Mark Stockton: 100 People is a group of 100 hand drawn portraits, photo-referent, made with graphite on paper, and intended to be received as a single work in form and experience. Each subject connects via eye-contact to the viewer, addressing the objectifying nature of portraiture head-on. Portraits have a complex history—they have the potential to venerate, to emotionally connect, to resonate into lived experience—they are also tools of commodification, objectification, and colonialization.
The exhibition examines who and how we venerate and connect. What is representation in a larger sense? Using demographics to structure an equitable range of representation and selecting subjects from a range of time periods—from the beginnings of portrait photography (1839) to the present—the on-going series seeks to create an evolving canon of portraits, reflecting an expanded narrative of history and identity while centering ideas of inclusivity and subjectivity.
Often sourced from recommendations and further reading, the selection process is opened-up beyond the limitations of the artist’s pre-existing-knowledge base; the time-intensive drawings invite further reflection. Each portrait, connecting through an active gaze, looks back on the viewer, collapsing time and space divides, offering different points of connection to different people.
For this publication, the portraits have been scaled down from life-size drawings to more intimate, hand-held depictions. During the run of the exhibition, the order of the work was rearranged on a weekly basis, creating new groupings and fluid relationships. This untraditional publication–in card form–is designed to reinforce the non-hierarchical structure of the project, inviting viewers to re-order and reflect.
For more information about the project visit
markstockton100people.com or mtstockton.com/exhibitions_solo_100_People.html
More about the artist at mtstockton.com
Download the Exhibition Essay Representation and Slowing the Infinite Scroll.by Mary F.E. Eberling
Acknowledgements:
This project was made possible with support from The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation. The original exhibition–produced in conjunction with Penn Arts Live–debuted at the Arts Lounge at the Annenberg Center of The University of Pennsylvania in the Spring of 2022. Publication support through Drexel University’s Westphal College and The Freddie Reisman Creative Award.
Publication design: Elaine Lopez
Photography: Jaime Alvarez
Portraits featured in the exhibition:
