Cindy Sherman: Fashion | Art21 "Extended Play"

(light music)

- Well, I don't usually do commissions,

but I think when I haven't been working,

when I feel like I need
some sort of project

to challenge me, to force
me to start working,

I sometimes will just accept it,

because I have a real deadline
to force me to get going.

It was through a friend of
mine who represents Balenciaga,

asked me if I wanted to do
some shots for French Vogue,

and I said, my sort of stipulation is,

as long as you can lend me the
clothes for weeks at a time

and I don't have that
kind of pressure that,

normally, I think commercial photographers

shoot everything in one day,

and I said, no, I need
the clothes for longer,

and so they were totally cool with that.

I wanted it to look like these are people

who happen to be wearing
Balenciaga at some groovy parties.

Maybe they work in the fashion business,

or maybe they would like to be working

in the fashion business.

I was trying to sort of make it look

as if they're shot with flash.

The backgrounds are all digitally added

with just shots of people
in restaurants and bars,

and that was kind of what
this series started out as,

and then I subsequently
blew up one of these large

to see how it would hold
up as a work of art,

and it didn't look good
with the backgrounds,

so I wound up going back

and completely changing the backgrounds,

and they sort of now have a new life

as different sort of pictures.

Still somewhat as if they're from parties,

but in some cases even more so,

because I added these flash effects.

And it was actually the
first time I tried shooting

with the digital camera. I
borrowed a friend's camera,

and I was kind of nervous about that, too.

Now I'm suddenly experimenting
with a digital camera,

and I don't really know how to use it,

and does it work the same with the lights?

And then I have to set it up

to look at my computer while I'm shooting,

and it was all kind of touch
and go in the beginning

and a little scary,
but once I was into it,

it was just like, I'm a total convert.

I threw out all my film

and I'm ready to get rid of my cameras,

and I would just never go back to film.