Got an email recently from the good folks over at Artsy who are putting together a collection of Cindy Sherman’s work. From their description,
“Our Cindy Sherman page provides visitors with Sherman’s bio, over 65 of her works, exclusive articles, as well as up-to-date Sherman exhibition listings. The page even includes related artist & category tags, plus suggested contemporary artists, allowing viewers to continue exploring art beyond our Sherman page.”
They invited me to check out the page and I thought I would share it with you.
For those of you who don’t know, Cindy Sherman has been a big influence on my work. Her exploration of self, her ability to redefine herself and play with her own self image has not only made her a titan on the photographic stage but has left quite an impression on artists both currently working and for many decades to come. The notion that an artist can play or experiment with one’s own self image makes for compelling artwork. If you don’t believe me, you can ask countless artists who cite Sherman as an influence, probably most recently Madonna and Lady Gaga, although there have been many others. The notion that a woman can redefine herself, can change not just her appearance but her role in society, that she can play up or experiment with facets of herself is probably most directly attributed to Sherman more than any other contemporary artist. It really makes for compelling artwork, this notion that we all have facets of ourselves. The modern notion that a woman can change from this to that, can explore who she is and actually play with or present certain facets of herself is very empowering as well.
This image is from a series I did, inspired in part by Sherman’s work, called “Pieces of Me” where I insert myself into previously photographed images and rephotograph the images, each of which plays up a facet of how I see myself. It was a great project to work on, challenging at times, but most rewarding.
I would encourage you to go and check out Sherman’s work if you have not seen it already. It’s worth a second look and that artsy page is a wonderful collection for you to explore.
Until next time…
This image from the archives, previous series “Pieces of Me” it’s called “The Horrified.”
