heads and confronts us. In a lot of her work, she plays with tension and unease that so frequently come with womanhood. To cite an example, in one of her most famous photographs, she is dressed up as a 1950s housewife, but the way she stands and the expression on her face create a feeling of unease. The photo seems to be innocent at first, but the tension in the scene is apparent once you take a second look. This tension between what is done with and what is actually done to women is something I personally would like to address with my project.

I would like my final project to show the unease and vulnerability that comes with girlhood and femininity. I’m going to be employing self-portraiture, like Sherman, to describe what it is like to be a growing-up girl in contemporary society. I’m going to attempt to convey a sensation that is raw and unfiltered, such as when we’re alone in our own minds, or with the tension of having to meet up with society’s expectations. It’s about portraying girlhood as not necessarily simple—its complicated, confusing, and sometimes clumsy, but it’s also full of strength.

Sherman has had a deep influence on photography and art, specifically on how we perceive women and femininity. She prompted artists to move away from standard, two-dimensional depictions of women and create more complex and nuanced images. Her work opened up a conversation about gender and identity that still influences photographers today. By doing my project, I hope to continue that dialogue and prove that being feminine is greater than what’s expected of you by society—about all of the various different experiences that all add up to being a girl.

I desire to utilize New Jersey’s environment for my project in order to portray various views of femininity. From awkward moments outside to more powerful images in urban settings, I hope to have a body of photographs that represent both the awkwardness and strength of girlhood. I would like to focus on how women support each other and how we can find strength even in awkwardness. My goal is to create photographs that prompt individuals to reflect on what it really means to be a girl or woman, and to challenge the stereotypes which so easily define us.

Ultimately, I want my project to capture the complexities of girlhood and show the strength that exists in embracing our own uniqueness. Cindy Sherman’s work has prompted me to look deeper into these issues, and I’m thrilled to make my own images of the strength and vulnerability of girlhood