Introduction to Cindy Hansen

Staged Self-Portrait Photography

Welcome to my Substack! This is where I will share the story of my journey from a kid with a Kodak Instamatic camera I bought with babysitting money to a wacky, staged self-portrait photographer creating mayhem with a Canon EOS 77D and a subscription to Photoshop. I still have an actual paying job 50 years later that drains my heart and soul Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. But let’s not talk about that! I also won’t talk about how my dad was a minister and my mom worked for the IRS. Nor will I talk about raising two kids who are fantastic adults with their own stories. No no.

In fact, let’s skip over everything up to 2018. Agreed?

I was 59 years old and in my second marriage that year. My husband and I enjoyed taking our cameras everywhere. Digital photography was the greatest snapshot invention! No wasted film, no packets of crappy photos from Walgreens, no waiting a week to be disappointed by a lack of photographic talent. It was instant failure with just enough successes to keep me clicking for more.

In 2018 I decided it was time to become a serious photographer. I was going to learn how by joining the Coalition of Photographic Arts (CoPA) in Milwaukee. Their members were/are all good photographers and I assumed they were professionals. I wasn’t convinced I fit in with them but they let me in! I was going to learn the secret sauce of professional photography and be famous, right?

Obviously, I had a lot to learn.

Let’s skip over all the messy trial and error of attempting to be a serious photographer and talk about my pivotal milestone. CoPA was going to have a huge event called the Arty Bollocks Exhibition and Ball. We were told to visit a website that generates instant artist statements in ridiculous artspeak. Our mission was to pick one and create an image to go along with it. It was all in fun and we were encouraged to have fun with it.

Wait a minute…I can be ridiculous with my photography? They’re giving me permission?! I could win a prize? Ridiculous has been my middle name since the day I learned to tell a story! Count me in, this will be a blast. Secretly I had already had fun creating a wild photograph of me dressed as the boogeyman attacking an unsuspecting sleeper. But I didn’t know there were famous photographers doing this kind of thing for a living and making money. I hadn’t heard of Cindy Sherman until I clicked the button on the Instant Artist Statement Generator:

“My work explores the profound dependencies of coastal boundaries. With influences as diverse as Cindy Sherman and Frida Kahlo, new combinations are manufactured from both opaque and transparent variants.”

I knew about Frida Kahlo but had to look up Cindy Sherman. Oh! She does self-portraits just like Frida did. Black and white movie stills…costumes…I knew right away what I would create. And I had permission!

I won Honorable Mention for this combination of Frida and Cindy. My photography would never be the same!