Untitled Film Still #22

Untitled Film Stills in which the artist herself is the model, was Cindy Sherman’s breakthrough work. She took the photos using a timer, or instructed others to take them, at home, in town, or on journeys. The imagery captures the mood of old black-and-white movies. But none of the carefully arranged scenes are from an actual film, even though we may feel like we know the plot and the character. These works conjure up narratives without revealing anything in themselves. The context is provided by the viewer’s own references. They borrow from the flow of images from movies, art and media, linking the familiar with the unknown. Cindy Sherman’s practice has been seminal to the construction of identity, and to images as creators of myth.