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.”
