Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman

"By turning the camera on herself, Cindy Sherman has built a name as one of the most respected photographers of the late twentieth century. Although, the majority of her photographs are pictures of her, however, these photographs are most definitely not self-portraits. Rather, Sherman uses herself as a vehicle for commentary on a variety of issues of the modern world: the role of the woman, the role of the artist and many more. It is through these ambiguous and eclectic photographs that Sherman has developed a distinct signature style. Through a number of different series of works, Sherman has raised challenging and important questions about the role and representation of women in society, the media and the nature of the creation of art."  

         (www.cindysherman.com)

Shermans style is extremely unusual and stands apart from any other portrait photographer whom turns the camera onto themselves. She uses herself, sets and poses to represent, signify and portray meaningful messages. We can interpret much of her work to be speaking mostly about the role of women in the modern world. However she does not class her work in the category of feminism 

Untitled Film Stills

Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #21 is one of a series of 69 black and white images taken by the photographer between 1977 and 1980. The first six pictures were conceived as a group for which she impersonated a single actress playing different roles at various points in an imagined career. What was initially an experiment grew into an expansive survey of feminine roles based on film imagery from the 50s and 60s.

Some, like Still #21 are taken outside but in the main they are taken in interiors carefully prepared and taken by the photographer. At first glance they appear to be from movies that we believe we may have seen and the roles that Sherman adopts are wide and varied. In Untitled Film Still #21 she plays the role of the working girl in the big city. Through the series he is in turn passive, seductive, vulnerable, a victim, a housewife or a hooker.

Each photograph is an apparent moment from a bigger, implied narrative. However this perceived narrative is not real, it is both the viewer’s and the photographer’s creation. The viewer’s preconceptions are based on what they have learned from female roles in popular culture. The viewer makes assumptions based on their experience of movie genres and the female stereotypes popularized in them during the 50s and 60s. This tells us that, knowingly or not, the signs and imagery of contemporary culture have been absorbed to such an extent that it affects a judgement of what is real.

Sherman also uses cinematic techniques like lighting, scenery, props and framing, and the images are untitled and numbered, just as a promotional movie still would be. These elements serve to further reinforce the notion of informed movie culture.

“I am trying to force the viewer into coming up with their own interpretation by the fact that I leave everything untitled. Ideally, I want people to question whatever preconceived notions they may have about a particular ‘scenario,’ about a character.”Cindy Sherman, 1998

During the post-war years, contemporary culture had begun to explode in America on both the cinema and television screens. This led to an idealized concept of women and femininity that took hold of the collective imagination. This was the period of Sherman’s youth and as the youngest child by nine years in a large family, she would dress up to mimic the stars of the screen and as a form of self-expression. Reflecting that she thought: ‘If you don’t like me this way, how about you like me this way?’ Cindy Sherman, 2010

This ‘time-honoured girl’s game of dressing up’ (Heartney, 2001, p57) continued into her work during the 1970s where she would photograph herself in different guises, outfits and scenarios. Being loosely part of the New York art scene at the time, her work was exhibited with photographers of a similar style and subject matter. In an era when postmodern and feminist theories were coming to increasing prominence, her work was ripe for analysis.