Cindy Sherman’s outrage against the victimization of women

From her Untitled Film Stills of the late 1970s in which she depicted actresses and starlets in various poses until the present, American photographer Cindy Sherman has used her own body to explore issues affecting women. Beginning in the 1980s, Sherman began her Fairytale and Disasters series of which Untitled #153 1985 and Untitled #93 1981 are a part, which depict what appear to be female violence victims. Sherman’s inspiration for these graphic photographs could arguably be due to the increased violent acts against women seen in the late 1970s and early 1980s. By being both the artist and character in Untitled #153 and Untitled #93, Sherman tries to reclaim the voice of these past victims of sexual rape and domestic battery who were afraid or unable to speak. In the hope of ending these two prevalent crimes, Sherman spreads awareness t by allowing viewers access behind the symbolic caution-tape barrier. A brief examination of her career before the Fairytale and Disaster series, an overview of the rape laws in the United States before 1985, and analysis of the formal elements will uncover her motive for such explicit photographs. By making us unwitting witnesses, she prompts us to take her artwork seriously and perhaps use it to our advantage in order to prevent future crimes