says.“SowhenI wenttodarkerperiodsand
ugliercharacters,I wasreallytryingto make
it apparentthatit wasn’taboutmeorget-
ting attention formyself.” She populated
her 1981 Centerfoldsproject—designedto
subvert the pornographic traditions of
men’smagazines— withvulnerable-look-
ingwomen, theirprivacy invadedby the
presence of a voyeuristic camera. A few
yearslater,forherDisastersandFairyTales
series (1985–1989), she used substances
resembling vomit, blood and faeces,
togetherwith mannequinsand prosthetic
limbs,toconveythefragilityofthehuman
body—and,perhaps,tohintat thefissures
inthesurfaceofherinventedworld.
Even Sherman’s most monstrous crea-
tionsarenot,however,withouta touchof
humour.“It’s like horror films— they’re
sometimesreallyscary,buttomeit’sa titil-
latingsortofscariness,”shesays.“Ialways
wantmyworktobekindoffunny.”Unlikemethodactors,sheis
sufficientlyawareofthedistancebetweenherselfandherfictional
subjectstoenjoytheshootingprocessforitsownsake.“Somepeo-
pleassumeI getallworkedup,”shesays,“butthevalueofmaking
stillimagesis thatI cangothrougharangeof feelingswithina split
second. I’m constantly experimenting with which direction to
take.”Thisisn’ttosaysheis entirelyemotionallyremovedfromher
characters:“Idefinitelyhaveanattachmenttoallofthem— I’m
actuallyratherfondofsomeoftheweirderones.”
WhilemostofSherman’ssubjectsarefigmentsofher
imagination,inrarecasestheyaremodelledonspecific
women,as withher playful parody of Jean-Auguste-
DominiqueIngres’sportraitof MadameMoitessier,shot
in 1989 as part of the History Portraits series. Here,
Sherman appropriates the visual language of French
neoclassical painting, using prominent prosthetics to
drawattentiontotheillusioninher-
entintheactofportraiture—and,
often,thevanityofthesitters.Thisis
a themeshehasrevisitedinsomeof
hermorerecentwork,includingher
2016 collaborationwiththeUSedi-
tionofHarper’sBAZAAR, forwhich
sheproduceda setof imagessatirising
the so-called street-style stars who
parade around at fashion shows in
head-to-toedesigneroutfits.“Someof
themgetoutoftheirlimo,like,two
blocksawayjustsotheycanwalkthroughthisgamutofphotogra-
pherstohavetheirpicturetaken,”shesays,laughing.
How, I wonder, does Sherman herself feel about the fashion
world,giventhatthesedayssheis morein demandthanmostof the
fame-hungryposeurswhohavebeenthesubjectof hergentlemock-
ery?“I cantakeit insmalldoses,”shesays.“I mean,sometimesit’s
fun,butthoseshowscanbebrutal—it’sinsane,thelevelofceleb-
rityandpaparazzi.”SherecentlywenttoherfriendMarcJacobs’s
wedding,butsaysshehardlysawhimamidthecrowds.“I feltlikeI
wasmoreofa flyonthewallandwishedafterwardsthat
I’dbeentakingpictures.That’sthefunnythingaboutmy
phone—I neverthinkof usingit as a camera.”
Shemaynothavethesnap-happyinstinctsof a digital
native,butShermanhasmorethanprovedhermastery
ofsocialmedia.Alwaysquicktoembracethepotential
of new technology, she moved away from film in the lateClockwisefromtop
left:Untitled#74by
CindySherman,
1980;UntitledFilm
Still#48, 1979;
UntitledFilmStill
#15, 1978;Untitled
#122, 1983.198 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU September 2019
CULTURE