Cindy sherman

Critique clich identity of woman controlled by clichs ,what

others want to see (sense of being watched and judged all the time)
need to act
Voyeuristic works
Untitled 92
Looking out of frame in vacant manner
Small, fragile, in need of protection
Strong reference to photo spreads of porn magazines
Unititled 93
Girl holding on to bed sheet looking out of frame, does not know she
is being watched
Intimate moment fragile moment
Qn validity of male gaze and its control over the presentation of the
female body
Self identity unstable compromise btwn social dictates and
personal intention
Social status of woman not dictated by women but by people who
look at women
Woman cannot really have self identity
Cindy Sherman
Constructed photographs that plays with the representations of
women
- how women portrayed in mass media
- power of mass media
Appropriate the conventions of mass media to expose the
artificiality of the construct of women
Untitled 66
Girl holding bicycle , looking out of frame, fake background
Artificiality of the scene exude artificiality of TV
Black and white stills
-clich imagery of women , looks like movie stills
-mass media portray women in this way only
film noir: women portrayed as either
-dutiful or loving
or gorgeous double crosser, desperate, unreliable
Social status of women dictated by mass media
Implicate the viewer in the construction of identities, to link certain
images to clich idenitities
Qn the clichs we have in ourminds
AH

Singirl (2000)
Singirl is an ongoing project series that comprises photographs of Heng
dressed up in the Singapore Girls distinctive kebayaoutfit against the
backdrop of various heritage locations in Singapore.
Heng started the
project to poke fun at the iconic gentle, smiling, submissive and ever-ready-toserve Singapore Girl air stewardess that was created as an advertising tool
forSingapore Airlines (SIA).
[23] [24]

Heng hoped that the project would encourage people to question the
stereotyping of women and also the reasons given for the destruction of
heritage sites in Singapore in the name of economic development.
Similar to cindy Sherman critique clich of woman
P: Amanda Heng
Women should not need to rely on external beauty instead of
internal to make them feel and look better.
Performance art
Lets Walk (1999)
Lets Walk was a street performance series involving Heng and members of
the public walking backwards with high-heeled shoes in their mouths and
using handheld mirrors to guide them along.
[17] [18]

High heel shoes in mouth unnatural , icon of painful beauty shoved into their
mouths
Walk back ward (de prove, less progress- loose jobs, )
Mirrorvanity but used to help them walk. Vanity but used to help them
work
Felt awkward and judged (insecurity of woman which caused them to do this)

The performance piece was Hengs response to the 1997 Asian financial
crisis, when female employees were the first to be fired when companies had
to downsize. Many Singapore women had to resort to going to beauty salons
and getting plastic surgery to keep their jobs. As a result, the beauty industry
made a lot of money while most other businesses went on a decline during
the crisis. Heng wanted to make a statement through Lets Work on
Singapore womens pre-occupation with improving outer beauty and relying
on the external rather than the internal to make them feel and look better.
[19]

[20]

The performance was staged locally as well as overseas in countries like

Japan, France, Poland, Indonesia, Sweden and Spain. The concept would
later evolve into the Lets Walk Some More series.
[21] [22]

Used perf artencourage women not to rely on external beauty

(unnatural and unnecessary)
Bring to light this issue of woman being judged by others for their
internal abilities from their external outlook