Untitled #228 1990

Curator: Oh, this photograph! It’s "Untitled #228," part of Cindy Sherman’s History Portraits series from 1990. Sherman really delves into reinterpreting historical paintings in this series. Editor: Good heavens, my first thought is… operatic and slightly macabre? It's hard to look away. The clash of textures and the theatrical makeup gives it such an intense stage presence. Is that…a severed head? Curator: Indeed. Sherman has staged herself as Judith with the head of Holofernes, after the story from the Old Testament. This is what I appreciate about Cindy's photographs; they can evoke an image or figure, but simultaneously play into her persona and cultural narratives that explore the complex layers of identity and representation. The composition creates a dialogue between power, performance, and artifice. Editor: I suppose I keep wanting to dig into why she chose this story and this particular styling. This rendition certainly leans more toward melodrama. But given Sherman's broader interest in female roles, particularly those presented in visual culture, Judith works almost perfectly, right? Curator: Exactly! In creating these large-scale photographs, Cindy has challenged how museums display work by using a photographic process and how that process changes the reception of the photograph by using mixed media. This is her form of commentary of these museums by questioning their cultural gatekeeping practices, like with this piece that draws from various sources, spanning art history, literature, and popular culture. Editor: It’s definitely food for thought about art institutions. I like the use of textures in this piece—especially in this interpretation of Judith. This photo creates such a conversation around these figures, forcing one to re-examine our perspective. Curator: Absolutely. It invites us to reconsider not just the historical narratives, but the very way we look at them. Editor: Which seems precisely her point, now, doesn’t it? It stays with you.