We all wonder how the world perceives us, even myself how far are we willing to go mould ourselves into other perception of us; questioning my own performative identity in the real world, what it looks like for those who are so detached need more just to be seen, maybe they’re looking for what other see in themselves what they don’t see in themselves. Cindy Sherman is embodiment of choosing to detach yourself, finding comfort In being so far removed, further away less fear orbits around her masquerade
Was dressing up a means of escape? “It was partly that, but, to be really psychological about it, it was also partly, ‘If you don’t like me this way, how about you like me thisway?’ ” Her voice rises with mock joie de vivre. “Or maybe you like this version of me.” guardian interview
Performance isn’t always easy to identify the message behind the figure being portrayed, concepts becomes more intriguing as we’re not seeing a self portrait, a portrait of another persons expression in a form that isn’t identical to who they are.
Two things stand out from Cindy Sherman about her childhood, briefly mentions on guardian interview, how she’s the youngest with four older siblings within a age gap, felt hard to connect with her older siblings secondly in Cindy Sherman in “Transformation” – Season 5 – “Art in the Twenty-First Century” | Art21 she had a note book called “A Cindy Book” putting photographs of herself in all of them. I noticed Cindy Sherman is very cautious about what she shares, worried her art will be lost in translation with her own mind. In her childhood we learn Cindy questioned herself, who she is? Who she wants to be, who she wants to be seen as, we learn Cindy explored identity from a young age “A Cindy Book” is very symbolic of searching
Why the need to continually remind herself that is her? it seemed important for Cindy Sherman to identify herself every time, before we the audience knew her delving into different characters.
Cindy Sherman was already documenting herself, separating, somewhere she might’ve struggled to reconnect with whoever she saw as Cindy Sherman. “A Cindy Book” indicates there’s multiple identity’s created, leaves me asking Does Cindy Sherman get lost, urge to document where she was back to herself, “that’s me” reminds me of an x mark on map when you astray.
Older she became intentions to subscribe to different version of herself begins to seep in her book from what we know, in her handwriting Cindy Sherman shares she’ll change her handwriting to portray older, Cindy Sherman understands evolution of getting older consciously chooses to erase her signature handwriting, in this moment we witness proof Cindy Sherman experimenting with identity
‘ It hadn’t occurred to me that I was doing anything unusual.”
Cindy Sherman did something brave, documented her own psychological perception of identity through film, what made it unique purposely left these photographs untitled, no description or interpretation, which to some extent is what we see done in the scrap book, very obscured, the memory and “that’s me” was left for Cindy Sherman interpretation. People said her images were exaggerated, offensive or strange, although I see it accurately painting how people interpret themselves, how easily we soak in characters.
Cindy Sherman childhood photograph book suggest she separated herself from the world, through circling herself out in every picture. I believe Cindy Sherman saw it in people too, who they perform as, placed a mirror to whom she mirrored, looked into what character they identified with.
The ones that were subtle, that I thought, oh it looks too much like me, I don’t know if she’s that successful as a piece because I don’t feel like I’m lost in it anymore Cindy Sherman in “Transformation” – Season 5 – “Art in the Twenty-First Century” | Art21
Escaping herself eventually became an art for Cindy Sherman once it wasn’t, a urge for peer acceptance which is preferable most natural thoughts we have around our peers, we make sure to dress the best, we come as our best what happens when the best we present isn’t who you are.
Takes me back to Cindy Sherman Childhood book, at some point if your best isn’t you then what reminds you is you, Cindy Sherman book was a clear reminder. can we see that for average person? how often do people realise their performance is a social experiment to know what version other like of you
Cindy Sherman personas being captured are also performing a version of themselves, Cindy Sherman had an eye for creating characters that related to people’s experience, the figure may not have been a direct picture of a an actual person but it was an indirect of figures people perform as everyday, Cindy Sherman gave her art depth to not only a part of herself in her scrap book we never truly see, depth In these figures she chose to be. Critics say it’s looking at the common day selfie in its original state.
“One of my biggest influences was the way cinema represented women, and at the time I was questioning the woman I was becoming, in the my twenties. The tension between what was expected of us and what I wanted to do—or couldn’t do—those limits I felt” Social media Captioned
searching begins in areas where your told to identify with an idea which doesn’t necessarily feel as if it’s you, now limiting. Cindy Sherman in between seeing where she fits herself as ideal woman usually portrayed, looking for balance in a place where they weren’t one, society doesn’t create a pocket for you, it one size fit all, Cindy Sherman perhaps felt the invisible wall between herself and ideal woman portrayed, the limit Cindy Sherman felt.
Nobody wants to admit there already a version of a individual captured in your mind before we hear their voice, will it match sounds of a echo we heard before the initial hello, we impatiently wait to fit a person into the pocket size fit all even our heads. Cindy Sherman questioning those same individuals in our heads. seems to have pulled her entity towards outwardly experience, searching for yourself in others, in characters, flaws, fears and anxiety, Cindy Sherman pushes limitations of ideal perception we see ourselves and sometimes it isn’t beautiful.
Biggest Influencers bombards our authenticity, usually titled, descriptive, explained; creating the meaning in your mind for you, Cindy Sherman on the other hand wanted to challenge that exact notion through allowing not only herself to create the meaning but for her audience as well, purposefully adding nothing to her art but the creative work itself, your mind has no choice but to pull out your own perception of what the photograph means to you, maybe it’s the key to how Cindy Sherman attempted to find meaning.
Disappearing is also form of escapism begun through our searching, Cindy Sherman found comfort in disappearing from the world, entering that Invisible wall somewhere along that line it became a comfort, no longer became a place of uncertainty for Cindy Sherman just another rabbit hole to go in.
Cindy Sherman didn’t find it unusual, it wasn’t, we see it everyday; Cindy Sherman art shows how performative individuals use these customs to search for more, to disappear in another world, we don’t see them, we barely even notice two worlds colliding in its essence unless captured, which makes it mystical, questions remained in there searching, what do they find is always up to the searcher.
Performers of the everyday life, whatever they resonate with, that’s real is always kept hidden within themselves. It never sits in confinement of our experience, remains inward map they go back to, fragmented meaning intwines with ours and still results of their important piece they take, somewhere in there mind holds a book of themselves, whether it unrecognisable or too recognisable, it holds the key to all of their meaning.
