Cindy Sherman rose to prominence with her now iconic series of works, the “Untitled Film Stills” (1977–80), a series of photographs in which the artist captured herself enacting seemingly familiar pop culture clichés. The various works in the current exhibition were made either before or during the period of the “Untitled Film Stills.” At this critical early stage in her work, Sherman was already critiquing the construction of identity, whether in art, fame, and/or photography. As has been true throughout her career, Sherman drew attention to the artificiality and ambiguity of stereotypes and thus presents a much more complicated reality.
