Cindy Sherman (Continued)
I’m trying to keep this way of thinking in mind as I work on new images. Last semester I was really hesitant to go beyond myself, though I did try, I really struggled with people making a judgement about me based on my images.
This year I’m not so afraid of that and I realise that these questions are important aspects to my work. I’ve always looked at identity and people asking questions about my identity, the images identity, is quite an exciting way to interpret work.
What also fascinates me about Sherman is about how her work is still inspiring artists today. Recently I have loved actor James Franco’s reinterpretations of Sherman’s Film Stills Series, apart from the sheer comedic values of his images I think there’s also a very poignant play on societal gender roles which possibly emphasises Sherman’s conceptual values. It’s interesting to read about how the technicality of her photos can inspire too, as mentioned by Franco himself:
“Cindy Sherman’s groundbreaking series Untitled Film Stills showed us how we look at ourselves in film. These were performances within multiple fames of significance. But Sherman was an artist looking at the film industry from the outside. I have started on the inside. I earn my living in the commercial film business. This new series of film stills puts one more frame around the dialogue Sherman introduced.”
(Quotes found on: http://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/01/arts/a-portraitist-s-romp-through-art-history.html http://www.beautyequation.com/beone/cindy-shermans…
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/825977/francos-s…
http://sfmoma.tumblr.com/post/31064176516/james-fr…
As are the images)
