Cindy Sherman Essay example - 711 Words

Cindy Sherman Terror and mockery come together in the portraits of Cindy Sherman on display at the Crocker Art Museum. Walking into the large, dimly lit ballroom, one may begin to feel a slight sense of trepidation as the viewer looks around to find nine sets of beady eyes watching one’s every move. Sherman produced her History Portraits during the late eighties and early nineties, nine of which are displayed at the museum. In her portraits she uses lush fabrics, lavish jewelry, and false body parts to decorate herself in these self-portraits. Her portraits have been know to cause discomfort in the viewers who find the general stereotypes, depicted in her portraits, amusing, yet confusing and terrorizing. Sherman’s Untitled†¦show more content†¦Like Untitled #225 (Blond Woman), Sherman’s Untitled portrait #198 (Feather Mask) also stirs a sense of uneasiness. The portrait is a color photograph created in 1989. A woman with an open salmon colored shirt exposes both artificial breasts as she sits with a large, blue feather mask covering her face, as if to cover her identity for fear of being mocked for being a woman. Dark, black eyes peer from beneath the mask, and appear to follow the viewer while one examines the portrait. There’s seems to be no reason for her shirt to be open and her breasts on display, unlike Sherman’s Untitled #225 (Blond Woman) portrait, who seemed to have a definite reason. The fake, jewelry-like nipples on the breast are a deep ruby red color that match with a red pedant hung around her neck. A white tulle skirt covers the lower half of her body as she sits in front of a green printed fabric with red tassels that is hung loosely behind her. Sherman’s Untitled #211 (Oval Profile of Woman) is also a color photograph created in 1989. The portrait shows the profile of a middle-aged woman facing the right with a stacked, beaded necklace draped around her neck. She is a well dressed aristocratic in a black sequence blouse with white chiffon sleeves. Her brown hair is held up with colorful scarfs. She holds her nose high in the air as to look sophisticated or arrogant. The uneven texture of the skinShow MoreRelatedThe Work of Cindy Sherman Essay2883 Words   |  12 PagesNo other artist has ever made as extended or complex career of presenting herself to the camera as has Cindy Sherman. Yet, while all of her photographs are taken of Cindy Sherman, it is impossible to class call her works self-portraits. She has transformed and staged herself into as unnamed actresses in undefined B movies, make-believe television characters, pretend porn stars, undifferentiated young women in ambivalent emotional states, fashion mannequins, monsters form fairly tales and those whichRead MoreWriting Assignment : Art By Cindy Sherman Essay914 Words   |  4 Pagescommunicating the thoughts, feelings, and ideas of individuals. New Jersey native, Cindy Sherman, found the language of art after gradating high school when she attended State University of New York College at Buffalo. Sherman’s artistic identity submerged her freshman year in college when painting did not satiate her artistic thirst â€Å"†¦ there was nothing more to say [through painting]† (Cindy Sherman). Through her photographs, Sherman managed to establish a unique signature and gain international recognitionRead MoreIdentity in Cindy Sherman ´s Contemporary Art665 Words   |  3 Pagesreveal cultural and personal truths about them through the employment of specific subjects, techniques, and colors incorporated into their artwork. Cindy Sherman, the famous feminist artist, portrays a plethora of different identities in her photographic works in order to highlight societal issues such as stereotypes, perceptions, and biases. Although Sherman does not blatantly set out to become an activist for femininity, audiences inherently view her work as attempting to cross boundaries and bringRead MorePostmodern American Artist s Cindy Sherman And Kara Walker Critique And Question Grand Narratives Of Gender, Race And1164 Words   |  5 PagesPostmodern American artist’s Cindy Sherman and Kara Walker critique and question grand narratives of gender, race and class through their work and art practice. Cindy Sherman, born 1954, is well renowned for her conceptual portraits of female characters and personas that question the representation of women, gender identity and the true (or untrue) nature of photography (Hattenstone 2011). Kara Walker, born 1969, is known for her black silhouettes that dance across gallery walls and most recentlyRead MoreThe Meaning of Color in Art996 Words   |  4 Pageslight, an d shadow, however, in regards to the artist Cindy Sherman, color is used profoundly in gender roles and symbolism. Representation and hidden meanings found within artwork is not a new concept by far, artist have been using such method for centuries. Nonetheless, the unique and slightly nightmarish way the contemporary artist Cindy Sherman uses color in representational ways brings about a new light to a familiar technique. Cindy Sherman, an American artist born in 1954, is extensively acknowledgedRead MoreThe Museum Of Modern Art Website912 Words   |  4 Pagesfeminist nor political. I try to put double or multiple meanings into my photos, which might give rise to a greater variety of interpretations. (Sherman) In 1977 artist, and feminist, Cindy Sherman created a series of untitled film stills over a five-year span. Each of these stills depicts Sherman playing a different role as a woman in society. Although Sherman did not try to portray a message of feminism in her art, it was inevitable during this time period. When looking at her stills, women now, andRead MoreMale Gaze Essay2595 Words   |  11 Pageswomen are and have been portrayed in relation to the ‘male gaze’ and how it is still very prevalent in contemporary modern culture through photography and other mediums, such as, cinema and advertising. I will be analyzing the photographic work of Cindy Sherman, E.J. Bellocq, advertisement and the written work of Laura Mulvey and John Berger. Traditionally imagined, written and produced by men, advertisements have long depicted women as men want them to be, sexy, obedient, fragile, instead of as theyRead MoreThe Photograph, Unknown # 153 By Cindy Sherman Essay1166 Words   |  5 PagesThe photograph â€Å"Unknown #153† was taken by Cindy Sherman in 1954. The picture is of a Caucasian woman lying in the grass. She is not completely in the picture, because the parts of her body visible to the viewer is the area above the collarbone and her right shoulder. Her face, neck and clothes have handfuls of dirt on them. Her body is flat; she is faced up and her arms are down by her side. Her face is the center point of the photo yet; she is diagonally in the frame with her body placed in theRead MoreThe Changing Representations Of Women : The Art Of Hannah Wilke, Lynda Benglis, And Cindy Sherman846 Words   |  4 Pages In Jessica Holt’s â€Å"The Changing Representations of Women: The Art of Hannah Wilke, Lynda Benglis, and Cindy Sherman,† â€Å"S.O.S† served to attack societies popular images of women in the media. Wilkes way of presenting her body addresses what is perceived and encouraged as feminine in the phallocratic society. Holt states that by representing the scars on Wilkes body with specifically female genitalia she emphasizes the harmful stigma, which surrounds the idea of being a women; objectifiedRead MoreAnalysis Of The Film Stills 1449 Words   |  6 Pagesblack-and-white photographs made between 1977 and 1980. In them Sherman appears as fictitious characters in scenarios resembling moments in a film. She used vintage clothing, wigs and makeup to create a range of female personae which she then photographed in apparently solitary, unguarded moments of reflection, undress, or in conversation with somebody off-set and outside of the frame† (Tate, 2015) As mentioned in my research Cindy Sherman was a big inspiration towards my creative projec t. My intentions