Pho·tog Friday: Cindy Sherman

Welcome to Pho·tog Friday!

Portrait of Cindy Sherman

I wanted to introduce you to another fantastic portrait photographer named Cindy Sherman. She mainly shoots self-portraits and she very rarely titles her work.  What is unique about Sherman's self-portraits is that she is not necessarily trying to capture her own "essence" within these portraits but she is capturing a character whom she created by wearing make-up, wigs, masks and props.  

In the fall of 2012, Sherman had a retrospective show at the San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art where over 170 pieces of her work were shown.  These photographs dated from the mid-1970s up to the present day.  To the left, is one of her images that was shown in the show titled Untitled #466.  Extensive hair and make-up were needed in order for Sherman to pose as this elite woman.  What are some other visual clues within this photograph that alter Sherman's character?  The outfit? The setting? The lighting?

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #466, 2008.

In order to better exposure yourselves to Sherman's work, I'd like you to watch a video about her from the PBS series titled Art21.  Please click here to access the video. While you watch the video, I'd like you to focus on how she sets up her studio; her use of props as well as how she prepares for a gallery opening.  Her work has been known to be controversial; why do you think this is? How can you use some of Sherman's practices within your own studio?

Although this is not shown within the Art21 piece, check out the footage below where Sherman discusses the first time she used a digital camera while shooting for Vogue: 

Enjoy the weekend and I'll see you next for "Make it Monday"! 

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