Cindy Sherman

An artist we need to consider for our ‘Matchbox’ shoot is Cindy Sherman.

Sherman is an American photographer and film director, she is well known for her conceptual portraits where she herself, is always the model. For each photographic project she seems to take on roles of different characters for her work. In 1981, a project named ‘Centerfolds’ questioned the idea of stereotyping women in films, magazines and TV. In discussion about this project, Cindy stated,

"In content I wanted a man opening up the magazine suddenly look at it with an expectation of something lascivious and then feel like the violator that they would be. Looking at this woman who is perhaps a victim. I didn't think of them as victims at the time... But I suppose... Obviously I'm trying to make someone feel bad for having a certain expectation."

In 2006 there was an exhibition, a retrospective for Sherman‘s work: a spokesperson for the exhibition spoke their thoughts on the pieces:

‘What emerges through these images is a subtle analysis of individual identity, both the fantasies that it generates and the forces that shape it. This immersion in the uncertain, conflictual zones where individual identity struggles with the collective imaginary, stereotypes and issues of symbolic power, can be either playful or—when it touches on horror and repulsion, on the decay and dismembering of the body—very dark’.

Sherman’s work seems to question roles and identity, specifically of women, this I think will naturally come through within our images for the matchbox photo shoot. When thinking about mass consumerism, it is usually women that seem to have the want and need to be ‘similar’ in society, yet somehow, women tend to want to be unique in society. Our images are created to question and highlight why we want to be a ‘mass consumer’ society. Not only does Sherman’s work have more complex meaning’s but, when looking at her imagery she commonly looks like a mannequin: her look isn’t heavily natural- this could be good for us to look at for make up ideas for the shoot. Sherman is very ironic and literal in her shoots, I like this.