What Is Cindy Sherman's Portrayal Of Women

Cindy Sherman was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey in 1954. Sherman attended Buffalo State University where she began painting. She painted until she felt as though she had nothing more to say with paintings and decided to shift into photography. In her photography she often assumed multiple roles such as doing her own makeup and hair, directing, as well as modeling for the photos. One of her most famous early works from 1981 was the photo series, Centerfolds which depicted and criticized the stereotyping of women in the media. Later in her career Sherman began to use mannequins instead of herself. A famous example of this is her series, Sex Pictures. Sherman’s pictures have become more valuable over the last fifteen years. From 2000 to 2006 her annual auction revenue ranged anywhere from 1.5 to 2.8 million dollars. In 2007 however her annual auction revenue increased to 8.9 million dollars.
This photograph is from 1981 and sold for 3.89 million dollars in 2011 at Christie’s. This particular photo depicts a woman wearing an orange striped skirt lying on what appears to be a kitchen floor. She is holding a slightly crumpled newspaper ad in one hand and has her other hand lying above her shoulder in a position that shows discomfort or distress. Her nails are all freshly painted red. Her eyes seem to be fixed on an object that is unseen to her right while her face shows that she is in a stage of mourning and visibly bothered by