Artist
Cindy Sherman (American, born 1954)American, born 1954
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Untitled Film Still
Date1979
Place depictedScottsdale, Arizona, United States
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 7 1/2 × 9 7/16 in. (19.1 × 24 cm)
Sheet: 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
Sheet: 8 × 10 in. (20.3 × 25.4 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Mr. and Mrs. Harry B. Gordon
Object number81.154
Non exposé
Explore Further
Department
PhotographyObject Type
Sherman populates her Untitled Film Stills
series with solitary women who act out clichés inspired by female
representations in midcentury cinema. Throughout the series, Sherman masquerades
as different characters that are visually familiar but broadly unidentifiable. Here,
Sherman evokes the trope of the suburban housewife who appears so completely disinterested
with domesticity’s daily tasks that she can only bring herself to perform,
rather than enact, them. Alluringly costumed in a blonde wig, swimsuit, white
shirt, and sunglasses, Sherman’s character is not dressed for strenuous yard
work; instead, she mindlessly waters an empty patch of dirt in her unkempt
garden.
Provenance[Texas Gallery, Houston]; purchased by MFAH, 1981.
Exhibition History"The Artist Portrayed," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, August 14–November 5, 1995.
"Contemporary Art and Photography: Spotlight on the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 30, 2001– March 31, 2002.
"Ruptures and Continuities: Photography Made after 1960 from the MFAH Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 21–May 9, 2010.
"Always Greener: Seeing and Seeking Suburbia—Selections from the Museum’s Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, August 21, 2018–February 3, 2019.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
verso upper center in pencil "Cindy Sherman / © 1979 / 1/10"
verso center in black marker "X"
verso center in black marker "X"
verso center a stamp[upside down] "I 1557"
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Cindy Loehr
2004
Industrial PVC, garland, plastic leis, chicken wire, internal speakers, and soundtrack
2008.421.A-.C
