Everyone thinks these are self-portraits but they aren't meant to be. I just use myself as a model because I know I can push myself to extremes, make each shot as ugly or goofy or silly as possible.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the idea that the artist uses their own image not for self-representation, but as a tool for exploring extreme expressions and emotions.
Cindy Sherman emphasizes that her artwork, often perceived as self-portraits, is not solely about portraying herself. Instead, she uses her own likeness as a medium to explore various themes and push boundaries, allowing her to portray exaggerated, humorous, or unconventional aspects of identity and society.
In practice
In a discussion about contemporary art, I could use this quote to illustrate the unconventional approaches artists take in self-representation.
I like making images that from a distance seem kind of seductive, colorful, luscious and engaging, and then you realize what you're looking at is something totally opposite. It seems boring to me to pursue the typical idea of beauty, because that is the easiest and the most obvious way to see the world. It's more challenging to look at the other side.
I wanted pretty pictures of older women - women who are trying too hard but succeeding - pulling off an extreme look. What I didn't know would creep into the portraits was a vulnerability behind the strong facade that most of them wear.
People think because it's photography it's not worth as much, and because it's a woman artist, you're still not getting as much - there's still definitely that happening. I'm still really competitive when it comes to, I guess, the male painters and male artists. I still think that's really unfair.
The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where the human perception begins. He appeals through the senses, and you cannot appeal through the senses with abstractions.
The rules or 'laws' of poetry are only tentative devices, an approximate scheme. There is no Sinaitic recipe for poetry, for the individual poem is the norm.
A typewriter is a means of transcribing thought, not expressing it.
There is no one more deserving of a place in Poets' Corner. Ted Hughes introduced a new kind of landscape into English poetry. The most compelling aspect of his work was his intimacy with nature.
When you work as an actor, you've got to feel safe even in what appears to be the simplest things.
Creativity is putting your imagination to work, and it's produced the most extraordinary results in human culture.
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