Untitled #355 2000

Curator: Here we have Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #355, a large-format photograph created in 2000. What strikes you first about this piece? Editor: Well, I’m immediately drawn to the performative aspect, the constructed nature of the image. It feels staged, consciously crafted, even a bit heavy-handed. Curator: Absolutely. Sherman often uses costume and makeup to transform herself. Think about the glass-like smoothness, how it can symbolize a fragility...an artifice, even? And the slightly exaggerated makeup, those sunglasses perched on her head…they hint at familiar archetypes. Editor: It's interesting that you bring up the fragility. To me, the construction, particularly the obvious wig and the harsh lighting, serves to foreground the constructed image. This almost aggressive artificiality seems like an important aspect of the work. You know, it's very interesting if we think about it from the context in which these pieces are made, what were the different production processes, what resources did Sherman rely on, and how are they being presented and consumed? Curator: The tools available, the makeup itself, and the very act of staging - they are crucial materials. Do you think this particular photograph subverts notions of beauty? Editor: I think so, to the extent that she exposes the labor, if we consider those raw materials to produce an image, but more accurately I feel like it's using a very familiar image for its day and putting this face to something, that may not sit perfectly or what we expect. How does that make it beautiful? It doesn't to everyone, but what it may communicate to those who can access these signs can find beauty or something to enjoy here. Curator: Agreed, I find myself trying to decode those "signs". Consider that arm tattoo... what cultural narratives and stereotypes are interwoven there? How do they play with our expectations of identity? Editor: Perhaps those signs are deliberately slippery. What's interesting to me is that this construction creates an image that's both familiar and unsettling. Thanks for pointing out the layers beneath what might otherwise seem like a straightforward portrait. Curator: My pleasure. It is precisely these layers and the way in which these identities intersect that continue to provoke.