Alex Prager's series Week-end is her interpretation of the "artificiality and paranoia in Hollywood". Prager began her photography career in 2001, she is self taught and concentrated heavily on documentary photography. All her photographs are staged but she appreciates the little mishaps that create the magic in her shots. She only uses one camera for all her work, a Contax 645 & Portra 400 film. Prager's work is heavily influenced by Cindy Sherman, she tends to oversature and higly contrast her photos.
The three photographs above were taken in Los Angeles, Prager's hometown. The collection is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, and Douglas Smirk. For most her work she appropriates scenes from old films. Prayer uses permanent lighting instead of a flash to add to the artificiality appearances of her subjects. My favorite of the three is the last one. She uses her friend's mother as the model in this scene. She wanted the background to have the lights of a liquor store. The rain machine she was using broke and the taxi was fake and leaking the entire time. She was having a difficult time communicating to her model but she kept taking shots and in the one moment she glanced up Prager was able to capture this frame. Prager purposely cuts objects out of frame to keep the viewer wanting more.
I am so happy i stumbled upon Prager's work. I absolutely love her shots. I could she all her photographs working well as an editorial shot in a fashion magazine. I love the colors and the vintage feel. I never really liked the idea of appropriating or staged ones photographs but i really do appreciate her aesthetic. I am actually excited to give it a try.
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