Cindy Sherman<\/a>\u2019s talent as photographer, model, make-up artist, hairdresser and stylist has enabled her to transform into a multitude of roles. Inspired by film and TV stills, she spent the early part of her career as\u00a0clich\u00e9d characters. From her depiction of a desperate housewife to her portrayal of the femme fatale, each satirical shot is both\u00a0thought-provoking and\u00a0dripping with wit.
\nHowever, there is one image from her\u00a0“Untitled Film Stills” series that stands out as conflicting against the rest, and that is #30. A\u00a0morbid portrait of a battered woman, this particular photo diverges from a general theme surrounding the perfect\u00a01950s spouse. The image marks Sherman’s first step\u00a0into the creation of\u00a0disturbing imagery, a path which still\u00a0continues\u00a0into her most current works.
\nWith Halloween just around the corner, here are a five instances that display\u00a0Cindy Sherman\u2019s best utilisation of\u00a0progressive face-painting and false limbs to create\u00a0frightening\u00a0images that are repulsive and often downright terrifying.
\n <\/p>\n![\"Untitled](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Sherman_2.jpg\")
Untitled #150, 1985. Image from moma.org<\/p>\n
Untitled #150, 1985<\/h3>\n
The works in this 1985 series entitled \u201cDisasters and Fairytales\u201d are credited as real signifiers of the massive change in Sherman\u2019s work. The images, which express an extreme black humour, are more evocative of myths and folklore than of your stereotypical fairytale. Further, the severe prosthetics and make-up portray a series of bizarre characters. These elements all blend together to\u00a0conjure a sense of evil and wickedness. Commissioned by\u00a0Vanity Fair, the photo was so unsettling to the magazine\u00a0that in the end, they actually never published it.
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![\"Untitled](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Sherman_3.jpg\")
Untitled #96, 1981. Image from moma.org<\/p>\n
Untitled #96, 1981<\/h3>\n
This photo\u00a0is actually upsetting rather than scary, with the context being a difficult one to even talk about let alone capture through picture. Part of a larger series of images\u00a0inspired by the centre folds of men\u2019s erotic magazines, Sherman appears as the antithesis\u00a0of what you would expect to find in such a publication. Acting in\u00a0various emotional states that range from terrified to miserable, she is anything but sexy and seductive. Implications of rape and abuse are present, with the character\u2019s facial expressions desperate and her\u00a0body language vulnerable. Sherman\u2019s choice to depict the woman as scared as opposed to strong is a chilling\u00a0look into the\u00a0actual dangers of\u00a0reality.
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\n![\"sherman_6\"](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Sherman_6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Untitled #175, 2012<\/h3>\n
During America’s 1980s AIDS epidemic, Cindy Sherman was inspired by narratives associated with\u00a0the human body’s disintegration. In the photographer\u2019s customary way, over the top theatrical imagery was made. Substances that resemble\u00a0blood, vomit and feces were used, boils, spots and scars were replicated and animal-hybrid dolls were shot in uncompromising positions to mimic pornographic sex acts. The first photographs to not feature Sherman herself, the artist used mannequins to create these works.
\n
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![\"Untitled](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Sherman_5.jpg\")
Untitled #316, 1995. Image from arthistoryarchive.com and ‘Untitled #304, 1994. Image from artblart.com<\/p>\n
Untitled #316, 1995 and\u00a0Untitled #304, 1994<\/h3>\n
Sherman\u2019s \u201cHorror\u201d came late in her career, around the same time that she directed her first film \u201cOffice Killer\u201d. The film received poor reviews, with critics rating the movie\u00a0as too crude. Her photography fans were also left confused by her newest direction, underwhelmed by the disturbing contortions involving babies and tremendous violence. Although unpopular with her cult following, the \u201cUntitled Horrors\u201d work is seen by curators as her most valuable work, documenting a\u00a0moment in which Sherman chose to\u00a0challenge her\u00a0over-familiar viewers.
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![\"Untitled](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Sherman_4.jpg\")
Untitled #425, 2004. Image from moma.org<\/p>\n
Untitled #435, 2004<\/h3>\n
With the introduction of digital photography came Cindy Sherman\u2019s notorious \u201cClowns\u201d. This new technology enabled her to create overly-bright, garish backdrops to add to the intensity of her superimposed images of multiple clowns one on top of another. Her circus subjects portray various emotional states \u201cfrom hysterical passion to tragic pathos\u201d. The large-scale pieces have such a level of intensity when displayed that they\u2019re seen as Sherman\u2019s most frightening and disturbing work.
\n <\/p>\n
\u201cCindy Sherman and David Salle: History Portraits and Tapestry Paintings<\/a>” is on display at London’s Skarstedt gallery until 26 November 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Clowns, violence and the disintegration of the human body<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856,139],"tags":[38,4649,6311,5887,154,6312],"class_list":["post-39247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleek-art","category-art","tag-art","tag-cindy-sherman","tag-clowns","tag-halloween","tag-photography","tag-scary"],"acf":{"main_category":null,"legacy":"1","exclude_from_ads":null,"hero_title":null,"subtitle":null,"hero":null,"teasers":null,"facebook_image":null,"related_articles":null,"next_article":null,"sleek_card_focus":null,"content":null},"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Untitled](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Sherman_1.jpg\")
Untitled Film Still #30, 1979. Image from moma.org<\/p>\n