Cindy Sherman
Born in 1954 · United States
Deconstructing the roles that images offer us.
The story
Cindy Sherman uses costumes, make-up, lighting and sets to embody characters. Her Untitled Film Stills evoke cinematic scenes without reproducing any existing film. Later series draw on fashion, art history and society portraiture to question stereotypes. The presence of her own body therefore does not automatically make each character or photograph an intimate self-portrait.
Understanding the work
Identify the codes that suggest a story or status. Pose, angle and props guide the reading; their exaggerations can reveal the mechanics of stereotypes and representation itself.
Key works and series
Untitled Film Stills; History Portraits; society portraits.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
