Artnet News noted yesterday that not long ago, Cindy Sherman switched her Instagram account from private to public — therein unleashing a stampede of new, digitally distorted Cindy Shermans. Despite it lacking the coveted blue checkmark of verification, Artnet says they “understand that it is authentic.” The images reveal Sherman apparently bringing the self-curating, self-distorting filters of Instagram into her body of work (is this “work”?) that’s always obviously focused on themes of self-presentation.
Some of the most recent photos she shared were of herself seemingly recovering in a hospital:
Some aim the lens outward:
It’s a very disorienting case of an aspect of culture catching up to an artist whose work seemed to foreshadow it — and then seeing her take it back into the world of her art. Sherman’s portraits are known for being the antithesis of candid and everyday — her mode of portraiture happens through elaborate costumery and planning. And the connection to selfies certainly draws on the very effortful nonchalance of our presentations of our “lives.”
Anyway, here’s a selection of the 590 (yeah, 590) images that’ve been shared:
“Feeling all bubbly?”
In the following post, Sherman responded to a commenter’s question, “Can we get a full exhibition of this YouCam Makeup images of yours ? Please❤️🙏🏻” saying, ” I’ll probably do something with it but not sure it’ll be a show. Thanks 🙏🏻”