“Untitled Film Still #53” is a photograph taken by artist Cindy Sherman in 1980. The black-and-white image features a woman, possibly meant to emulate a character from mid-20th-century film. She has short hair styled in a vintage manner and wears a light-toned, ribbed top. Her expression is forlorn or introspective, as she gazes away from the camera, lost in thought. The setting includes an industrial or urban backdrop with a wall-mounted utility fixture above her. The photograph captures a sense of cinematic narrative, and the woman’s attire and hairstyle evoke an earlier era, aligning with Sherman’s exploration of identity, femininity, and the role of women in society and media.
The photograph itself offers a rich tableau for interpretation, with the subject’s expression and off-camera focus inviting viewers to contemplate the context and the story behind the image. Sherman, known for her conceptual portraits, often serves as her own model, dressed in various guises, and here she continues this practice, presenting herself in a way that suggests a scene from a movie that invites viewers to fill in the details of the plot.