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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page research paper that profiles Cindy Sherman's series of photographs Untitled Film Stills (1977-1980), which are regarded as a "hallmark of postmodernist art," for the manner in which they employ "mass-media codes and techniques of representation" in order to convey social comment on contemporary society (Blessing, 2002). In this series of 69 black-and-white photographs, Sherman herself posed in various situations and melodramatic guises that recall the stereotypical publicity stills used to advertise B-grade movies from the 1950s through the 1960s. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
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4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khstills.rtf
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representation" in order to convey social comment on contemporary society (Blessing, 2002). In this series of 69 black-and-white photographs, Sherman her self posed in various situations and melodramatic guises that
recall the stereotypical publicity stills used to advertise B-grade movies from the 1950s through the 1960s (Blessing, 2002). In so doing, Sherman created multiple personas, from "the ingenue lost in
the big city" to the "martini-wielding party girl with a heart of gold" (Blessing, 2002). Untitled Film Still, #15, for example, depicts the "tough girl with a heart of gold"
(Blessing, 2002). But while Sherman appropriates visual cultural cliches, she makes them uniquely her own through the inclusion of obvious artifice, such as showing a visible camera cord, using eccentric
props, and unusual camera angles (Blessing, 2002). Most of all, however, in regards to artifice, the most outstanding feature of the Stills is that Sherman includes herself in each picture,
rather than using a recognizable actress of model (Blessing, 2002). In Untitled Film Still #53, Sherman is alone -- "a silent, out-of-place person in another time, another place"
(Jones, 2001). Something about the setting suggests a ranch-house n the 1950s, possibly in New Mexico (Jones, 2001). Her expression is difficult to read, which leaves the viewer wondering what
she is thinking or what has occurred. Surrounded by a halo of light, Shermans face is a "shadowed" mask and it is this melodramatic lighting effects that suggests despairing o
violent thoughts to the viewer (Jones, 2001). Sherman began the Untitled Film Stills series in 1977 when she was 23 (UFS 13, 1997). The first six were an experiment
-- "fan-magazine glimpses into the life (or roles) of an imaginary blonde actress" (UFS 13, 1997). The photos resemble movie stills, or perhaps publicity pictures, that-- presumably -- catch the
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