Cindy Sherman "Untitled #188" (Click to select text)

In Cindy Sherman\\\'s photogragh \\\"untitled #188\\\" the work is a response to world situations and therefore have international significance in their expression of contemporary issues. Her artwork deals with the way females have been traditionally seen and treated by males, questioning the essence and appearance, expressing the malleability of identity. The images in her photogragh is of women(note that all her work dont include males) In post modernism terms Cindy Sherman works with the notion of contradictory messages known as \\\'double coding\\\'. She confronts representation and relatity of the world. The doll in her photogragh \\\"untitled #188\\\" is partly hidden amongst human debris which is a surrogate symbol of the violencethat men inflict on women. The dolls sexuality is represented by its pointy breast. Sexual activity is shown by the way the body is positioned and the smearing of lipstick on the dolls face. The opening mouth and the staring eyes reminds us of the \\\'demoiselle in distress\\\' we see in those old movies were the lady is tied to a railway track. The diagonal positioning of and the smoothness of the plastic adds drama. The \\\'doll\\\' has been abandoned and no longer in use. The artwork questions our perceptions of reality while challenging us on social and gender issues of everyday life. This artwork isnt just an amage of horror but of also humor - since this is only a girls play thing