Untitled Film Still #3 1977

This is one of Cindy Sherman's black and white photographs, a kind of still, and it feels as if it has come into being through trial and error and intuition. You know, I really sympathize with Sherman, staging herself in these different roles. In this photograph, she’s not just playing a character; she's dissecting an entire cultural trope. Her slightly averted gaze, the mundane kitchen setting—it all speaks to a feeling of being trapped, or at least deeply confined. It makes you think about the layers of artifice involved in creating a seemingly "natural" image. The apron that feels at once homely and like a costume. Sherman wasn't just taking pictures; she was prompting a whole generation to think critically about the images that surround us. It's like she’s saying, “Let's not take anything at face value.” Sherman inspires creativity and prompts us to see things in a new light.