Cindy Sherman has built a name as one of the most respected photographers of the late twentieth century. The majority of Sherman's photography is of herself although the images are self portraits. Instead she uses the images to convey comments of the issues in the modern world. Sherman loved to dress up within shoots so by denying her own identity she also captured something of the times:
"The premise of post modernism is that we now live in a culture so saturated with media imagery and media models of how people live that our idea of how one lives one's life and who one is, is made up of that kind of media myth. And in a sense it negates the idea of portraiture, the idea that you can dress up and go to a studio and somehow reveal your strength of character, or your inherent humanity or whatever. You don't have an inherent humanity in the post modernist analysis of these things we are all these composites of a lot of myths and narratives written by other people." (Colin Westerbeck, Writer)
This first image of Cindy Sherman, is a classic black and white shot take from an aerial view looking down on Sherman. Known for expressing comments about the modern world, Sherman within this photograph looks lifeless and almost 'plastic'. This particular character Sherman is presenting occurs throughout her photography as a lost women in a 'trendy' world. The contorted pose Sherman adopts reinforces the lifelessness state the women is in.
The character of the blonde women above is continued within this image. Sherman uses the shadowing from the light in the background of the image to highlight the protagonist character in the foreground. Using the rule of thirds to 'breakdown' and analyse this picture, Sherman stands in the right hand third of the image allowing for the viewer to be creative in believing what she is looking at. Also the position she has adopted allow for her to appear bigger and more important. She appears quite tall against the backdrop suggesting the character is 'taking on the city' and it's clear Sherman was taking on the stereotype of the role of the woman by using a 'city savvy' character.
Personally this image taken by Sherman is one of the most striking images she has within her collection. The character is placed in the left third and her body fills the most the frame. What makes this image effective is the focal point Sherman creates from using a slightly titled angle from above because it allows the audience to focus on the characters eyes. Some believe 'the eyes are the gateway to a person soul' and within this image the characters petrified look and fear within her eyes creates the back story to this image.
This image is one of the many photographs labelled as a 'film still' by Sherman. What makes this photograph powerful is the straight on angle and placement of the character. The image appears to have been edited to look faded and grainy but this works in Sherman's favour as the photograph looks like a distant memory for the character.
This character is a different style of character compared to the other ones Cindy Sherman has created. The style of photography is different as well. This photograph seems more personal and the audience adopts a voyeuristic view on the characters as we are viewing their lives from a 'hidden' view. The balance of both characters being in the left and right hand side of the thirds within the frame allow for the viewers eyes not to be distracted and instead focused on the female.
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