Cindy Sherman Clown photo
Cindy Sherman, Untitled #447, 2005. Chromogenic color print. 48 x 72 inches, 121.9 x 182.9 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York.
The Photo Issue 2019

Revisiting Colorful Images from Cindy Sherman's Clown Archive

For our annual photo issue, Cindy Sherman, the shape-shifting artist, shares two images from her archives.

This portfolio appears in VICE Magazine's 2019 Photo Issue. With this issue we wanted to celebrate the absurd, the lighthearted, and the humorous. It’s important to take a break from the real world. As much as we need to be informed, engaged, and aware, we also need to laugh. We wanted to champion the people making art with a sense of humor. In today’s climate, there’s something nicely subversive about that. You can read more about our theme in the letter from our editor.

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Check out an interactive version of the issue here, and why not subscribe to the magazine while you're at it?

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There’s almost no need to introduce the indelible artist Cindy Sherman. Over the course of several decades she’s transformed herself into a seemingly endless list of characters and personas. Since this was our first humor-focused photo issue, we knew we had to include her. More specifically, we knew we had to include images from Sherman’s ‘Clowns’ series, which she created between 2003-2004. The expansive series explored what’s behind the painted face—one that can elicit so much joy and fear. Featured alongside some of our other shape-shifting photographers in the issue, we thought her images were a perfect fit.

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Cindy Sherman, Untitled #419, 2004. Chromogenic color print. 65.5 x 48.25 inches, 166.4 x 122.6 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York.