7 Important Works by Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman’s work has continuously interrogated the role of mass media in the construction of identity. She is often associated with the Pictures Generation, a loose group of artists in the USA who explored the impact of new media on life and culture. Through dynamic self-portraiture, Sherman’s work explores themes of identity, gender, and the representation of women in society. Throughout her career, she has challenged and deconstructed the notions of the self and the other, employing costumes, makeup, and props to transform herself into a myriad of characters.

The Film Still series explores the language of cinema and the construction of female identity in modern media. In Untitled Film Still #21, we see a woman (Sherman herself), alone in the city, her eyes scanning warily, searching for something. The city looms behind her—a threatening presence…or perhaps a hopeful Utopia? Sherman explores the trope of the young girl, new to the city, finding her way in a perhaps hostile world.

This series of photographs, shot in the late 1970s, is what first brought Sherman to fame. Over three years, Sherman shot over 70 black-and-white photographs of herself which explore the language of cinema and the portrayal of women on screen. In each portrait, Sherman takes on the role of a different stereotype of femininity, framed in the terms of 1950s or 1960s Hollywood film, Film noir, and European art-house cinema. Each image remains untitled and therefore somewhat ambiguous, allowing space for the viewer to read their own narrative into the text. In this way, the works explore the very rhetoric of storytelling. Central to these images, and all of Sherman’s work, is the exploration of the performativity of womanhood.

2. Untitled #96 From the Centrefolds Series

Commissioned by Artforum magazine, the series consists of twelve large-format color photographs that mimic the aesthetic of 1950s and 1960s centerfold advertisements, but Sherman subverts this familiar format to challenge the objectification and sexualization inherent in such imagery. Each image in the Centerfolds series is a complex and stylized composition that plays with the tension between public exposure and private introspection. Sherman positions herself at the center of these compositions, yet her characters seem caught in private moments, often gazing away from the viewer, lost in thought or caught in a moment of distress.

This deliberate choice disrupts the traditional centerfold’s invitation to voyeurism and instead invites the viewer to contemplate the inner lives of the women depicted. Sherman critiques the ways women are portrayed in the media, highlighting how such representations shape societal expectations and perceptions of femininity. By placing these images in the context of art, she forces us to reconsider the viewer’s role in consuming such images. The series was controversial, sparking debate about its intentions and impact. Ultimately, Artforum chose not to publish the images, worried that the works would be misunderstood.

In the Fashion series, Sherman poses in a variety of high-fashion garments, but the images are far from typical glossy magazine spreads. Her characters often appear out of place or disheveled, with exaggerated makeup and expressions that suggest deeper narratives beyond the surface allure of fashion. In Untitled #126 Sherman perches precariously on a wooden chair, her body language and expression suggesting a discomfort which overshadows the clothing she wears.  Sherman’s work in this series highlights the tension between fashion as a form of self-expression and its role in enforcing unrealistic standards of beauty.

By distorting and deconstructing the glamorous facades, she exposes the industry’s manipulations and the often absurd lengths to which it goes to shape consumer desires and self-perceptions. Through these unsettling portrayals, Sherman examines the construction of femininity and beauty, questioning the authenticity of images that sell not just clothing but identities.

4. Untitled #153, From the Disasters and Fairy Tales Series

In this body of work, Sherman explores the image and narrative of the distressed woman, as seen in film, fairy tales, and folklore. Each image is a scene of distress, horror, or abjection, and sometimes a combination of all. The series is a vivid exploration of the tension between beauty and horror, innocence and malevolence, drawing on the grim realities often masked by the sanitized versions of popular narrative tropes. In Untitled #153 Sherman poses lying on the ground amidst the moss, her body wet and dirty, her eyes wide open and unfocused as though frozen by death. There is a sense of great tragedy and a sinister undertone to the image. Presenting us with an approximation of death, Sherman asks us to consider the precarious position of women in society.

In this image, Sherman enacts the story of Judith and Holofernes, a biblical story that was a popular subject matter during the Renaissance and Baroque. In this story Judith kills an invading general Holofernes, to save her people from persecution. She enters his tent and seduces him, before beheading him. In Sherman’s reenactment, she pulls on the pictorial conventions of Renaissance paintings, alongside the use of modern prosthetics and props. In this way, she calls attention to the layers of fabrication that create both paintings and histories, as well as the sanitization of Judith’s story through its very representation.

The whole series is a fascinating exploration of art history, identity, and the representation of gender and power. By inserting herself into reconstructions of famous paintings from the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical periods, Sherman plays with the conventions of historical portraiture, challenging the viewer’s expectations of art and authenticity. The act of cross-dressing and role-playing, which we see throughout this series, serves as a critique of the rigid gender roles and societal norms encoded in historical artworks. Sherman’s modern reinterpretations introduce anachronisms and exaggerations that highlight the artificiality of historical representations and question the construction of history and identity through art.

6. Untitled #264, From the Sex Pictures Series

Unlike many of her earlier works, where she often used herself as the subject, in the Sex Pictures series, Sherman uses mannequins, medical models, and various other props to explore themes of sexuality, the body, and the objectification of human forms. In Untitled #264, an uncanny assemblage of prosthetic limbs is arranged to resemble a female form, lying spread-eagled on a bed. Breasts and vulva are exposed to the viewer, but a leather mask covers the face, showing only the eyes, which gaze directly out. The form is almost human, but disturbingly fabricated. This series is different from her previous explorations of identity and representation, focusing instead on creating unsettling and provocative images that challenge the viewer’s comfort levels and preconceptions about the human body.

In the Sex Pictures series, prosthetics and mannequins are arranged in various compositions that mimic sexual acts or postures, but the absence of real human bodies and the clinical, detached presentation of these scenes evoke a sense of alienation and critique rather than eroticism. The use of prosthetic parts blurs the lines between reality and artifice, questioning the nature of desire and the ways in which sexuality is often commodified and depicted in media and culture. The often disturbing images confront the viewer with an image of sex that is divorced from intimacy or human connection, offering a commentary on the objectification and depersonalization inherent in much of society’s consumption of sexual imagery.

In Untitled #474 Sherman poses as a wealthy, aging socialite. In a room filled with artworks and expensive furnishings, this woman presents herself as a person of status and material wealth. Each portrait in this series presents a nuanced exploration of aging, status, and the construction of self within the echelons of high society. Unlike her earlier works, which often engaged with themes of youth and sexuality, these portraits reveal a shift towards the portrayal of sophistication and status as mechanisms to uphold social credibility in the face of aging.

Sherman’s subjects, set against contrived backdrops of opulence, embody a mix of determination and vulnerability. Their meticulously crafted appearances, aimed at projecting confidence and affluence, ironically unveil a sense of emptiness and neurotic self-absorption. Through carefully staged scenes, this series subtly critiques the societal pressures on women to maintain an illusion of eternal youth and perfection, highlighting the poignant frailty and inherent contradictions in their attempts to navigate the passage of time.