M+B presents Compulsion, an exhibition of new work by contemporary artist Alex Prager. The exhibition features a selection of color photographs from the series, as well as the artist’s new short film, La Petite Mort, with accompanying film stills. The exhibition will be shown simultaneously in Los Angeles, New York and London.
Prager’s new work furthers her exploration of subversive narratives through the construction of “scenes” inspired by media tragedies and paired with emotive close-ups of eyes. The eyes, whether interpreted as belonging to the viewer or the subject, operate as a mode of investigation—an aid to decoding the scenes and implicating the viewer by provoking an emotional response. Inspired by the photography of Weegee and Enrique Metinides and films such as Metropolis and Un Chien Andalou, Compulsion confirms Prager’s vivid cinematic aesthetic. Unlike her previous work, however, the protagonists now remain anonymous and distant. Prager’s new series investigates the complexity of observation within a society inundated by compulsive spectators, as well as the recurrent discourse in photography — that “meaning” is often derived from a multiplicity of gazes. In addition to provocative juxtapositions, Prager manipulates the scenes through her choice of cropping, continually interrogating the truth content within photography — a trope as old as the medium itself.
Born in 1979, Alex Prager is a self-taught photographer who lives in Los Angeles, California. Featured in MoMA’s New Photography 2010, Prager’s work has been exhibited at institutions worldwide. Additionally, her photographs are in the permanent collection of several major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Moderna Museet (Stockholm). Her work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, W Magazine and Art in America.
Trailer « La Petite Mort »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gewNqUOavw
EXHIBITION
ALEX PRAGER COMPULSION
7 April – 12 May 2012
M+B
712 North Almont Drive
Los Angeles, USA
