Photographer Response - Cindy Sherman

Untitled Film Still #54

Untitled Film Still #48

Untitled Film Still #21

Untitled Film Still #14

Untitled Film Still #6

Untitled Film Still #3

Untitled Film Still

Untitled Film Still #13

Untitled Film Still #11

Untitled Film Still #35

                Cindy Sherman is a photographer who mainly photographs herself as different characters in specific scenarios. She dresses herself up in costumes, make-up, and wigs to disguise herself as the character she wants to portray. I particularly liked her collection Untitled Film Stills, 1977-1980. In the collection, Sherman dresses up as characters from film noir’s and B-list films from the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s. The criticism Sherman has received for the collection is that the characters that she disguises herself as are portraits of “stereotypical female roles”, meaning that Sherman is calling attention to how women were portrayed in film in the 1940’s through the 1960’s.

                What gives these photographs a film noir feel is the technical style and also the emotions evoked from Sherman’s characters. The photographs are all shot in black and white, similar to film noir, and all have a gritty, dark feel to them. What makes these photos particularly intriguing is the juxtaposition between being given information about what roles these characters have in society and the underlying mystery about the actual identities of these women.        

A photo that represents the “stereotypical female role” and the mysterious qualities of film noir is the photograph Untitled Film Still #3. In this photo, Sherman is standing to the right of the frame and wearing an apron while she leans on the kitchen sink surrounded by dishes. The viewer sees that this character represents the role of a housewife. But as she turns her head down and looks over her shoulder, the viewer does not know what she’s looking at and that adds mystery to the scene. In each photo I have chosen from the collection, Sherman, portraying each character, never looks directly at the camera – her eyes are either shut or looking elsewhere. For example, in Untitled Film Still #35, the characters’ head is turned to the left while her entire body is turned to the right. With Sherman’s body language and the fact that her eyes are looking away from the camera, it seems as if the character has motives that the viewer is not aware of, and it leaves us wondering who this woman really is.

In the photo’s from the collection, each character is alone and each evokes a very serious tone and expression. As in Untitled Film Still #21, Sherman’s character is in a city and seems to be a well off, maybe upper class woman. But her face has an expression of confusion and her eyes are directed off camera. This leaves the viewer wondering who she is, where she is going, and what she is feeling. In Untitled Film Still #48, Sherman is standing alone on the side of an empty road with one piece of luggage. She seems very tiny in the frame compared to the elongated sky and road. Again, this begs the viewer to ask the questions who is she, why is she standing on this road alone, what is she waiting for, and where is she going. The mystery behind the portraits of these characters is what is so fascinating, and trying to figure out the meaning behind these characters is what absorbs the viewer into these photographs.