About this artwork
Cindy Sherman is a major figure in the contemporary revival of directed, or staged, photography. Her work explores the pervasive effects that mass-media images have upon the construction, assumption, and projection of individual identities. Since the late 1970s, the artist has served as both photographer and model for a large cast of fictional personalities created through changes in costume, hair (usually a wig), makeup, and lighting. Sherman first gained recognition for a series of black-and-white works that imitate the look and feel of stills from popular films of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1981 she began a series of large color photographs that mimic the horizontal format of a magazine centerfold. Though formally reminiscent of such glossy spreads, Sherman’s representations are fraught with anxiety, vulnerability, and longing. In Untitled #92, she depicted herself in a moment of cinematic distress, crouched on the floor with wet hair. Her costume—white blouse and plaid skirt—evokes a school uniform, and her well-manicured hands offer evidence of some unknown struggle. An imposing darkness surrounds her but a bright light, suggestive of a flashlight or the headlights of a car, illuminates her blank expression.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 296
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Department
- Contemporary Art
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Artist
- Cindy Sherman
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Title
- Untitled #92
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Place
- United States (Object made in)
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Date
- 1981
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Medium
- Chromogenic print
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Edition
- 10 of 10, plus 2 artist's proofs
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Dimensions
- 61 × 122 cm (24 × 48 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Edlis Neeson Collection
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Reference Number
- 2015.157
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Copyright
- © Cindy Sherman. Courtesy Metro Pictures, New York.
Extended information about this artwork
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