I first heard about Cindy Sherman in the first photography class I ever took. It was a great free summer program held in a high school in Queens, NYC. There was a girl in the class who had been inspired by the work of Cindy Sherman for a couple of years and wanted to take self-portraits as well in her photography. I didn't take a big interest in Cindy Sherman because I didn't really understand self-portraiture then (I only have a slightly better understanding of it now) and her photos also just freaked me out, because of the crazy colorful costumes and makeup used. A few photos below are from the series which have a few different names after researching, but could be known as Disasters and Sex Pictures, and Myths and Fairytales. These photos were pretty disturbing to me, but interesting.
I don't see a similarity with her color photographs to my own photography, but I really like her famous 'Untitled Film Stills' series made in the late 1970s. This series is all black and white photos of Cindy dressed up as similar to or exact female roles from different mostly well-known movies.
I do see that in some of my work I interested in a similar thing that Cindy is portraying/showing in these photos. I like to photograph in a narrative sometimes, because I also like to shoot video so I sometimes approach my photograph-making the same way I make videos, finding a specific moment that could be awkward or like you're looking into someones life when you shouldn't be. In this series of film stills, Cindy catches certain awkwardness and discomfort that all human beings have, but she's photographing herself, not someone else. And she is able to become a different person in every single on of the pictures. I love that she chooses to use certain scenes that show what movies wanted this specific women to look like and act like. Which was sometimes, unaware, naive, the sex object, materialistic/shallow, and the stay-at-home cooking mother. But even though the roles she is embodying in the scene pretty much look down on women and their worth, she is strong in every single photo. She is owning her sexuality, her body, whatever emotion she is feeling, she just looks sure of herself like she is in control instead of looking embarrassed. Though there still is that discomfort because the photographs all seem to be attached to time. Which is why they are called film stills.
What is really interesting to me about Cindy Sherman is how different her photos can look from each other. Comparing the two sets of photos I included in this post are so different from each other, but all include the uncomfortable element. I am attracted to the darkness in her photos. I like the ones that are just blatantly about sex and bodies and the scary, maybe perverted, sick world that sex can be and seem like. And I think it is amazing that she is one of the most well-known female photographers. It is great to have this female perspective who is commenting on sex, bodies, pressures of society, certain traits or myths of femininity.
I don't see a similarity with her color photographs to my own photography, but I really like her famous 'Untitled Film Stills' series made in the late 1970s. This series is all black and white photos of Cindy dressed up as similar to or exact female roles from different mostly well-known movies.
I do see that in some of my work I interested in a similar thing that Cindy is portraying/showing in these photos. I like to photograph in a narrative sometimes, because I also like to shoot video so I sometimes approach my photograph-making the same way I make videos, finding a specific moment that could be awkward or like you're looking into someones life when you shouldn't be. In this series of film stills, Cindy catches certain awkwardness and discomfort that all human beings have, but she's photographing herself, not someone else. And she is able to become a different person in every single on of the pictures. I love that she chooses to use certain scenes that show what movies wanted this specific women to look like and act like. Which was sometimes, unaware, naive, the sex object, materialistic/shallow, and the stay-at-home cooking mother. But even though the roles she is embodying in the scene pretty much look down on women and their worth, she is strong in every single photo. She is owning her sexuality, her body, whatever emotion she is feeling, she just looks sure of herself like she is in control instead of looking embarrassed. Though there still is that discomfort because the photographs all seem to be attached to time. Which is why they are called film stills.
What is really interesting to me about Cindy Sherman is how different her photos can look from each other. Comparing the two sets of photos I included in this post are so different from each other, but all include the uncomfortable element. I am attracted to the darkness in her photos. I like the ones that are just blatantly about sex and bodies and the scary, maybe perverted, sick world that sex can be and seem like. And I think it is amazing that she is one of the most well-known female photographers. It is great to have this female perspective who is commenting on sex, bodies, pressures of society, certain traits or myths of femininity.
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