Cindy Sherman’s Many Faces

Born in 1954, Sherman grew up on Long Island in New York. “I was always glued to the television when I was a kid, and I loved movies,” she recalls. Sherman planned to study painting in college, but she soon became frustrated with the medium. “I wanted to find something that anyone could relate to,” the artist says. Then she tried photography. “I realized I could just use a camera and put my time into an idea.”

In 1977, Sherman started working on a series called Untitled Film Stills. In each of the 70 images, Sherman transforms herself into a figure representing an archetypal (a perfect example) female character from a 1950s or ’60s movie. 

Sherman invents characters and scenes that seem familiar. In her 1978 Untitled Film Still #21, top image, she dresses as a mid-20th-century career woman. She uses buildings as the backdrop, which evokes the familiar narrative of a young working woman in the city. 

Sherman was born in 1954. She grew up on Long Island in New York. “I was always glued to the television when I was a kid, and I loved movies,” she remembers. She was going to study painting in college. But she became frustrated with the medium. “I wanted to find something that anyone could relate to,” she says. She tried photography instead.

In 1977, Sherman started working on a series of 70 photographs. She called it Untitled Film Stills. In each image, Sherman transforms herself into a character that might appear in a 1950s or ’60s movie.

Sherman creates characters and scenes that feel familiar. She made Untitled Film Still #21, top image, in 1978. She dresses as a young woman working in a city in the mid-20th-century. She takes the photo in front of buildings to make the narrative, or story, feel real.

Since then, Sherman has explored many themes in her work. In her 2008 series Society Portraits, she plays with stereotypes of older, wealthy women. In the example above, Sherman—modeling as both characters—poses as if for a formal portrait. 

The subjects wear fancy attire, heavy makeup, and flouncy blonde hairstyles, attempting to look younger. But many would argue that they just appear fake. Sherman asks questions about society’s obsession with youth and social status. “We’re all products of what we want to project to the world,” the artist explains.

Sherman explores many topics in her work. In 2008, she created a series called Society Portraits. She plays with clichés of older, rich women. In the example above, Sherman models as both characters. 

The characters wear fancy clothes, a lot of makeup, and styled hair. They may be trying to look younger, but some people might see it as fake. Sherman invites viewers to question why society is obsessed with youth and money and how this might affect how people present themselves.

When social media became popular, Sherman wasn’t a fan. But in 2017, she revealed that she had been working on an Instagram account, which she then made public. In examples like the 2019 image, above, the photographer challenges how we present ourselves on social media. 

Sherman uses photo-manipulating apps to distort her features. But while most people use these tools to make their lives seem more desirable, Sherman uses them to transform herself into bizarre digital characters. “I see humor in almost everything, in even the grotesque,” the artist says.

Sherman’s basic artistic process has remained the same since the beginning of her career. But she has transformed, exploring new variations on her ideas and new technology. And despite appearing in almost all of her photographs, Sherman does not consider her works self-portraits. She explains, “I am trying to make other people recognize something of themselves rather than me.”

Sherman didn’t like social media when it first became popular. But in 2017, she announced that she had been creating an Instagram profile. Then she made the account public. She used it to post images like the 2019 example above.

Sherman uses photo editing apps to change her features. Some people use these tools to try to make their lives look better. But Sherman uses them to distort herself, creating strange, digital characters. “I see humor in almost everything, in even the grotesque,” she says.

Since the beginning of her career, Sherman’s main working process has stayed the same.  But she explores new ideas by transforming herself in different ways. “I am trying to make other people recognize something of themselves rather than me,” she says.