BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition - October 2019

YVR
10.19
Master of Disguise:
the groundbreaking
art of Cindy Sherman
By YASMINE SHEMESH
In one image, she’s done up
like a 1920s movie star — thin
eyebrows, pouty lips, and a scarf
draped over her head. Another
one has her sitting demurely on a
wooden chair in a studio, peeking
through blonde bangs and looking
the epitome of cool in a white
button-up and blue jeans. A third
shows her in clown make-up,
donning plump cheek prosthetics
and a sad expression.
It is, indeed, the one-and-thesame
woman: Cindy Sherman,
master of disguise and artist,
known for her highly conceptual
photographs in which she manipulates
her appearance to portray
characters in a variety of contexts.
In a decorated career that
has spanned more than 40 years,
her work primarily explores the
junction of identity and illusion,
particularly regarding feminine
stereotypes that exist in television,
film, and advertising.
But Sherman was always interested
in challenging the notions of
identity. In interviews, she has discussed
how, as a kid, she would
dress up as different characters
to get attention (she was the
youngest sibling). After moving
to New York in the 70s to pursue
photography, though, dressing
up became more than child’s play
and she started creating what
would become her best-known
work: Untitled Film Stills (1977-
80). The black and white portrait
series, inspired by promotional
posters for 40s and 50s movies,
carved out a prominent place for
her in the Pictures Generation
— a group of artists who sharply
critiqued the media landscape.
This month, the Vancouver
Art Gallery will host a critically
acclaimed retrospective of
Sherman’s work, exhibiting more
than 170 of her pieces, including
Untitled Film Stills, as well as her
newest project, Untitled #602.
The latest, a collaboration with
Stella McCartney, shows an
androgynous Sherman with short
hair, standing in a landscaped garden,
and wearing a trench and a
t-shirt that depicts an image from
her own Rear Screen Projections.
Here, and as always, Sherman
challenges the viewer to consider
reality, artifice, and their own
reflection.
Vancouver Art Gallery / October 26,
2019-March 8, 2020 / Tix: vanartgallery.bc.ca
VANCOUVER’S ESSENTIAL OCTOBER HAPPENINGSk
OCTOBER 2019 BEATROUTE 41
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND METRO PICTURES, NEW YORK