Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is one of the artists who has most contributed to the renewal of contemporary photography. Over four decades, Sherman has created a distinctive body of work in which the artist herself is both the subject and object of her photographs, to explore themes of identity and gender, and to subvert stereotypes and notions of aesthetics, drawing from sources such as art history, cinema, and advertising. Sherman creates images that may initially be seductive and attractive but ultimately reveal themselves to be more complex. She does not aspire to the typical idea of beauty because, as the artist herself has stated: "that is the easiest way to see the world; it is a greater challenge to look at the other side." Although her work continuously reexamines the role of women in history and in contemporary society, Sherman resists having her works carry an explicit message, leaving them open to interpretation. "The Gardener" dated 1987, marks the moment when Sherman expands her visual investigation into the grotesque and anti-aesthetic.