Alex Prager (b. 1979)
3:32 pm, Coldwater Canyon and Eye #5 (Automobile Accident) from Compulsion, 2012
archival pigment print
48 x 19 3/4 in. (121.9 x 50.2 cm) and 20 x 23 in. (50.8 x 58.4 cm), respectively.
Ed. of 6
Alex Prager is an American photographer and filmmaker known for her cinematic color photography featuring a hyper-real, Old Hollywood aesthetic. She was born in 1979 in Los Angeles, CA and dropped out of school as a teenager to travel Europe by train. An exhibition of famed American color photographer William Eggleston’s work inspired Prager to begin taking pictures and, six months later, she had her first exhibition. Her work often uses trained actors in staged settings, acting out ambiguous melodramatic narratives in colorful costumes. Over time, Prager has expanded her practice into film: in 2011, she directed Touch of Evil, a video series featuring some of the year’s best cinematic villains for The New York Times Magazine, for which she won an Emmy Award in 2012. Among her other honors is the Paul Huf award from Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam in 2012. Her work can be found in institutions worldwide such as The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, and the Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art in Istanbul. She lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
