
“Farewell, Work Holiday Parties” is free and open to the public between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. each day at LACMA. (photo courtesy of LACMA)
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is presenting a new sculptural installation by Los Angeles artist Alex Prager.
Prager is known for making photographs and short films embellished with Technicolor fantasy but grounded in the pains and pleasures of the everyday. In “Farewell, Work Holiday Parties,” Prager satirizes a specific part of working life, drawing on pop culture tropes to create a simulation of office holiday parties.
As is customary in her artistic practice, Prager employs movie-studio production techniques, in this case working with an effects company that constructs hyperreal human figures. Installed on the museum’s Smidt Welcome Plaza, these figurative sculptures are animated with costumes, makeup and props, and placed in recognizable office-party situations, creating a strange yet celebratory scene that can be experienced in the round. This installation is curated by Rita Gonzalez, Terri and Michael Smooke Curator and department head of contemporary art, and Liz Andrews, executive administrator in the director’s office.
“In her films and photographs, Alex Prager always brings a sharpened eye to the everyday,” Gonzalez and Andrews said. “We hope this fantastical scene will offer some humor to visitors to our outdoor plaza for the holiday season.”
“Through my work, I’ve been able to process things in the world that I’m questioning or struggling with, which is one of the many reasons I feel this piece is important for the current social climate,” Prager said. “Right now, during this strange and life-altering time, many of us are reprioritizing our lives and figuring out what exactly matters to us. Through the commemoration of ‘Farewell, Work Holiday Parties,’ we’ll examine one of the most peculiar American social experiments, the work party.”
While the museum’s indoor galleries remain temporarily closed, “Farewell, Work Holiday Parties” is one of several outdoor sculptures on LACMA’s campus that are accessible to the public and can be safely enjoyed in a physically distanced way, including Chris Burden’s “Urban Light,” Michael Heizer’s “Levitated Mass” and Yoshitomo Nara’s “Miss Forest.”
“Farewell, Work Holiday Parties” is free and open to the public between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day.
LACMA is located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. For information, visit lacma.org.
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