Cindy

Robert Longo’s nearly life-size figure of the American photographer Cindy Sherman (b. 1954) was created as part of his Men in the Cities series, a group of similar photo-based drawings of his friends and acquaintances. The series was Longo’s first work to be received with critical success and continues to be synonymous with his artwork, which often depicts subjects as starkly monumental.

Born in Brooklyn, Longo first studied music before becoming an artist. He attended both North Texas State University and the Nassau Community College in New York before earning his B.F.A. from the State University College in Buffalo, New York, in 1975. He moved to New York City in 1977, and began his artistic career by experimenting with then- popular Minimalist work. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Longo became increasingly fascinated by the way he could manipulate various media and techniques-- including film stills, television, and photography-- to create art that would reach a large audience. Dissatisfied with his art education, he immersed himself in film, art magazines, and gallery showings, all of which encouraged a spirit of experimentation.

Inspired by film stills and New Wave music, Longo began his Men in the City series by photographing his friends, both in groups and individually on the rooftop of his apartment building. He allegedly threw objects like tennis balls and rocks at his subjects, and pulled their bodies with ropes, which caused them to jump, twist and contort their bodies into stressful—and often violent—poses. Longo would capture these movements with his camera, enlarge the images using a slide projector, and trace over them with charcoal and graphite. He would later add drama and glamour to his drawings by replacing the models’ jeans and t-shirts with work attire or cocktail dresses, or by suspending a man’s tie into mid-air. Longo hoped that these works would be shown together, but they also stand alone as dynamic statements of urbanity 1980s style. The lithograph Cindy, seen here, was printed in three tones of black, in an edition of thirty-eight. Dressed as if she just came from the office, Cindy is suspended, almost like a fashion model, in a dance-like movement against a stark, off-white background.