8/12/2019 Sherman - Motion

1/3

Taylor Smith

Professor Cronk

ARTD-125

2/17/14

Illusion of Motion

Throughout many of her works, American photographer Cindy Sherman

applies various conventions to create the illusion of motion. Sherman is known for

her meticulously detailed conceptual portraits, in which she photographs herself in

a wide variety of costumes. Many of these photographs involve traditional sill poses,

much like those in classical portraiture. However, a number of Shermans

photographs use traditional techniques to capture movement in her characters.

In Untitled #488 and Untitled #489, Sherman uses multiple images of a figure

to imply motion. These pieces both consist of cutouts from numerous photographs

of the same character. Each image captures a different moment in the characters

movement. When these images are strung together in close proximity, they combine

create a suggestion of the characters gesture. Sherman exaggerates this concept by

overlapping the cutouts, making them blend together into one single image. This

causes the viewer to look not at each individual cutout, but at the gesture as a whole.

Untitled #417creates an illusion of motion by repeating a figure over a

background consisting of wavy blurred lines. By placing three different images of

the same clown in close proximity, a sense of movement is created. The background

contributes to this effect as well. While the outlines of the clown are not blurred,

they are set against an energetic background of wavy lines that bleed into each

8/12/2019 Sherman - Motion

2/3

other. Blurred lines are also used in Untitled #474. The background of the portrait is

duplicated and warped, then laid over itself with a reduced opacity. This effect,

created digitally, causes the background to blur and creates the illusion that the

room is spinning. The woman, however, is sharp and in focus, creating contrast that

heightens the feeling of motion in the background.

Motion is implied in Untitled #119by cropping specific areas of the image.

The right hand of the singer is completely present in the frame. The singers left

hand, however, is cropped out of the image, along with the top of her head. While

the right hand grounds the singer in the image, cropping off the rest of her body

creates the sense that she is bursting out of the frame. This same technique is used

in Untitled #463. Sherman crops the photo as close as possible without cutting of

any of the womens faces. The woman on the left, for example, has her arm out of the

frame. The photograph is cropped as though the frame cannot hold the energy and

motion of the women. When combined with the repeating clothing and red cups,

and illusion of motion is created across the image.

8/12/2019 Sherman - Motion

3/3

Untitled #417 (2004)

Untitled #463 (2007)

Untitled #119 (1983)

Untitled #488 (1976)

Untitled #489 (1976) Untitled #474 (2008)