Cindy Sherman

Includes rarely seen works from the beginning of her career in the mid-1970s, including work created while Sherman was an art student at Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York (1972-76). These early works from 1975-1978 demonstrate Sherman’s conceptual approach to photography and foretell the career that would launch her into the art world in the late 1970s. On view, a grid of twenty-three hand colored headshots, Untitled, 1975, depict the transformation of Sherman’s appearance achieved through layers of heavy make-up that results in the progressive transformation from a boyish look to glamour girl. These student works express Sherman’s interest in exploring her own identity and how she could radically alter her appearance through the simple use of make-up. In another set of thirteen serial headshots, Untitled, 1975, Sherman morphed her appearance by contorting her face into exaggerated expressions, pinned back her hair, and applied subtle make-up. The result is a visual account of Sherman maturing before our eyes from a little girl to an adult.

Description from: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis