Activity 5.3- Representation, Gender and Power

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            Cindy Sherman’s work challenges society’s views and portrayals of women in print and film media. By embodying stereotypical female roles, the housewife, the femme fatale, the damsel in distress, she uses makeup, wigs, costumes and props to transform herself into a variety of familiar roles. Through her work, Sherman exposes how women have traditionally been positioned as objects to be looked at rather than subjects with merit.

In her Untitled Film Stills series, Sherman photographs herself in scenes that evoke imagery from mid-20th-century cinema. Drawing inspiration from films beginning in the 1930s, she examines how women are repeatedly objectified and confined to narrow roles. Her work reveals that feminine identity is often not truth but often a construct shaped by cultural expectations. The characters she portrays highlight how women learn to perform these roles, suggesting that identity is not fixed but layered, shifting and deeply influenced by society’s narratives.

Sherman often draws on Laura Mulvey’s concept of the “male gaze,” using her photographs to expose how women are positioned as objects to be viewed. In Untitled Film Still #81, she stages herself in a nightgown, caught in what appears to be a private moment checking her reflection in a mirror. The viewer, however, is placed as an uninvited guest or voyeur, intruding on her privacy. At first glance, the image appears to reinforce the familiar trope of a woman a passive object on display. Yet the power dynamic is shifted when we recognize that Sherman is the photographer and the subject in her own design. By constructing the image herself, she is no longer vulnerable as it may appear and instead has reclaimed her control.

Another artist who drew heavily on imagery from mass media was Barbara Kruger. Kruger worked with found black and white photographs, and bold text in her signature red, white and black palette. Through her work she critiques commercialism, gender stereotypes, power structures, and issues of bodily autonomy.

By using striking graphics and pointed pronouns, Kruger often places her viewers in a defensive or implicated position. Her works feel confrontational, as though they are directly implicating the viewer in participating in the systems she is exposing. Her images stop you in your tracks and cause you to consider your role in the cultural narratives and stereotypes that shape society. Her graphic style mimics advertising but instead of selling something, she uses them as pointed critiques of society.

One of her most iconic works, I Shop Therefore I am, is a perfect example of how she uses mass-media aesthetics to confront the viewer. A black and white photograph of a hand holding a small card is front and center in this piece, with the text “I shop therefore I am” written boldly in the center. The phrase draws inspiration from Descartes’ famous statement “I think therefore I am.”  Insteading of leaning into the intellectual identity found in Descartes’ statement, Kruger’s image is replacing it with consumer identity. We are no longer defined by our thoughts and intellect; we are now defined by what we buy and own.

Both Sherman and Kruger reveal through their work how the media shapes our understanding of women, identity and power. While Sherman exposes the performative nature of a woman’s identity by placing herself inside the stereotypes, Kruger confronts viewers with language and imagery that challenge those systems. Both use strategies found in mass media to expose the influence they hold over us. Their work ultimately urges viewers to question the cultural narratives that have become so prevalent and ask themselves what role they play in their perpetuation.



 

Sources

Arts Help. (n.d.). Barbara Kruger redefines feminist art with boldness and vision for gender equality. Arts Help. https://www.artshelp.com/barbara-kruger-redefinies-feminist-art-with-boldness-and-vision-for-gender-equality/

Doyle, J. (2023). Week 5- Gender and Genius. Art Theory and Criticism.

Public Delivery. (n.d.). Barbara Kruger’s I shop therefore I am – What you should know. Public Delivery. https://publicdelivery.org/barbara-kruger-i-shop/

The Collector. (n.d.). Cindy Sherman: An iconic representation of women. The Collector. https://www.thecollector.com/cindy-sherman-iconic-representation-of-women/


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