Cindy ShermanCindy Sherman is an American photographer that works mostly in portraiture. Born in 1954, Sherman attended Buffalo State College where she studied painting. Frustrated by paintings limitation, she began exploring photography. Many of her images feature herself as the model in the portrait, making her not only a photographer, but also a model, as well as her own hairdresser, stylist, and makeup artist. Sherman altered her

Critical Study:Sherman’s photography focuses on identity, the nature of representation inspired by pop culture, and the representation of women in society. At first glance, the characters she depicts seem outrageous, but when you take a closer look you notice many of the characters are doing something many women in today’s society can relate to: trying too hard to be beautiful. They have over the top hairdos, caked on make-up, and tan lines. These images make commentary on the lengths to which many women go to be considered beautiful by whatever is the current society’s standard.

Structural Frame:How does the composition affect the way the viewer looks at the character being depicted? How?

Untitled #466, 2008

Untitled, 2004

Subjective Frame: What do the characters Sherman has created remind you of?What emotion do these portraits convey to you? Why?Cultural Frame: How have the images been influenced by pop culture? What kind of character are these portraits trying to depict? What makes you think that?How do these images relate to today’s society?

Related Art Making: Come up with a character or a disguise that is completely different from your own identity. Give this character a background story and personality. Take a portrait photo as this character.

Untitled #463, 2008Untitled, 2002

VocabularyTableau: a group of models or motionless figures representing a scene from a story or from history.Identity: the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.Representation: the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or as being of a certain nature.Autobiographical: dealing with the artist's own life.

Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, Frida Kahlo, 1940

Resources:http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1170https://www.artsy.net/artist/cindy-shermanhttp://www.classic-photographers.com/photographer-cindy-sherman/http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/photography/Cindy-Sherman.html

In Comparison to Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo’s work, specifically self-portraits, were extremely personalized. She used various symbols and details to clearly illustrate that her paintings were all about various aspects of her life, especially her injuries and her inability to produce a child. Cindy Sherman’s work is not autobiographical, and although she is always the star of her portraits, she is so heavily disguised that she is almost unidentifiable. Taking this into consideration, what

Related Art Making: Create two photographic self-portraits: one by working alone, and the other by working with a partner who can act as photographer and director. Compare the two photographs, decide which presents the "truer" self, and explain why it does.

Untitled #359, 2000

Untitled #193, 1989