Alex Prager

Compulsion #2, from the series Compulsion, 2012

Alex Prager Biography Alex Prager is a known American art photographer and filmmaker, based in Los Angeles, California, who draws inspiration from a wide range of influences and references, including Old Hollywood aesthetics, pop culture, and street photography. Her works are elaborately staged scenes that merge past and contemporary sources to create a sense of ambiguity. Much of Prager's photographs invite those viewing her work to 'complete the story' and speculate the narrative. A set of popular series, Polyester (2007), The Big Valley (2008) , and Week-End (2009), depicts images of women expressing distress, despair, or contemplation that implants an uneasy yet curious feeling in her viewers' minds. It's her uncomfortable experiences having grown up in Los Angeles, the collage of imagery in the media, and a reminiscence of a safer time that inspires her to create. Prager's interest in photography sprung alive upon her return from Europe when she first attended the famed American color photographer William Eggleston's exhibition. There, she became deeply inspired by his work that she purchased all of the necessary equipment to be a photographer. After six months of trying her hand at photography, Prager held her first exhibition. It was at this exhibition she sold her first photograph. Since then, she has found her unique vision of photography to be compatible with filmmaking, leading her to try her hand at being a director. Over time, she has extended her skills and practice into film. Since her artistic awakening at William Eggleston’s exhibition, Prager had gained and achieved numerous accolades, both in photography and film. Her photographs are represented in the collections of major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco, and Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden.