How the West Was Won

In the 1901 book The Will to Power, Friedrich Nietzsche writes, “We have art in order not to die of the truth.” This sentiment, derived from a note that the German philosopher wrote in the late 19th century, reverberates across Alex Prager’s newest vignettes. In her solo exhibition at Lehmann Maupin’s Seoul location, entitled “Western Mechanics,” a new body of work transcends time in an exploration of the complexity of contemporary existence. “I wanted to incorporate a visual sense of the past conflated with the future to parallel the darker qualities of our current flummoxed existence,” the Los Angeles-based artist and filmmaker explains.

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The works by Prager—who received an Emmy award for her 2012 short film series “Touch of Evil”—blur the boundaries between the realistic and the fantastical. Historical allegories and cultural references are woven together to examine the evolution of the human condition.

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An ardent admirer of Dutch paintings and Americana iconography, Prager does not shy away from incorporating allegories and mythology. She seeks, instead, to provide viewers with familiar entry points into understanding the present through a dialogue with paintings by old masters such as Eugène Delacroix and Luca Giordano as well as modern artists like Balthus and Lucian Freud. “This undercurrent gave life and meaning to “Western Mechanics,” she explains. “A sense of stability in the most unstable times.” 

In the titular photograph, Western Mechanics, 2024, a pyramid of bodies wrestle, writhe, and kiss in front of a mountain. The scene is chaotic and rife with historical allusions and Western motifs: blue jeans, cowboy memorabilia, and an unobstructed American flag raised in the background. Eagles soar overhead; a horse on its hind legs in front of a mountain. 

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The artist’s images possess a distinctive mise-en-scène that lends itself to a certain dreamlike quality—one that pervades both waking and unwaking hours. She describes the mixed media works in her latest exhibition as “heightened… in order to probe our emotional connections to the past.” Indeed, “Western Mechanics” features an array of meticulously crafted tableaus that do not form a cohesive storyline so much as a series of non-linear metanarratives. In Hollywood (Day), 2024, a red-headed woman in a light blue dress with no one is there to catch her or witness her demise. In the accompanying pigment print, Hollywood (Night), 2024, neither the woman nor her body is anywhere to be found.

Prager, who began her career at the age of 21 upon seeing William Eggleston’s photography exhibition at the Getty Museum, created the works featured in “Western Mechanics” in tandem with her debut feature film DreamQuil. A cautionary tale about the rise of technology and artificial intelligence, DreamQuil explores many of the themes present in the artist’s latest exhibition—identity and the state of being human. Through both works, Prager wonders, “What happens if we surrender ourselves to machines?” She believes that there has never been a period in time more crucial than the present where creating art that feels human and alive has the potential to examine collective concerns about the future. “My art comes from a place of emotion—something that is not replaceable by any kind of machine or technology,” offers Prager.

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“Western Mechanics” is on view until June 22, 2024 at Lehmann Maupin Seoul at 213 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea.