Week #7: Write-up

Cindy Sherman
Film Still #28

Cindy Sherman
Film Still #48

Lorna Simpson
She

This week I will talk about the artist Cindy Sherman. I first saw her work in our ARTE 352 class, and then I learned more about her photography in my FFAR 250 class. She is a feminist artist who tackles the theme of identity and representation through photography. Her art practice is very lucrative, and her photos have sold for millions of dollars. She usually uses herself as a model in her pieces, and does her own make-up, hair, and wardrobe.

Sherman’s series, Untitled Film Stills, propelled her to fame, and she achieved international recognition. This is my favourite series by the photographer because of her portrayal of “typical” female clichés. There are 69 photos in total, all in black and white, to emulate the photography from the 40’s to the 60’s. Each still represents a vulnerable woman who needs to be rescued by a man. In Film Still #48, we see a woman hitch-hiking on the side of an empty road at night. In Film Still #28, a woman is crying and portraying the damsel in distress. Sherman chose not to title the film stills because she wanted the viewers to come to their own conclusions about the pieces. We can see the woman hitch-hiking as a soon-to-be victim of kidnapping or rape. We can also imagine that the woman crying has just been broken up with. Sherman depicted women as she thought men visualized them in the movies. Women are often sexualized and powerless, while the men are always coming to the rescue.

I want to compare Cindy Sherman to another artist I learned about in my Art history class, Lorna Simpson. I also read about her in one of the articles on our ARTE 352 Moodle website. Simpson is a conceptual photographer who works with the theme of gender, race and identity. She wants the viewers to question typical stereotypes associated with those themes, and challenge the “norms” of society.

“Issues of feminine identity are prominent in Simpson’s work. What are some assumptions, expectations, and stereotypes related to a woman’s appearances that are prominent in our society? How do you see these stereotypes reflected in the media and in advertising? How do you see them reflected in your own behavior or the behavior of those around you?” (American Federation of Arts, 2006).

Her piece She, is a 4-photo sequence that portrays a woman in a brown suit who is sitting for an interview. The faces have been cropped out of the frames, and the viewer can focus on the clothing and posture of the model. By dressing a woman up in a man’s suit, Simpson is playing with gender roles. The word “Feminine” at the top also contradicts the clothing and positioning of the model. Can a woman still be feminine if she dresses in masculine clothing?

Both photographers deal with current issues and their works can be shown to today’s students. Their photography could be a source of inspiration and incorporated into lesson plans.

Work Cited

ARTH 367 Lecture on Lorna Simpson

FFAR 250 Lecture on Cindy Sherman

Museum of Contemporary Art. (2014). Lorna Simpson. Retrieved from http://mcachicago.org/archive/collection/Simpson-txt.html