What could possibly make a sunny Sunday any better you may
ask? - Sacrificing that preciously rare SF sunshine for an art exhibition that
proves to be a 100% worth it and then some! This past weekend has found me
exhausted and getting increasingly nervous about launching my brand new costume
jewelry project due mid-October. Sleepless nights are my only companions these
days, locked in my apartment and ordering sushi in…raising those mercury levels
and feeling the low of the lowest for a lady who loves to cook! However, logo
must be finalized and final website changes made!
And I diverge, which lately has been becoming a habit of
mine - a syndrome of total scatterbrain due to the lack of rest and indulgence
in reading too many books and articles and going in visual overload on
Pinterest. Come Sunday, I fled my apartment desperate to move around and have a
change of scenery. My mom joined me, lured in by a promise of an early brunch at
a French bistro or other venue boasting outdoor sitting. But before two ladies
fully battle their gastronomical cravings, intellectual ones had to be fed as
well. So off we went to SF MoMA for a much-anticipated Cindy Sherman
photography exhibit.
Cindy Sherman is one of the most influential photographers
who has managed to intrigue, inspire and produce great art for the past forty
years. Although Cindy Sherman is internationally recognized for her series of
“Untitled Film Stills” (1977-1980), consisting of 69 self-portraits depicting
various stereotypes of female roles, I have found myself overwhelmed with
abundance and versatility of the artist’s portfolio. The self-portraits of
Cindy Sherman set against the backdrop of skyscrapers, propped on a bed or
simply standing in the doorway of her bathroom are reminiscent of the film
clips stolen from Fellini’s neorealism or Hitchcock’s film noir. Black and
white and small in scale (8 1/2 by 11 inches) the photographs are simply
numbered, preserving ambiguity and allowing the audience to attach its own
meaning to the images at hand. Most of the photographs were taken in Sherman’s
apartment, using her own clothes, makeup and props, stripping the portraits of
overbearing affectation. Ironically the photographs looked incredibly sincere
even though I was fully aware of Sherman’s meticulous staging.
I have been familiar with the “Stills” from brief encounters
in my graduate work yet most of Cindy Sherman’s creative reflections have
eluded me. As I walked around the gallery I was astonished at discovering how
multi-dimensional and innovative a self-portrait could be and how a true
artiste could preserve her artistic identity while delighting the audience with
ingenuity and wit. Even though Cindy Sherman’s later works still have an
underlying social philosophy, contemplating on such diverse topics as sex in
the age of AIDS, women’s quest for youth or façade of a clown’s smile, she has
made a move away from black and white imagery and abandoned herself in vivid colors.
My favorite series of photographs, however, was Cindy
Sherman’s “History Portrait”, a collection of 35 amusing images inspired by the
paintings of the greatest Renaissance masters. I will not give any more away
since just recalling the exhibition here, made me want to make another trip to
the museum. In other words – go…please! The exhibition closes on October 8!
*Images courtesy of Cindy Sherman
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