photographer and model of her captivating creations in one. Meticulously conceived, she always captures the most subtle nuances of expression on her highly malleable face and uses the self-timer to turn them into the actual protagonists of her poetically enraptured creations. In "Untitled # 551", her present yet strangely remote face is in an odd disbalance with the extravagant beaded dress from Chanel’s 2010 line. The contrast between her splendid attire and the tenuous turban above a naked face creates captivating visual tension. It is also the protagonist's calm but steady gaze at the viewer that inevitably casts a spell over us, whereas a second glance reveals that this person is in an unsettling relationship with her surroundings. The moss-covered riverbed in the background appears to be destroyed, thus Sherman created a compelling tension through calculated dissonance. At the center of this impressive series of works, which includes the present work and featured in exhibitions at the Gagosian Gallery in 2012 and also in parts in the grand retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York the same year, are lavishly dressed female figures in vast and barren landscapes. This contrast between face and dress, character and presentation, foreground and background, a world of luxury, and a nature that is out of balance are the common elements of all the works in this series. In these backdrop-like productions, Sherman questions the consumerist hedonism of the contemporary world of fashion and luxury and the social ideals that come with it. In her outstanding photographic oeuvre, Sherman explores the most diverse role models and ideals, from the broken adolescent to the suburban housewife to the Renaissance aristocrat, repeatedly questioning the inexhaustible range of social manifestations and psychological spaces women have claimed for themselves or have been assigned to by society. Time and again, she impressively deciphers social conventions. In "Untitled # 551", Sherman confronts us with our often dubious ideals of beauty and femininity. [JS]