MOMA- Cindy Sherman

I was very surprised to see how Cindy Sherman's work resembled so many forms of art, such as film and paintings, although it was all photography. Aside from one set of work, she is present in all of her pictures. She creates different characters for her to portray almost to the point of the viewer not recognizing they are all her. However, she does not consider herself to be a photographer, but uses the camera as a tool. Most of her work is very erotic, sexual, and have a violent feel to them. Her expression, positions, and locations resemble women in vulnerable, threatening states. A lot of her "Film Stills" resemble stills from Hitchcock movies and other films of the 1950s and 60s. Through her art she expresses how women were portrayed by the media. One collection of work were photographs for magazines with her wearing very expensive clothing. The photographs I found to be very contradictory, for her appearance herself did not fit the luxurious clothing she was wearing. The set of photographs where she was not present were extremely sexual. She used dolls and put them in awkward positions to create a uneasy, erotic feeling. Her pictures that resembled paintings were done to look like painting that you would see hanging in an old castle. She completed this set of work while living in Italy. Some of the pictures in this set were also sexual, revealing women's breasts. The last set of images I saw were extremely colorful and violent, like portraying someone with sharp teeth. As a horror fanatic, I found her work to be very inspiring. You do not need a video camera to portray violent, scary images. She can still achieve that tone with photographs and paintings without a chain of events that the viewer is watching. I recommend the exhibit to all people that can appreciate art without judging the fact that you will not get a happy feeling from the work.