Untitled

Cindy Sherman rose to prominence with the “Untitled Film Stills” (1977–80), a series of photographs in which the artist captured herself enacting seemingly familiar pop culture clichés. The untitled work in this presentation was made during the time of this series. The work portrays one character posing while wearing (perhaps holiday) ice skating attire. With the generally hazy background, intentional posing and prominence of her signature, Sherman creates a work that is both in line with her role-playing activities and also an extension of that practice. Sherman has created a physical object that is a stand-in for an actor’s or celebrity’s photographic headshot (that one would sign and give out to potential employers and/or fans). Within the details of the costume, the subject’s pose and the work’s overall presentation, Sherman is critiquing the construction of identity, whether in art, fame, and/or photography. As is true throughout her career, Sherman draws attention to the artificiality and ambiguity of stereotypes and thus helps viewers understand a much more complicated reality.