Lucio Fontana post-it. And why not?

Last week, I was invited to the opening night for Alex Prager’s exhibition, “Week-End,” the latest body of work by the 29-year old photographer and native Angelino. Completely self-taught and recognized for her signature aesthetic, Prager’s “Week-End” is a collection of color photographs as dazzling as they are bizarre. The exhibition opened on January 30, 2010, and will run through March 6, 2010 @ M+B gallery in West Hollywood.

“Inspired by the high drama of classic movies—which, despite their theatricality, touch upon genuine emotions of alienation, fear, anger, longing, and lust—Prager’s images seem at first to be all exquisite surface. However the girls of this series—named “Barbara,” “Jane,” “Lois” and other such conventional and slightly old-fashioned monikers—conceal pain beneath their lipstick-lined smiles and dead eyes. In the artist’s own words, she is “documenting a world that exists and doesn’t exist at the same time.” The trilogy began with girls playing archetypal roles in “Polyester.” Then in “Big Valley,” the roles took on lives of their own, and the separation between make-believe and real life began to dissolve. With “Week-End,” which signifies the peak as well as the extent of the period, the façade becomes so thick that the illusion is now more real than the world they actually live in.” – M+B

As a photography enthusiast and fan of Alex’s work, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down with the artist herself. Here are some snippets from our conversation, as we talk about Los Angeles as a source of creative inspiration:

SY: The word “End” in your latest exhibition, “Week-End,” seems to suggest a completion to your previous two works “Polyester” and “Big Valley.” How did the story evolve throughout the trilogy, and why “End” it now?

AP: “The story started with a box of old clothes from the 60′s that my grandmother’s friend Vera gave me because she knew I liked vintage. I threw some wigs on my friends and basically played dress up with them. I think that’s why “Polyester” seems more to me like it’s a performance by a small town theater group with very bad acting. It’s not serious to me. “The Big Valley” was more thought out for me, and I think it comes across a bit more on the edge, and slightly more real. With “Week-end,” I felt as if the girls in the photos were no longer play-acting. It’s as if their little game had become their only reality. To me, it’s like the ending is more about them than about me and the work.”

SY: As the trilogy unfolded, I became more and more convinced that you are doing a commentary on life in Los Angeles as much as telling a story about your cast of females. What is a bigger muse for you, L.A. or the women that fill your work?

AP: “I’d say that Los Angeles has been my muse for the past three series. The girls are more like props to me. I still have to find the exact right one for the picture I’m going to take, and she has to inspire me and all that, but when it comes down to it, there’ll always be another girl, but there will never be another city like Los Angeles.”

SY: How has being a native Angelino affected your artistry?

AP: “There’s so much about this city that I disagree with, but at the same time I love it more than anywhere in the world, I guess maybe some of that might come across in my pictures. It’s like anyone in regard to the place they grew up, I think there’s always some sort of love/hate relationship going on there.”

SY: Rick Owen’s said something like “L.A. should stick to sitcoms and leave fashion to NYC and Paris.” Of course, we’re not talking fashion, but does the same go for art? Is it more challenging to prove oneself in the international community coming from L.A.?

AP: “I don’t really know. I think a lot of artists in New York go unnoticed because there’s so many people focused on art and so much competition. So many rules and politics and all that. Los Angeles is more laid back when it comes to art. You can put a show on in your closet and a crowd will probably turn up. I feel like because I started here, I had more of a chance, not less of it, because when I started my audience was mainly just friends and friends of friends checking it out. Not necessarily to criticize, but more just to see what I had made. I felt like people were interested in a different way than they probably would have been had I been having the same shows in New York. Maybe it’s because they’re more starved for art here, because there’s not as much, I don’t know.”

SY: When one thing ends another begins. Now that the series is completed, what are we to anticipate from you in the future? …new directions/inspirations/anything you’d like to share?

AP: “That’s a secret, but I will be showing “Week-End” in Tokyo in April, and London in June.”

In our vast archive of James Magni’s residential projects, this dining room shot always seems to grab everyone’s attention. The focal point is of course the stunning artwork. A painting by the artist, Christopher Brown, it’s of Sir Anthony van Dyck- the Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England, circa King Charles I.

I love the mix of classical elegance and sheer flamboyance in this piece.

-S

SCORE! I found this awesome Patrick Nagel poster at the Salvation Army Family Store for 10 bucks!

I assume that some of you may be thinking that I’ve lost my mind with this one, but let me explain my love and respect for Nagel’s work:

Not only did Nagel’s images embody the chic and sleek style of the 80′s, but I think his work had a greater hand in creating what the 80′s were becoming at the very time. What I’m trying to say is that Nagel was less an observer of the time and more so an influence to the time… Would the 80′s be the same without his images? Would have Armani evolved YSL’s “Le Smoking Tuxedo” to create the famous power-suit for women? … Would have Donna Karan introduced her ‘Essentials Line’ for the 80′s working woman if not for Nagel’s images?

Nagel’s vision of the iconic 80′s woman was so influential that even today his images are popularly used. How many times have you seen a mom-n’-pop hair salon or nail shop use a window decal with a Nagel-esq picture? If you haven’t noticed, I dare you to take a look… you’ll be surprised at how many beauty shops use his images even today.

The man even influenced computer software applications like that of Adobe Photoshop. The simplifying tools on photoshop are like an undeclared homage to the working style of Nagel. You see, all of Nagel’s illustrations were based in photography. “Nagel would start with a photograph and work down, always simplifying and removing elements which he felt were unnecessary. The resulting image would look flat, but emphasized those elements which he felt were most important.

IMO, one of the last influential artists of the 20th century, Patrick Nagel.

Ed Ruscha’s visual interpretation of autumn.

I’m not a shopper-type, per se’, even though I was raised smack dab in the hotbed of consumerist culture, AKA: United States of America. Something about owning an object makes me feel like the object is owning me. I don’t know if that makes sense, but in any case, there are some things that I do enjoy collecting from time to time. If I had to say, I guess I’m a sucker for stimuli in my purchasing habits… ART!

For instance, I have a thing for buying prints. I love how on the one hand they’re made in a way that’s optimal for mass production, but then on the other hand they’re often printed in limited edition series, signed and dated. I love how each print has a unique imperfection made during the creation process, and I love how simple they look – especially letterpress prints that usually use no more than 3 colors. Letterpress is my favorite printing method.

I just purchased this wonderful set of 3 prints by Maria Alexandra Vettese and Christopher David Ryan out of Maine, and I can’t wait to have them framed and hung in my new place. The set is called “Staring at the Sun,” and the 1st print (the girl with the oversided sunglasses) alone sold me on it! The retro tone, sexy B&W mood and galactic subject matter all work for me.

Just to backtrack on this talk of prints, this whole thing started when I was looking for a class on letterpress printing in L.A. I’m trying to find a course/factory/artist or anyone who could teach me techniques in printmaking. It’s my 2010 resolution to make more art, rather than just observe it or communicate it on my blog.

In a nutshell, I wanna make kick-ass letterpress posters with all the ideas that are crowding my brain… can anyone show me the way?

-S

In the late 1970′s, Jenny Holzer began creating her first ‘truisms’ in a first stage as a series of one-liners on posters pasted anonymously around NYC. Later she did installations with electronic LED displays that are attentive to architecture, monuments and memorials; and since 1996, large-scale xenon projections of text on buildings and landscape. Holzer is famous for her short statements and phrases on random subjects in the form of slogans.

Her medium is writing, and the public dimension is integral to the delivery of her work. Her practice has rivaled ignorance and violence with humor, kindness, and moral courage. Often Holzer’s work presents both explicit content and minimalist aesthetics that make profound statements about the world of advertising and consumer society today.

-S

When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

“Intense and anxious, yet luminous.” It doesn’t get more avant garde than Fever Ray in music right now. One half of the influential electronic brother-sister duo, The Knife, Karin Dreijer Andersson returned in 2009 as a solo artist under the new name Fever Ray.

I was feeling the album from the get-go with songs like “Seven” & “Triangle Walks,” but the video to “When I Grow Up,” especially blew my mind. Plus, she does this post-apocalyptic Persian dance that I love! Totally dancing like that from now on!

-S

It’s Saturday, the perfect day to unload the essential information I’ve managed to save in my brain until this very moment. Two things I wanna put on the table: Mark Newson’s Zenith Chair & Galerie Kreo.

Ok, The limited edition Zenith chair by Mark Newson is an instant favorite! Here’s the thing, I love aluminum, and I love limited edition. Limited edition, not in the sense of it being exclusive but in the sense that it’s furniture expressed as art…real art.

Most importantly on the hunt for the Zenith Chair was that I stumbled upon Galerie Kreo. What is Galerie Kreo, here goes: Galerie Kreo is dedicated to artistic exploration in design, and has exclusive international rights to remarkable limited edition pieces by such luminaries as Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Pierre Charpin, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison, and Martin Szekely. Galerie Kreo sees itself as a ‘research laboratory’. In Paris, of course.

-S

SYI- Initially when I saw the Zenith chair, I thought it was furniture by Jeff Koons. Kinda reminds me of his statues.