When I had at first heard of Cindy Sherman, I didn’t really know what to expect from her photography. But as I watched the “Nobody is Here But Me” video, I soon quite got to know more about who she was, her style of photography, and portraiture. I had found it very interesting that her way of creating portraits were very different than what I expected, the way she would create different characters by using makeup and wigs. I thought this was interesting because nowadays photoshop is so widely used to alter and change how we look, whereas Cindy Sherman altered herself just by the simple usage of makeup. It is actually surprising how different she looks in her photos, almost to the point where I had to question myself if that was really her. Not only that but it was also interesting to see her dedication to creating her own scenery for her portraiture to help convey a story. Her style of portraiture was truly so different in a way that it had created a mass influence on photographers, painters, performances and video artists.

Throughout all of Cindy Sherman’s photos the picture that most inspired my selfie was one of her untitled film stills. The untitled photo above inspired me because as I observed her other photos I have noticed that it was very rare to see her smile, majority of her photos seemed as if she was very closed off, defensive and unapproachable. Although when I saw this photo I felt as if she was trying to communicate many different things to her audience.  For example, one thing that really struck to me was her posture. Her posture struck out to me because in the photo we see her standing tall and proud with her hand on her hip, to me something her body language really demonstrated and displayed her as a confident and strong woman. Not only did her body language display these things but the way she cheerfully looks forward conveyed to me her readiness to conquer anything in the world.  I had chosen this photo of myself because I feel as though just like her untitled photo it displays my confidence and how truly free-spirited I am. My selfie is also similar to Cindy Sherman’s because like her photo you can see how real our emotions are, by how our eyes tighten and how the corners of our mouths raise when we smile. Just like Cindy Sherman it is also very rare to see a photo of me smiling.

                                          

                            

Reference:

http://www.artnews.com/2012/02/14/the-cindy-sherman-effect/