I raced home on my bike from work today to get the girls up to a member's preview of the new Cindy Sherman exhibit at MoMA. In a blog that is deeply invested in promoting art by women, Cindy, like Marina, is one of my personal heroes. Both girls use themselves as a subject and put themselves in tight places, but unlike Marina, whose art is personal and autobiographical, Cindy explores the range of the female experience, and obscures her own body in these heavily textualized archetypes that she critiques and often destroys.
I LOVE her work and have for a couple of decades.
And we never really know who the artist is. Cindy, "herself," (unlike Marina) is never quite present.
And every single piece is titled "Untitled."
Omg, I took these photos of the exhibit's entrance illegally, and didn't even try photographing inside.
In a couple of the rooms, I told S. to close her eyes, and we did the whole thing in 30 minutes, so I'm going to have to go back when I'm by myself. This week, the kids have been home.
Tonight we watched Bill Cunningham's New York. Bill Cunningham is the long-time society and street fashion documenter fort the New York Times, and has my ideal job in you must know. I was struck, while watching by how much we have so much in common. We are both cyclists; we both take photos from our bikes. Also, we both love Paris and cheap restaurants, we are religiously inclined and deeply admire dandies, and we are rather dull dressers who admire the sartorial work of strangers on the street.
But I digress . . . more thoughts on Cindy to come!
i gotta get to ny soon, gurl, to see cindy s. also, i keep meaning to watch that bill c. doc. was it good? and, btw, you turned me on to him AND marina a. love your post! xxoo
ReplyDeletehave you seen that film "guest of cindy sherman"?
ReplyDeleteit's kind of a shallow grudge film by her ex-boyfriend, but it has great footage of her being herself, and worth watching just for that.
jesse, i haven't seen that, but i totally need to know more about cindy. there was a long new yorker article about her several years ago but i can't remember much about it. thanks or the recommendation!
ReplyDeletelara, you totally need to come to ny SOON if not sooner. i should get to provo, dangit.
i think i'd give the cunningham doc three out of five stars. it's enjoyable--i love the topic and bill is so charming, but you don't really learn anything particularly relevatory about bill--other than he attends church every sunday--and all the doc really does is increase one's desire to look better on the street. at least it did for me.
ReplyDeleteJulie, Ingrid's coming to visit again during the week of March 2nd for her spring break, and I know she wants to visit the exhibit, too, so if you were thinking of going back any time around then we should meet up and go together. This time around I'll be sure to get plenty of rest so as to be fully awake and appreciative of the MOMA's offerings.
ReplyDeleteYes! I want to go to there! As long as you can tolerate me blathering on about Cindy. Actually, I should probably start reading up right now. Ahhhh geeking out!
ReplyDeleteto the asplund gals, great! i can tentatively say yes.
ReplyDelete