Why Do We Wear Masks With Cindy Sherman by Larry Baumhor

Why Do We Wear Masks With Cindy Sherman

by Larry Baumhor

   I attended the Cindy Sherman exhibit at the Hauser & Wirth Gallery in NYC and these photos became superimposed in my mind, inspiring me to write this story.

   No one knows who we are anymore, our masks are cracking and we’re running out of plaster.

Cindy Sherman at Hauser & Wirth by Larry Baumhor

   “We’re all products of what we want to project to the world. Even people who don’t spend any time, or think they don’t, on preparing themselves for the world out there – I think that ultimately they have for their whole lives groomed themselves to be a certain way, to present a face to the world,” -- Cindy Sherman.

   “People assume that a self-portrait is narcissistic and you’re trying to reveal something about yourself: fantasies or autobiographical information. In fact, none of my work is about me or my private life,” -- Cindy Sherman.

   “My photographs are certainly not self-portraits or representations of myself, though unfortunately people always keep saying they are,” -- Cindy Sherman.

   It’s amazing how Cindy transforms herself wearing makeup, wigs, and clothes like in her Film Stills where she enters the world of Hollywood stereotypes and B movies, and her Centerfold Series representing power, gender, and the pornographic centerfold. She is the true chameleon, not only in looks but in personality and mood, a bipolar reptile. Although her pornographic centerfold shots became political fodder, Cindy is apolitical in her art.

   “My intentions are neither feminist nor political. I try to put double or multiple meanings into my photos, which might give rise to a greater variety of interpretations,” -- Cindy Sherman.

   As a child, Cindy loved to dress up creating costumes out of old clothes some of which belonged to her grandmother. “I was more interested in being different from other little girls who would dress up as princesses or fairies. I would be the ugly old witch or the monster,” -- Cindy Sherman.

 

   We all dressed up as kids like cowboys and Indians, Flower Children, the gangsta, the Fonz, the cool dude with the leather jacket. We go to work and it’s one person, the disco kings, and queens with sexy glam outfits. The bellbottoms and suede fringe jackets. Tuxedos for special occasions, uniforms while playing sports. Pjs at night or you may feel better at home dressed as a slob and on and on it goes.

 

Larry Baumhor on Halloween and on his book cover

   “When I was in school I was getting disgusted with the attitude of art being so religious or sacred, so I wanted to make something which people could relate to without having read a book about it first. So that anybody off the street could appreciate it, even if they couldn’t fully understand it, they could still get something out of it. That’s the reason I wanted to imitate something out of the culture, and make fun of the culture as I was doing it,” -- Cindy Sherman.

   Professional models dress up in designer clothes for magazine covers and advertising. Cindy excelled in mimicry as she took on the grotesque and women in the media. Television, movies, and newspapers subliminally affect the way we dress and sometimes act. Fuckin advertising got us hooked on cigarettes. God bless the Marlboro Man and the cool actors with cigarettes dangling from their mouths. I wanna be like Steve McQueen. Dead on arrival. A nurse, secretary, doctor, servicemen and women, firemen, policemen, and butchers, were all playing roles and needed costumes.

   There is no real Cindy Sherman in her photographs; she’s merely acting like all of us who are playing roles in society. Is mass media poisoning us? Who the fuck are we? Are you the sexy blonde or the dumb blonde? Go to the salons, barbershops, and clothing stores and become your fantasy. Go to the beach and show off your body and buy your makeup, tons of makeup.
   “When I prepare each character I must consider what I’m working against; that people are going to look under the make-up and wigs for that common denominator, the recognizable. I’m trying to make people recognize something of themselves rather than me,” -- Cindy Sherman.

   Sexy, scantily dressed models in wet t-shirts and men with their bulging cocks titillated us. We’re constantly bombarded! And the effect on our children. Sell, sell, sell, kill, kill, kill! “I got a lot of criticism for being antifeminist and turning the clock back by showing these victims,” -- Cindy Sherman.

   Dress as a man, dress as a woman, who the fuck cares! In one photo shoot, Cindy transformed into a bearded old man, photographed by a male photographer also played by Cindy. Look at who we are, and confront ourselves. I dare you!

   “I just got those at the Paris flea market, and I don’t know what I’m going to use them for, but it seemed like they had the potential for something. I love weird stuff; a good, weird flea market anywhere is really my favorite place to be,” -- Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman at Hauser & Wirth by Larry Baumhor

   At any given time on any given weekend, the theatrical fashion climate in the Garage Antique Flea Market in NYC was something the Paris and New York runways couldn’t duplicate, even with their best designers. The ramps leading from the street were the entrance to the theatre, where the fashion plates pranced before the show; the floor of the Garage was the stage. It was magical; you became mesmerized in the land of enchantment. You couldn’t take your eyes off of them with their dramatic styles, strong vivid colors, severe asymmetrical lines, with clothes that were vintage, and handmade. It was the new retro put together with the flare of a maestro leading an orchestra, and the pizzazz of a pop singer with a cult following. Chic and sexy, bold and demure, layered and elegant, fanciful and sophisticated; the variety was nonstop. And let’s not forget the accessories with engraved canes, bags that barked, and jewelry that masterfully illuminated their styles. The shoes with platforms to heaven, bright vibrant pumps, and sexy heels that sang come dance with me. There were conservatives as well as the avant-garde with their simpler, softer looks and colors, though nonetheless attractive. The wildness of grunge was present as they constructed their village of followers with sometimes layers neatly assimilated into their own self-expression. Who are these people and what is it that they are trying to say? Well, it turns out not to be a mystery after all. The common response as to why they dress like they do: “It’s who I am. I’m passionate about fashion, and it’s a creative form of self-expression. I’ve been dressing like this for years.”

Ben Rey at the Garage Antique Flea Market, by Larry Baumhor

Zondra at the the Garage Antique Flea Market, by Larry Baumhor

Wren at the Garage Antique Flea Market, by Larry Baumhor

Cindy Sherman at Hauser & Wirth by Larry Baumhor

Xander at the Garage Antique Flea Market, by Larry Baumhor

Lynn Yeager at the Garage Antique Flea Market, by Larry Baumhor

   And then we have the high priests trapped in the anal stage, the National Endowment for the Arts censorship wars that wreaked havoc on the art world. In 1989 five anal retentive phony conservative senators cosigned a letter demanding reforms to the NEA in response to a controversial exhibit including a Robert Mapplethorpe retrospective.

   Cindy changes our perspective on women as objects to women as subjects, delving into the psychological effects of images of women to question our sensibilities on violence and pleasure in visual culture.

Cindy Sherman at Hauser & Wirth by Larry Baumhor

Cindy Sherman at Hauser & Wirth by Larry Baumhor

 

Mario Bros at the Garage Antique Flea Market, by Larry Baumhor
 

Michael Roman at the Garage Antique Flea Market, by Larry Baumhor

 

The Garage Antique Flea Market, by Larry Baumhor