Portrait

Angelika von Stocki occupies herself with the history, the concrete historical background and develops during this research her picture ideas. In a second step the respective topic is varied in the lab, thought through and elaborated, so that in total a consequence of multi-layered photomontages arises. Just the cross fading of different motives or the multiple exposure of a negative and/or the color solarization are her in this case important technical aids. These photomontage, one could refer to the procedure also as a photo-collage, gets through the interlocking contents-related possibilities, different motives tension-full, and interpretations.
The in this case arisen tension-rich and narrative picture cycles to the history of the young Daphne and the Lilienthal as Ikarus make one participate in the mythological scenery.

With the political changes in 1989 the Berlin city became a thematic emphasis for Angelika von Stocki. She is her most important photo-artistic action place and incited her again and again to sequences of images.
So arisen photomontages about the quadriga of the Berlin Brandenburger Gate „Victoria's Triumphant Journey“, the fall of the Berlin wall „Fall of the Wall" and the seat of the German Bundestag „Fata Morgana - The Reichstag“ as well as „The Reichstag through the Ages“.

Under the impression of the wave of racist power in Germany since 1992 Angelika von Stocki deals with the history of the German Resistance against the National Socialism. Her photomontages for the series „People of Conscience“ are pictures of the conscience decision. Departing from the process portraits of the upright members of the German Resistance her works are supposed to be a reminder onto the responsibility of every individual for his society.

With her sequence of images of the „Faces - Peaceful Colours of Cultures“ Angelika von Stocki conforms to the document - photographer that once already in the 1970th and 1980th years was her artistic starting point.
Her works have a sociopolitical importance: In view of a new wave of xenophobic power her photographers demand respect before the articulation of the other ones, the minorities, the added ones.

„Angelika von Stocki shows us with her Faces - Peaceful Colours of Cultures very impressive, that such communication can not be led only on the levels of the international diplomacy and in the committees and organizations of the United Nations. The cultural dialog begins very actually with us on site in Berlin, in the With each other the people's of many different cultures, who lives very as a matter of course in the German capital.“
(Quotation: Speech of the directress of the Bonn Woman Museum, Marianne Pitzen for the opening of the open-air-exhibition of Angelika von Stocki’s „Faces - Peaceful Colours of Cultures“ on June 6, 2006 at the Potsdamer Platz Berlin).

These large - size - photographers of Angelika von Stocki offer us an important insight into the cultural variety of the people just the same as her large – size -portrait photographers „Talking Heads - Contemporary Faces“ to the Berliner Love Parade.
„Mrs von Stocki did not select the youth at itself - if there is that one anyway - as photo objects, but a small, when also put to the "youth" into the center of her representation spectacular section, indeed portrait photos of young visitors of the Love Parade from the years 1997 - 2002.... The selfactors and selfactresses come from most different nationalities, culture circles and socializations - and so no picture resembles the other one, the mimicry once beaming before, once selfironic fun even in love, once meditative...“
(Quotation: Speech of the Federal Minister Renate Schmidt for the opening of the open-air-exhibition of Angelika von Stocki’s "Talking Heads - Contemporary Faces“ on July 9, 2003 in the foyer of the PriceWaterHouseCoopers at the Potsdamer Platz Berlin ).

Both series Angelika of Stocki could present as an open-air-exhibition to a large public, the innumerable visitors of the Potsdamer Platz Berlin in the summer time 2003 and accompanying the football world championship 2006.

In her newest series „Frozen Moments of Power - Portraits from the World's Political Arena“ Angelika von Stocki shows international politicians at their appearances the press. An action course suddenly come for the standstill is readable in all the works.
The photo presentation becomes the board picture by means of digital techniques.
In this way Angelika von Stocki plumbs the field, where the relationship between painting and the photographeric copy is questioned artistically.

This working method allows the artist to break the traditional borders of photographer and painting. So a fusion of produced and manipulated reality occurs.