One reason I was interested in photography was to get away from the preciousness of the art object.
Cindy Sherman[My work is] maybe about me maybe not wanting to be me and wanting to be all these other characters. Or at least try them on.
Cindy ShermanSo many things suddenly made sense for the clowns, for the whole idea. Iโd been going through a struggle, particularly after 9/11; I couldnโt figure out what I wanted to say. I still wanted the work to be the same kind of mixture โ intense, with a nasty side or an ugly side, but also with a real pathos about the characters โ and clowns have an underlying sense of sadness while theyโre trying to cheer people up. Clowns are sad, but theyโre also psychotically, hysterically happy.
Cindy ShermanNowadays, with digital printing, it's so easy to make everything perfect, which is not always a good idea. Sometimes the mistakes are really what make a piece.
Cindy ShermanI like making images that from a distance seem kind of seductive, colorful, luscious and engaging, and then you realize what you're looking at is something totally opposite. It seems boring to me to pursue the typical idea of beauty, because that is the easiest and the most obvious way to see the world. It's more challenging to look at the other side.
Cindy Sherman