Cindy Sherman Re-creation

 Looking into contemporary artists, I found Sherman's feminist work, the series of Untitled Film Stills (1977-80) to be inspiring. I decided to re-create five of these photographs in order to gain a further understanding of how women are viewed in media--a commentary on the male gaze.

Sherman, Untitled Film Still #21

Klinger, Re-creation

Sherman, Untitled Film Still #42

Klinger, Re-creation

Sherman, Untitled Film Still #17

Klinger, Re-creation

Sherman, Untitled Film Still #13

Klinger, Re-creation

Sherman, Untitled Film Still #24

Klinger, Re-creation

The following is an essay regarding this work and my own re-creation:

Sherman Re-created 

Like everything else in this world, an artwork may change as it ages. The intended meaning of a piece is capable of being altered through time as it is exposed to new concepts and experiences in its society. Exploring ideas of social and political expression, contemporary art responds to the world around it—when the world changes, the art’s meaning may respond. Ideas of feminism have progressed through time, and so the feminist movements and artworks from decades ago may have an altered meaning. Standards that have been set for women through the male gaze have changed throughout time, however, they are still set in place and women are expected to fulfil a role of particular femininity. One artist that displays this idea of the male gaze in media would be Cindy Sherman. Sherman is a photographer that produced Untitled Film Stills (1977-80), a series of sixty-nine photographs, creating images through the “eyes” of a heterosexual male. Considering this, I decided to re-create five photographs from this series where I would get to explore how the meaning of this series may have been altered throughout the course of time. Specifically, I chose to re-create Untitled Film Still #13, Untitled Film Still #17, Untitled Film Still #21, Untitled Film Still #24, and Untitled Film Still #42. In her black-and-white self-portrait photograph series, Cindy Sherman captures the everlasting representation of women in film media by portraying stereotypical feminine ideals in which she presents as characters. 

Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills is a series of sixty-nine black-and-white photographs. Each photograph is a self-portrait of Sherman as she dresses in various costumes and wigs. In each photo, Sherman dresses up to represent a character—an imaginary actress being staged through the male gaze. As explained on the Museum of Modern Art’s website where they talk about Sherman’s work: 

She put on guises and photographed herself in various settings with deliberately selected props to create scenes that resemble those from mid-20th-century B movies…these images rely on female characters (and caricatures) such as the jaded seductress, the unhappy housewife, the jilted lover, and the vulnerable naif. Sherman used cinematic conventions to structure these photographs: they recall the film stills used to promote movies, from which the series takes its title. The 70 Film Stills immediately became flashpoints for conversations about feminism, postmodernism, and representation, and they remain her best-known works.1 

In order to create the illusion that these photographs have been taken from a movie, Sherman uses a distinct style in her photography. The repetitive gray tone as well as including only one (female) subject in each photograph makes it so not one single piece from this series stands out from the rest—they all blend nicely together. This approach to the series allows for each individual photograph to fit together cohesively despite every photograph telling a different story. While the series is aesthetically and meaningfully cohesive, there are subtle differences in each piece. Not only does she portray different characters, but Sherman explores different plot lines and genres of movies. The series shows a lot of drama, which allows for each individual piece to have an impact on the viewer. This drama is mostly conveyed by the character’s facial expression, which is where the viewer gets most of their information to form their own story. One will recognize a certain tone from each expression and, in turn, will respond accordingly.  

Because of the character’s facial expressions, setting, and appearance, one can create a backstory for the character, determining what led up to this captured moment and also what the character’s next move will be. Interaction between the art and the viewer is a key factor in this work. The viewer will likely view each photograph and imagine a story based on their own life experiences—perhaps the scene reminds them of a movie, or possibly something that has happened in their life. Sherman wants the viewer to see themselves in her work; to find a connection between her art and the society that surrounds it. In an interview, Sherman explains part of her reasoning behind her work by saying, “when I prepare each character I have to consider what I’m working against; that people are going to look under the make-up and wigs for that common denominator, the recognizable. I’m trying to make other people recognize something in themselves rather than me.”2 Sherman ties her work into society’s perspective. This is where her feminist work has an impact. When one relates to a piece, they may also be comparing themselves to the subject—in this case, and for Hollywood movies, the subject being compared is a well-thought-out character with an entire team behind them to capture the essence of femininity that caters to the male gaze; to make them seem appear as a sexual object. When a viewer—particularly one who identifies as a woman—relates this way to a sexualized feminine figure, they will learn that this fabricated figure is the ideal; that they, themselves, must appear the way the figure is portrayed in media to be deemed desirable. The purpose of Sherman’s work is not to flaunt that she may have an ideal body, but to highlight the wrongs of the film media industry that are catering to the societal standards of femininity.  

I chose to re-create this artwork because I am interested in a career in photography, and I enjoy exploring ideas about how women are viewed in society. As an artist and photographer, myself, I believe it is important for feminist art to be shared to create an impact on the world. The creation of Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills (1977-80) allows for progression in feminist ideas and the integration of such ideas into society and every-day practices. As written in Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980, “feminists, along with minority and LGBT artists, have continued to engage with politicized issues pertaining directly to the body. Cindy Sherman…deconstructed the ideological meanings of objectified and stereotyped representations of the body from the past and present.”3 Growing up as a girl into a young woman, I have been aware of the standards for my body, whether it was put in place by the media I was exposed to or by the people in my life. To re-create this series for me was to explore further what it means to be a woman in the society I am a part of. I, too, would like to explore the meanings of “objectified” and “stereotyped” representations of women. 

In the process of re-creating Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills (1977-80), I first had to choose which of the sixty-nine photos to recreate. I decided it would be best to choose five photographs from the series. Considering my budget for costumes and my location in which I would be taking each photograph, I ended up choosing from the series: Untitled Film Still #13, Untitled Film Still #17, Untitled Film Still #21, Untitled Film Still #24, and Untitled Film Still #42. Because I would be shooting all my photographs from the Downtown St. Augustine, FL area, I considered each of these original photos from the collection and made sure I had a setting in mind that would resemble the setting of the original. I also considered what was realistic in terms of costumes due to the fact that I am a college student with low funds, and I had about two weeks to gather the clothes I needed to resemble the costumes Sherman was wearing in the originals. After rummaging through my closet, I found many items of clothing that I already had that would resemble the original costumes. To get the rest of the clothing I needed, I ended up going to Goodwill and finding some items that would work.  

To take the photographs, my materials included a digital camera and a tripod. For each photograph, I dressed to resemble the original costume and set up my camera to make sure the background setting was as close as possible to Sherman’s. I then adjusted the IOS, shutter speed, and aperture on my camera and used the help of a friend of mine so that I would be able to get the right shot. I had them positioned in front of the camera so that I could finalize the angles and focus, then once everything was set, we switched places and I positioned myself in front of the camera. With the reference images on my phone, my friend was able to guide my pose and gaze to match Sherman’s original. Their job was then to press the button on my camera to activate the shutter—they took multiple pictures in each location, and I chose the final pictures that resembled the original the most. I began finalizing each photograph, putting a black-and-white filter on them, then cropping the image for final touches. 

I put myself in Cindy Sherman’s shoes, and in doing so, I learned more about what it is to be a woman in media. There was difficulty finding a flattering angle, lighting, and setting to convey the right kind of emotion that would be contagious to the viewer. I saw myself from the perspective of someone other than me, as I was portraying a character that is idealized in a true feminine form and attained an understanding of how others prefer women to look. 

Comparing the two works—Sherman's original and my re-creation—side by side, it is obvious that the two are not identical. Because the original photograph series was taken on film, the quality of the two differs, as I was unable to capture a vintage appearance. Another way our works differ would be how Sherman was dedicated to altering her look to portray a different character each time—she used wigs and different make-up that allowed her to do so. On the contrary, I did not have any wigs to alter my appearance as much as she did. The other major differences in each collective piece would be the setting and costumes, as I shot in a different location and only had access to certain clothes.  

The similarities and/or differences between my work and Sherman’s work are not only surface level based on the appearance and resemblance, but they can be contrasted through the meanings they covey. My work is different from Sherman’s due to my identity as a student and the time period in which I am re-creating the work. Whether through a re-creation to experience her meaning first-hand or just admiring her work, I believe it is important to revisit this photograph series that Sherman created because within her work, there is the idea of repetition. As stated in The Woman 69 Times: Cindy Sherman’s “Untitled Film Stills”: 

Untitled is part of the title, constantly deconstructing itself and the series designated. Film refers to movement, change (hereby of the male gaze of ‘50s films, containing oppressive technologies of gender), while stills signifies the frozen moment, which can, nevertheless, be replayed and hence is in the plural, signifying the repetition of the same image with a little difference, providing possibility for a different view, a revision.4 

With this repetition, the viewer can revisit the work at different time periods. Each individual photograph, slightly different from the others, has the potential to change with time.  

Because there are still standards set in place for women in society today, I can challenge the idea that the meaning of Sherman’s work has changed throughout time. However, in my personal experience growing up in the twenty-first century, I have noticed that women are beginning to take back the idea of being sexualized and objectified. There is power that comes with being confident and refusing to answer to a male-dominated society that tells women to appear a certain way. The continued use of feminist artworks to highlight the wrongs of the male gaze will aid to the progression of humanity; to finally be able to present oneself as an equal to their peers. While I believe that Sherman’s original meaning still stands and will remain everlasting in history, I also believe that there will be a greater progression within the feminist movements that rid of societal standards of femininity.