C[i]ndy Sherman

30 day drawing challenge, day 6: favorite character from a book.  After I checked my memory and did some google searches to find a character I might want to draw, I realized that the answer wasn’t far.  Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills collection was right infront of my face (I’ve been reorganizing my bedroom/art studio/office to have all supplies and inspiration at the tip of my fingers).   Sherman’s photos are scenes from unwritten stories.  They are black and white, voyueristic, self portraits that serve as evidence and implication of complicated narratives [involving potentially strong female characters!].

I looked through the collection and marked photos I want to draw…I marked a lot of photos.  There will definitely be more Sherman shapes to come!

This drawing is based on #12, 1978

In the introduction to Untitled Film Stills, Sherman writes about why she switched to photography from painting.  She explains that she spent too much time recreating compositions when she painted.  With photography she could spend more time developing the ideas she wanted to portray.  Toward the end of the introduction she seductively concedes that she began to repeat herself with black and white photography so she moved to color.  I understand.  [Her later work deals a lot with clown imagery.  Interesting!]

9 Comments

  1. That photo is such a narrative! I love her work. Another collagist/photographer – can’t remember her first name, but somebody Cahoon? Love their stuff.

  2. These drawing challenges look fun, or your drawings make them look like fun anyway! Thanks for liking my work and following my blog. I’m glad to have discovered yours.

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