| | Cindy Sherman
<*dv_1*> Serpentine Gallery, London 3 June 25 August | This exhibition has been getting a lot of PR. Is Cindy Sherman that famous or important? Naturally in the rarefied air of the gallery I keep my ignorance strictly to myself.
<*dv_2*> For the last thirty years Sherman has been taking pictures of herself. She adopts a different persona in each of the photographs that she has taken. Sherman likes to play with conventions, fashion photography, cinema or the paintings of the old masters. I couldnt help but admire the way in which Sherman has been able to transform her appearance, and constantly explore new subjects.
However, the thing that left me cold about the exhibition was the lack of beauty. Shermans work in dominated by grotesque caricatures. By exaggerating the archetypes of the styles, genres and subjects she is playing with Sherman makes you feel like you are trapped in a woozy freak show.
I remember a comment my mum made as my dad, forever in charge of the television remote control, settled on some awful Steven Seagal vehicle for the nights entertainment. Why cant we watch a nice film? Asked my Mum. I was left wondering a similar rhetorical question. Why cant we see some nice photographs?
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