An Elusive Guest of Cindy Sherman Q+A

Last night's premiere of Guest of Cindy Sherman had the potential to get ugly. Seminal photographer Sherman has already gone on record disassociating herself with the film. Directed by Tom Donahue and Paul H-O, Guest is a hybrid of interviews with Sherman conducted by H-O for his public access program, Gallery Beat, and a look at the relationship between Sherman and H-O—in particular, H-O's wrestling with the loss of identity that comes from being Sherman's "plus one." "We didn't have a third act," admitted Donahue at last night's Q+A. "We slavishly kept interviewing people compulsively." The sold-out screening was filled with kohl-eyed art stars watching a project that took four years to put together and used more than 15 years of footage.

Guest is a fascinating film due to its unprecedented access to the press-shy Sherman's art process and the New York art world of the late '90s. Guest is messier when it explores what goes on in the mind of "a guy with a woman who makes a lot more money," said the gregarious H-O. "It's something that guys have to deal with. And women have to deal with."

After the screening, the combative Charlie Finch, artnet columnist and co-author of Most Art Sucks: Five Years of Coagula, inquired about how much material Sherman eliminated from the final film. "We got a list from her of things to take out. At first it killed me to take it out," answered Donahue, but he concluded that the film was sharper as a result.

"I'm a compulsive documenter," added H-O.

"He was sitting on a mound of old art-storical footage and Paul and Cindy Sherman footage," said Donahue.

"It's hard to say whether it was a wise thing or not," said H-O, as he discussed the toll the documentary took on his relationship with Sherman.

The last question addressed the elephant in the room. A young woman got up and asked: "What did Cindy think?" The documentarians replied that she saw it six months ago and approved her "performance" in the film. She signed off on her portrayal. They then credited their post-man for doing a great job with the look of the film.

This answer didn't satisfy the woman, and she asked again, "But what does she think? What does she think?" as the time ran out on the session.