Cindy Sherman is probably one of the most authoritative photographers of the twentieth century and her influence within the art community can hardly be exaggerated. Sherman’s conceptual photography is all about the role women have within our society, in both present and the past. Her archetypical characters, like the housewife, the prostitute and the innocent schoolgirl are mostly played by herself.
I first encountered the photography of Cindy Sherman during a solo exhibition of her in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and I was shocked, amused and amazed. This woman was using herself as a medium to express her ideas, to tell her story, without any shame whatsoever. Her capability of visual communication were quite an inspiration for my own work at that time, and I was not the only one who was caught by her art and inspired by her direct approach. Sherman’s international success started relatively early in her career and today her photographs and film stills are astronomically priced, one of her photographs was sold at an auction of Christie’s for $ 190.000 USD, not often seen for conceptual photography.
Most of her work is commenting the female archetypes we have created in our culture, the role women play in advertising, movies, art and let’s not forget porn. These archetypes are captured in endless series of photographs and film stills, intriguing and rather confronting images of women, by a woman.
More information about Cindy Sherman
Sherman at the Guggenheim Museum
