Some Inspirations from Cindy Sherman's Self-shot

Almost every young people likes taking photographs, especially, self-shot. There are a large number of self-shot photographs on Facebook or some other websites. However, all these photographs are only shot to show how cute or cool the guys are, and only one glance over them is enough. Until recently, for the monotony of these pictures, I rarely thouht self-shot photographs were artistic. But my mind changed when I saw the self-shot photographs of Cindy Sherman.

Compared with boys, girls especially like self-shot because they will look more beautiful in the pictures, and the comments they want to gain are better to be the words like 'cute' , 'cool' , 'hot' or 'sexy'. On contrast, Cindy's self-shot photos are not shot to show beauty, but to cause reflection or to evoke sympathy. In her photos, I can not use the words aboved to comment. Cindy's self-shot photos can not be discribed by language, as they can only be felt by spiritual. With differences from those quick pictures producted in a few minutes, Cindy's self-shot picture are created through ideas, preparations and repeated adjustments. That's the reason why Cindy's self-shot photos are regarded as being artistic.

I am a fan of photography. When I was a student in highschool, I bought my first camera. It was a classical optical mechanical SLR camera, which is too complex for many young people to operate. Many of my friends questioned my choice, because there were many kinds of digital cameras which were smart and simple. I still loved my 'old machanical', although it was obsolete. I love the feeling of manipulating light and shadow through aperture and shutter. I also love the mechanical sound when the picture was frozen in my hands. It has just been a simple feeling until I saw the photos of Cindy Sherman. I finally know why it is felt so cool, because it is a process of artisctic creation which is much different from what my friends did when they take photos with digital cameras.

Looking back at my photos, I found some new experiences which were not even felt when I took the pictures. Just like my head picture in my blog, it was taken for fun originally, but it was a response of my mind at that time. before the picture was shot, I smoked heavily because of the empty and lonely college life. One day I realized it was not the life I really want to live and I had to change it. So I lighted all my cigarette left and took this picture to symbolize the end of a disarray life. Maybe it is also included the confusion on the new life. I never took picture about beautiful landscope or person because I think these beautifull things are too much focused on and shot. Instead, I want to take photos funny or unusual. Every picture of mine have their stories, it
coincides with the characteristic of Cindy Sherman. I take picture in this way only because I like it at first. But now, I know more when I learned Cindy Sherman and her works.

I know I am just a noob in photography. But I belive I will have some breakthroughs and changes in photography later because of Cindy Sherman. Maybe I will see some things special which i never have seen before through my lens.

Enigmatic artist- Cindy Sherman

About Cindy Sherman, the most characteristic contemporary photographers，I want to say: I really appreciate her, but it is regrettable that I can not catch her.

In the presentation, the most intersting thing may be the photogragh. Hundreds of wide variety of photos interst me very much. In different series, I fount different figures and stories, from beauty to ugly, from elegance to disgust, form holy to shit. It is unusual experience for me to study a artlist I did not very fimilar with and then became fascinated with.

The most difficult for me might be to comprehend her works. Almost all of her works were self-shot, but we can not recognize her in the photographs immediately. She is not herself in the picture, but the role of the story she want to tell us. However, what exactly is the story about？I think each vistor has his own understanding. May be she plays a type –not an actual person, but a self fabricated fictional one. The vast majority of her protagonists seem bored and boring, self-absorbed and unhappy. Most of the women Sherman portrays seem untouchable. They are like the sullen, artificially glamorous women we see in many advertisements.
What I can do is only a description of the surface, the things under the suface are still waiting for me to think about.....

Serrano And His 'Piss Christ'

Serrano and his works have always been surrounded by such words: 'controversy, argue , pluralism and tolerance ' . ' It’s only when we are told that the title is Piss Christ, that we immediately recoil ', indeed, it is the common reflection of the most people who saw the photograph for the first time. Many critics considered that Serrano and his works were the result of liberalism excess, and his works' copy had been teared up by catholics. But all of these couldn't stop his pictures to sell good prices.

Piss Christ is an amazing artwork, at least , I think this work is 'art'. The reason why people don't like it is not the Image，however, it is very beautiful, but the urine. As Serrano said, urine is only a kind of body fluid, I can not imagine how a value system can be imposed on top of these fluids, and I can not make sure whether they are good or bad.

I think I should rethink about what is art. Just like this photograph, with first impression, I think it is a pulp work of a drank antisocial non-mainstream artist, and then I felt its artistic, finally, I began to think the deep meaning of the artist. It is the usual process when we visit art exhibition to face the artwork incomprehensible. we will try find some so -called artistic to show we are not laymen. But is it really as what we think about? Maybe it is only one of the quick products without connotation produced by continuous pressing the shutter. Whether a work is artistic, everyone has his own standard.

We are not artist, don't try to comprehen art.