Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman (b. 1954) is her own subject matter. One of the most celebrated female artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries she has, for a period spanning more than thirty years, used make-up, prosthetics and props to present herself in the guise of numerous different personae, placed in contexts that draw on the visual conventions of film, television and the media. Such settings and characters invite the viewer to consider the relation of appearance and identity and also the way in which female stereotypes have been perpetuated not only by the media but also by the art world itself. This book introduces some of Sherman's most important works, from her seminal 1970s series Untitled Film Stills , which references film noir movies by such directors as Alfred Hitchcock and Jacques Tourneur, to her progression into colour photography in the 1980s series Centerfolds . It also follows her decision to remove herself from the picture by allowing her props and prosthetics alone to represent the subjects that she wished to critique, such as pornography and war photography. In the last decade Sherman has reintroduced herself into her work, for example in her History Portraits where she playfully appropriates the subjects of the Old Masters, as well as introducing us to a whole new cast of characters in her Clowns and Headshots (or Hollywood/Hampton Types ). It also presents her most recent pieces – large-scale murals and photographs, in which more ambiguous identities are played out within epic landscapes.

Cindy Sherman (b. 1954) is her own subject matter. One of the most celebrated female artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries she has, for a period spanning more than thirty years, used make-up, prosthetics and props to present herself in the guise of numerous different personae, placed in contexts that draw on the visual conventions of film, television and the media. Such settings and characters invite the viewer to consider the relation of appearance and identity and also the way in which female stereotypes have been perpetuated not only by the media but also by the art world itself. This book introduces some of Sherman's most important works, from her seminal 1970s series Untitled Film Stills , which references film noir movies by such directors as Alfred Hitchcock and Jacques Tourneur, to her progression into colour photography in the 1980s series Centerfolds . It also follows her decision to remove herself from the picture by allowing her props and prosthetics alone to represent the subjects that she wished to critique, such as pornography and war photography. In the last decade Sherman has reintroduced herself into her work, for example in her History Portraits where she playfully appropriates the subjects of the Old Masters, as well as introducing us to a whole new cast of characters in her Clowns and Headshots (or Hollywood/Hampton Types ). It also presents her most recent pieces – large-scale murals and photographs, in which more ambiguous identities are played out within epic landscapes.

For almost 50 years, the theme of fashion has been a constant in the work of US artist Cindy Sherman. Cindy Sherman – Anti-Fashion is the first to focus on this close engagement with fashion and approaches her photographic oeuvre from a new perspective. In so doing, it sheds light on the interplay between art and fashion. For Sherman uses her numerous commissions from magazines and her collaborations with renowned designers as a constant source of artistic inspiration. This book reveals the subject of fashion as the starting point for the artist’s critical investigation of gender, stereotypes, and our attitude to aging. The wide range of Sherman’s assumed characters highlights the artificiality and changeability of identity, which – now more than ever – is shown to be selectable, (self-)constructed, and fluid. Text in English and Dutch.

For almost 50 years, the theme of fashion has been a constant in the work of US artist Cindy Sherman. Cindy Sherman – Anti-Fashion is the first to focus on this close engagement with fashion and approaches her photographic oeuvre from a new perspective. In so doing, it sheds light on the interplay between art and fashion. For Sherman uses her numerous commissions from magazines and her collaborations with renowned designers as a constant source of artistic inspiration. This book reveals the subject of fashion as the starting point for the artist’s critical investigation of gender, stereotypes, and our attitude to aging. The wide range of Sherman’s assumed characters highlights the artificiality and changeability of identity, which – now more than ever – is shown to be selectable, (self-)constructed, and fluid. Text in English and Dutch.

For almost 50 years, the theme of fashion has been a constant in the work of US artist Cindy Sherman. Cindy Sherman – Anti-Fashion is the first to focus on this close engagement with fashion and approaches her photographic oeuvre from a new perspective. In so doing, it sheds light on the interplay between art and fashion. For Sherman uses her numerous commissions from magazines and her collaborations with renowned designers as a constant source of artistic inspiration. This book reveals the subject of fashion as the starting point for the artist’s critical investigation of gender, stereotypes, and our attitude to aging. The wide range of Sherman’s assumed characters highlights the artificiality and changeability of identity, which – now more than ever – is shown to be selectable, (self-)constructed, and fluid. Text in English and Dutch.