Untitled #413 2003

Curator: This photograph, titled "Untitled #413," was created by Cindy Sherman in 2003. Like much of Sherman's work, it's a c-print, exploring the artifice of representation and identity. Editor: It's unsettling, immediately. The sad clown makeup, the lurid background—it feels like a funhouse mirror reflecting something quite dark. Curator: Absolutely. The clown is a potent figure, often masking deeper societal anxieties and personal struggles. Consider the historical context; this was created in a post-9/11 world, perhaps mirroring widespread feelings of uncertainty and unease. Editor: The clown's sagging features amplify that sense of unease. The drooping mouth, the way the white makeup emphasizes the wrinkles around the eyes…there's a fragility, even a resignation, in those lines. What does the clown mean for society? Curator: The work clearly builds upon her earlier "Untitled Film Stills," but rather than referencing specific cinematic tropes, this series delves into more overtly theatrical characters. Here, she plays on the stock character of the sad clown. Editor: The jacket embroidered with "Cindy" personalizes it, adding another layer. Is this Sherman confronting her own identity, her public persona? There is always an autobiographical element, a sense of personal vulnerability. Curator: It complicates the reading. Sherman's choice of photography and portraiture isn’t coincidental; this decision highlights how institutions like museums and art history have controlled the means by which images have historically been framed, presented, and distributed to the public, making this kind of subversion particularly effective. Editor: Yes. I also see the use of makeup as the idea of wearing masks, whether in art, as we see, or on the face, what’s being hidden. In psychological terms, the sad clown can embody the painful division between our inner world and our public performance. Curator: Sherman is prompting us to question the roles we play, both in life and as viewers of art. Editor: The layering of masks, of identity, is almost dizzying to follow, but what she's saying—it has resonance. Curator: Indeed. Sherman uses herself to prompt bigger questions about our world and what we deem valuable within it.