Read Cindy Sherman: The Polemics of Play and answer the following.

Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Stills were among the first artworks to be called Postmodern.  Define Postmodernism.  How does it differ from Modernism? What is Postmodern about Sherman's work?

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Cindy Sherman enjoyed "dressing up" and assuming various personas from an early age. In her Untitled Film Stills, she took this youthful play-acting and turned it into a strong social critique. In your view, what is the artist's purpose? What is her critique?

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Why does Sherman leave the individual images of the Untitled Film Stills series untitled?

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The size, format and imagery of the Untitled Film Stills closely relates to cinema and movies from the 50s and 60s.  Why, as a female artist with a (possibly questionable) feminist message, does Sherman utilize this genre?

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Cindy Sherman describes herself not as a photographer, but as a performance artist and as a conceptualist. How does Cindy Sherman's work relate to performance and conceptualism? How would you categorize her work?

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Why were Sherman’s Centerfold images controversial?

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Explain how Sherman’s Sex Pictures have been interpreted as a protest.  In general, what is the artist rebelling against?  (Is it a clear, black and white distinction?)

Discuss the concept of the “male gaze” and how it relates to this body of work.  Who is the implied viewer of Sherman’s photos?

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