Response to Cindy Sherman video

In Nobody’s Here but Me, Cindy Sherman does a great job of depicting postmodernism through her photography. Most of the women in her photos demonstrate what we talked about in class, that are not just selling a product or an image, they are selling a lifestyle. However, I do believe that Cindy Sherman is trying to develop a deeper meaning than that. She takes a concept, such as female vulnerability, for example, and really highlights that emotion in her subjects’ faces, like the woman that appeared to be covering most of her face under the covers. I really liked what Jamie Lee Curtis said about Cindy Sherman not trying to be a feminist, but really showing those qualities, and I’d have to agree with her. She depicts some serious feminist issues in her work, including the male gaze. For example, when the woman was leaning on the front door in the hallway, was she rejected by the man of the house because he was no longer interested in her for an insane reason like not being beautiful or young enough anymore? Another thing I really loved was when she used the medical dolls in place of actual people so she could still shoot some naked body photos after profanity was more regulated in the industry. I love artists who find their way around certain regulations and I believe Cindy Sherman did it in a very interesting and creative way. Although I’m not a big fan of her later work, just because of the blood and it being less realistic, I do think she does well to send a very powerful message in her work.