A conceptual art icon, Sherman has taken on various representations of women -- be they clowns, garish plastic surgery housewife-types or art film muses -- to shed light on the ways they are both exalted and limited in pop culture and art. Cindy Sherman is every woman.
Personal OGs: Bowie, the Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Lena Dunham, Ryan Trecartin, Borges, Bierce, Rei Kawakubo, John Waters.
What is the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome in your career?
Male artists.
What do you think it was that made you succeed when many other pioneers did not?
I'm not afraid of failure.
Have you ever felt truly hurt or shaken by a criticism of your work?
There was a 10-page review in The Nation that was so negative, the only thing I could do was go through it line by line and analyze why they were saying what they were saying. I came away from it realizing that he just didn't agree with my sensibility, and then I was OK with it.
What do you think made you the person you are?
Being the youngest of five children in a family that was already a unit when I came along. I took care of myself.
What were you like as a child and a teenager?
Quiet and reserved, as opposed to shy.
Do you like to collaborate?
No. When I collaborate, I acquiesce too easily and feel like I've made all the compromises. Plus, I'll push myself harder than I would someone else. That's why I work completely alone.
Do you consider yourself to be a control freak?
I'm not a control freak, but I prefer being in control. Whenever I've given in to a makeup person or photographer taking my portrait, thinking that I'll just let them do their thing without adding my two cents, trusting their expertise (because maybe I'll learn something), I've regretted it big time.
As a creative person, how do you deal with the business side of your career? Do you care about that part of things?
I don't care and I don't participate in it.
Hair and makeup by Bruce Dean Lindstrom at Artists at Wilhelmina Image Board NYC.
BACK TO ORIGINAL GANGSTERS
Personal OGs: Bowie, the Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Lena Dunham, Ryan Trecartin, Borges, Bierce, Rei Kawakubo, John Waters.
What is the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome in your career?
Male artists.
What do you think it was that made you succeed when many other pioneers did not?
I'm not afraid of failure.
Have you ever felt truly hurt or shaken by a criticism of your work?
There was a 10-page review in The Nation that was so negative, the only thing I could do was go through it line by line and analyze why they were saying what they were saying. I came away from it realizing that he just didn't agree with my sensibility, and then I was OK with it.
What do you think made you the person you are?
Being the youngest of five children in a family that was already a unit when I came along. I took care of myself.
What were you like as a child and a teenager?
Quiet and reserved, as opposed to shy.
Do you like to collaborate?
No. When I collaborate, I acquiesce too easily and feel like I've made all the compromises. Plus, I'll push myself harder than I would someone else. That's why I work completely alone.
Do you consider yourself to be a control freak?
I'm not a control freak, but I prefer being in control. Whenever I've given in to a makeup person or photographer taking my portrait, thinking that I'll just let them do their thing without adding my two cents, trusting their expertise (because maybe I'll learn something), I've regretted it big time.
As a creative person, how do you deal with the business side of your career? Do you care about that part of things?
I don't care and I don't participate in it.
Hair and makeup by Bruce Dean Lindstrom at Artists at Wilhelmina Image Board NYC.
BACK TO ORIGINAL GANGSTERS