Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and film director, best known for her photographs in which she is dressed in costumes representing another person. Fashion and female identity is a recurring theme in Cindy Sherman's art. Her art addresses issues in femininity and the role of women in society. The image that I am analyzing comes from her "Untitled Film Stills" that were created during 1977 to 1980. This one is known as "Untitled Film Still #13," where we see a woman—perhaps a teenager in the 1960s—struggling to reach a book on a tall shelf in the library.
Recommended for you
This image was widely stereotyped and seen in the 60s and even in movies today, of the young female intellectual on the verge of discovering her "true womanhood." The scene is quiet and almost feels as if it is frozen in time. The monochromatic color scheme of the photograph adds drama to the scene. The black and white reminds people of old memories, like old photographs. The black and white shades are also considered to be classic and expressively emotional. They eliminate the distraction and power of color to draw attention to a specific thing and instead causes the viewer to pay attention to the entire composition.
The vertical implied lines of the books draw the viewers attention to the girl. The vertical lines also represent stability and can allow the viewer to conclude that the scene is normal and not chaotic. The young lady isn't looking directly at the viewer but rather off into the distant as if intrigued or admiring someone. Thus, making the vanishing point somewhere off the photograph and sticking to the idea the women were not to look directly at men for it was out of the norm.
What makes the photograph interesting is that there is no real story, the viewer can make his or her interpretation about the story being unfolded here. Allowing the viewer the freedom to create their own interpretation of the painting. The message of the artwork is about feminism and it can be seen as a feminist analysis because it considers both the role of women at the time of the artwork and it sheds light on the types of gender roles women were seen to have.
At the time Sherman's artwork was created Feminism was beginning to have a significant impact on artistic representation of women, as well as, the possibilities of women in society. It can also be considered a biographical analysis since it reflects whether the artist’s personal experiences and opinions may have affected the making or meaning of the artwork in some way. Which we know to be true, as she says herself “…throughout my childhood I had stored up so many images of role models. It was really easy to think of a different one in every scene.”
This photo is realism but also expressionism. It shows a real person in a real life setting (a library) but expressionism because of the heightened emotions depicted in the girls face.
