Cindy Sherman was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, in 1954. She went to BA State University
College in Buffalo, NY, in 1976. She graduated from SUNY in 1976 and began her work in 1977.
Her work had a series of 8x10-inch black-and-white photographs that featured Sherman
depicting women as sex roles that, under the male gaze, would be deemed normal and okay.
She would model in all her work, dressing up in a variety of wigs, clothing, and makeup,
challenging the stereotypes given by the media. In the 1980s, she’d move to more grotesque
and sinister photography, depicting the results of acceptance of the stereotyped roles of women.
In the 1990s, the return of her ironic commentary towards cliched female identities would
continue in her photographs, and in 1997, she directed a dark comedic film Office Killer,starring
Molly Ringwald and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Her later and more recent work would have Hollywood
women caked with makeup and breast implants; being the results of the toxic industry that
normalizes this.
The visual characteristics her work presents remind me of old films from the day when
everything was black and white. Her shots seem cinematic, like Hollywood films. In some of her
works, she looks a lot like Marilyn Monroe with her hair style up, specifically on her work Untitled
film still #54 and Untitled film still #55.
Cindy Sherman aimed to... expose the stereotypes brought to women that are perpetuated by
Hollywood, society, and the male gaze. demonstrating how normalized sex roles were for
women, how dehumanizing and alone they felt, the harmful nature of the industry, and how it
resulted for women in the end. “The work is what it is and hopefully it’s seen as feminist work, or
feminist advised work,” Cindy expressed.
Cindy Sherman's work was influenced mainly by... Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) that
she recalls the most from her childhood. The protagonist of the movie, who watches strangers
from a distance and imagines the personal details of their life, and the artist have a lot in
common. A lot of her work, though, is influenced by fairy tales, children’s collective fear of
clowns, and aging.
Examine and contrast the following three images:
the first two are black and white shots taken
from the same angle, showing Cindy and I wearing a jacket and bag. In addition, we both got
dressed up and posed for the photo. Some distinctions include the attire I'm wearing and the
camera perspective; hers appears to have been taken in a city rather than a neighborhood. But I
couldn't do it since there were lights everywhere and I couldn't find a place like hers.
No. 3 & 4 photographs: Cindy and I are shown in both of these black-and-white images,
standing motionless and not looking directly into the camera. The positioning, lighting, and
angles are a few examples of the differences. As previously mentioned, we both dress up,
though not in the same way.
No. 5 & 6 photographs: Cindy and I both look into the mirror, in a bathroom, wearing a tightly put
towel. Her face looks more alive than mine, but just know I’m breathing so that counts. We both
have short hair, except hers is blonde and mine is black. The lighting I’d say is pretty good and.
Similarly, the angle is pretty different because my bathroom is small so it would be hard to set
up a camera and take a good picture with the right angle.
College in Buffalo, NY, in 1976. She graduated from SUNY in 1976 and began her work in 1977.
Her work had a series of 8x10-inch black-and-white photographs that featured Sherman
depicting women as sex roles that, under the male gaze, would be deemed normal and okay.
She would model in all her work, dressing up in a variety of wigs, clothing, and makeup,
challenging the stereotypes given by the media. In the 1980s, she’d move to more grotesque
and sinister photography, depicting the results of acceptance of the stereotyped roles of women.
In the 1990s, the return of her ironic commentary towards cliched female identities would
continue in her photographs, and in 1997, she directed a dark comedic film Office Killer,starring
Molly Ringwald and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Her later and more recent work would have Hollywood
women caked with makeup and breast implants; being the results of the toxic industry that
normalizes this.
The visual characteristics her work presents remind me of old films from the day when
everything was black and white. Her shots seem cinematic, like Hollywood films. In some of her
works, she looks a lot like Marilyn Monroe with her hair style up, specifically on her work Untitled
film still #54 and Untitled film still #55.
Cindy Sherman aimed to... expose the stereotypes brought to women that are perpetuated by
Hollywood, society, and the male gaze. demonstrating how normalized sex roles were for
women, how dehumanizing and alone they felt, the harmful nature of the industry, and how it
resulted for women in the end. “The work is what it is and hopefully it’s seen as feminist work, or
feminist advised work,” Cindy expressed.
Cindy Sherman's work was influenced mainly by... Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) that
she recalls the most from her childhood. The protagonist of the movie, who watches strangers
from a distance and imagines the personal details of their life, and the artist have a lot in
common. A lot of her work, though, is influenced by fairy tales, children’s collective fear of
clowns, and aging.
Examine and contrast the following three images:
the first two are black and white shots taken
from the same angle, showing Cindy and I wearing a jacket and bag. In addition, we both got
dressed up and posed for the photo. Some distinctions include the attire I'm wearing and the
camera perspective; hers appears to have been taken in a city rather than a neighborhood. But I
couldn't do it since there were lights everywhere and I couldn't find a place like hers.
No. 3 & 4 photographs: Cindy and I are shown in both of these black-and-white images,
standing motionless and not looking directly into the camera. The positioning, lighting, and
angles are a few examples of the differences. As previously mentioned, we both dress up,
though not in the same way.
No. 5 & 6 photographs: Cindy and I both look into the mirror, in a bathroom, wearing a tightly put
towel. Her face looks more alive than mine, but just know I’m breathing so that counts. We both
have short hair, except hers is blonde and mine is black. The lighting I’d say is pretty good and.
Similarly, the angle is pretty different because my bathroom is small so it would be hard to set
up a camera and take a good picture with the right angle.