Casual interpretation might suggest that Cindy Sherman is a famous photographer who makes self portraits.

Though the characters and styling seem recognizable, Sherman did not base this body of work on any specific film or director, rather, on almost cliche feminine 'types'.

Seen together, what became a total of 70 black-and-white photographs reads like an inventory of stereotypical female types seen in 1950s and 1960s Hollywood, film noir, and art-house films.

In the early 1980s, Artforum magazine commissioned an increasingly well-known Cindy Sherman to create a sendup of men's magazine centerfolds. The work was ultimately never published in the magazine, but became some of Sherman's most recognized and collected works.

The pictures, also known as the "Horizontals" (due to their 24 x 48 inch centerfold-inspired shapes) were unusually large for the time and show a decisive use of color and an all-over, painterly quality.

In each picture, the female figure is reclining and looking away from the camera.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #92, 1981

The "Centerfolds" built on the ideas of female stereotypes, and a stolen moment in time, not unlike what had been seen in the "Untitled Film Stills".

Sherman used movie set-like props, experimented with lighting and provided an immersive viewing experience—almost like watching a movie screen.

With this series, Sherman took on the cinematic production roles of photographer, female model/acress, wardrobe, makeup, set creation and production and lighting.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #92, 1981

Courtesy Walker Art Center Collection

Hear contemporary artist Marina Abramowicz speak about her personal reactions to Cindy Sherman's work, including themes of identity, gender, performative art and feelings of intense connection.

1981 Video clip courtesy of MoMA and YouTube, copyright 2012

Cindy Sherman's work began exploring new types of storytelling and sterotypes in the mid 1980s.

Although the pictures do not appropriate any specific story, the artist was inspired by macabre fairy tales, mythologies and folk legends. Sherman's fascination with darker narratives continued beyond this series and appears in work later in her career.

In addition to the elaborate makeup work for which she'd become known, Cindy Sherman began using prosthetics to alter her appearance, a technique that would be seen in some of her later series.

The Fairy Tales Series show the artist experimenting with the idea of a 'receding' protagonist, with the character present, but not nearly as central as in earlier works. The series' dark landscapes play a prominent role in each work.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #153, 1986

Sherman's "History Portraits" represent a prolific body of work that, as with the "Untitled Film Stills", refers to a genre—masterpiece paintings done in the style of Italian, French and Northern European painters of the 16th and 17th centuries. She worked from reproductions of Old Masters' paintings.

The pictures are classically composed and borrow from a number of art-historical periods and allude to paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael and others. 

Sherman carefully orchestrated the photographs to look sumptuous and rich—at first glance. Upon closer examination, the viewer will discover that things seem "off", from the character's exaggerated features to the apparently careless, casual backdrops.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #212 (edition 6/6)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Cindy Sherman's attention to detail and character formation has historically extended to the installation of her artwork.

For the Cindy Sherman exhibition's "History Portraits" gallery, the artist chose ornate framing, colored walls and salon style presentation of the work. 

These details provide an entirely different feel, contextually, from the presentation of her other series.

Events of the late 1980s and early 1990s coincided with and fueled Cindy Sherman's desire to challenge herself, and her audiences.

She was not alone, as many artists developed work reflective of and responsive to the times: politically charged debates about the AIDS epidemic and censorship in the arts. 

As with the "Fairy Tales & Mythologies" series, Sherman further experimented with the idea of, "how can I take myself out of the work?", or the receding self.

The pictures have an assembled, hybrid quality even as they exhibit vibrant colors and seemingly rich, painterly surfaces. This body of work has been referred to as, 'equal parts seductive and repulsive'.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #173, 1986

Cindy Sherman revisited the genre of publicity head shots in her series, "Head Shots", and delved deeper into the nature of portraiture itself.

The series recalls images made for casting agents or yearbook photos, or generic vanity portraits taken at the shopping mall. When asked if she was making fun of her characters, Sherman replied that her intent was empathy: ". . . they endeared themselves to me."

With each character, and in spite of the characters' exaggerated makeup, wardrobe and features, Sherman seems to elicit a flash of recognition from her audiences. The viewer has the eerie sense they have seen at least some of the women before, whether on television or even somewhere in their local community.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 2000
Courtesy Walker Art Center Collection

In 2002, having long played with themes of carnival-esque settings and characters, Sherman began work on a series focused on the subject of clowns. 

The "Clowns" series demonstrates two evolutions in Sherman's process:

• Using the internet as source material for a predetermined theme. Previously, Sherman mainly worked from memory, observations on the street and references from pop media and culture. For the clown characters, Sherman hoped to dive deeper into "the idea of the person under the makeup".
• Using digital techniques to create a variety of environments and backgrounds. For the "Clowns" series, Sherman used a green screen and inserted day glo colored, spin art–like backgrounds.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 2002

The enclosed link features Cindy Sherman talking about the "Clowns" series, as excerpted from the Art 21 documentary on the artist.

Courtesy PBS and YouTube

Comprised of large scale, ornately-framed pictures of women from what seems to be the top echelon of 'polite society', Cindy Sherman's "Society Portraits" established new commentary on female stereotypes even as they saw the artist returning to heavily made-up (versus digitally altered or prosthetic-enhanced) characters.

The characters at first seem polished, elegant. . . even haughty. But the images unravel upon closer examination. There are imperfections. Something is off. Behind the makeup, wardrobe, and jewels is a vulnerability alongside the apparent efforts of a woman pushing back against the aging process.

For this series, Sherman added the role of 'location scout' to her portfolio of responsibilities. The backgrounds are carefully selected (after the character was created and photographed against a green screen) and inserted digitally.

Coincidentally, or even serendipitously, the "Society Portraits" seemed particularly relevant and compelling when they first appeared. The financial collapse was impacting all facets and levels of the U.S. economy and culture, making her portraits seem particularly poignant.

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #465, 2008

Cindy Sherman's "Murals" represent her most recent shown work, to date. When asked about this series, Sherman said:

"....the background is even more abstracted.  I didn't use any makeup, because I thought these were more like studies.  But then I started changing the faces digitally to slightly alter them, so it's kind of like using Photoshop instead of makeup."

Each character is highly individual, but Sherman also sees them as related, differentiated in part by their wigs, unusual costumes and digitally 'tweaked' features.

The background of the "Murals" are locations in Central Park, manipulated and scaled to provide a mysterious, almost Rorshach-like backdrop.

The murals are notable in part because of their scale. She custom designs a mural specific to each presentation venue, scaling it to that environment's unique height and overall space.

The work is printed on a type of high quality photographic contact paper and is installed much like wallpaper.

Photo Credit:  MoMA, Cindy Sherman Exhibition 2012