Jack Pierson

Interpretation

Surrounded by the tools of portrait photography—lights, pedestal, backdrop—a figure gazes out at us, both desirable and desiring. The model, contrary to the title, is not the artist; Jack Pierson’s self-portrait series actually depicts a variety of other people at different stages of life. Highlighting the act of representing the self while revealing the mechanics that go into it, Pierson is perhaps ruminating on crafting himself as the object of desire—photographically akin to how a sculptor might work.

Acquisition note

Since 2017, collectors Avo Samuelian and Manuel Gonzalez have given 177 objects to the RISD Museum, primarily to the departments of Contemporary Art and Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. Their collection emphasizes young and emerging artists, providing critical support at the early part of their careers. 

Gifts from Samuelian and Gonzalez were central to the recent RISD Museum exhibitions Any distance between us (2021–2022), Variance: Making, Unmaking, and Remaking Disability (2022), and The Performative Self-Portrait (2023).

[CM]