Cindy ShermanAmerican, 1954Untitled #88
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Cindy Sherman’s staged photographs explore the pervasive effects of mass-media images on individual identities. Since the late 1970s, the artist has served as both photographer and model for a large cast of fictional personalities created primarily through costume, hair, makeup, and lighting. In 1981 she began a series of large color photographs that mimic the horizontal format of a magazine centerfold. Critiques of these glossy spreads, Sherman’s representations are fraught with anxiety, vulnerability, and longing. In Untitled #88, she depicted herself as a young, disheveled blonde girl; her fragility and isolation are underscored by her huddled body language and pensive stare. An imposing darkness surrounds her, except for the warm glow from what is most likely a fire, the only source of light in the picture. While the girl’s specific situation remains ambiguous, the photograph illustrates that, for Sherman, gender roles are performative.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1988.118
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
Meanwhile, in the life of Cindy Sherman
The whole life1974–1980
Together with Robert Longo
Sherman lived with the artist Robert Longo, who featured her in his 'Men in the Cities' series and encouraged her to record her 'dolling up' for parties; this was the beginning of her Film Stills. Other accounts date their meeting to 1976; they lived together until 1979 and remained friends.
1979
To Arizona with her parents: “The Hitchhiker”
Sherman shot several Film Stills while preparing for a road trip to Arizona with her parents; “Untitled Film Still #48”, known as “The Hitchhiker”, was taken by her father at sunset during the trip.
1980
First solo shows in New York
Sherman's first solo show in New York was at the non-commercial space The Kitchen, and when Metro Pictures opened later that year its first show was her photographs; the gallery went on to represent her for 40 years. The Film Stills were first shown at Artists Space, where Sherman worked as a receptionist.
1980
Ends the “Film Stills” and turns to colour
Sherman finished the Film Stills when, as she put it, she had run out of clichés, and with the Rear Screen Projections series moved from black-and-white to colour and to large formats.
1982
The Venice Biennale and the Stedelijk Museum
Sherman took part in the Venice Biennale (and again in 1995) and had a solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The same year she began the Pink Robes series (Untitled #97–100).
19 June 1982 – 28 September 1982
Exhibition: documenta 7
