At first glance, Alex Prager’s photographs are rather different to those of Slim Aarons. Prager’s photo series, The Big Valley, tells a story; the models play a role and the scene is carefully composed in order to fulfil the photographer’s vision. In Aarons’ images, the subjects don’t play a role, they just live their lives. Yet despite the different ideas, the photographs of Aarons and Prager share several key similarities: beautiful women, glamour and the allure of Hollywood.
Last March I took these photographs in Scarborough, a seaside town. I was drawn to buildings which had a playful aspect to them, be it brightly coloured tiles or interesting surface patterns. Seaside resorts often have details like these which you wouldn’t usually find in other cities; they reflect the activities that take place there, such as colourful ice cream parlours and shops selling cheap trinkets. But these seaside resorts have grown old, they have become dated. They are no longer shiny and new and these images reflect that; peeling paint and cracks reveal the passage of time. They capture the essence of a seaside town being closed for business.
The photographs of Slim Aarons reveal glimpses into the lives of the rich and glamourous; he captured beautiful women lounging by glistening swimming pools and Hollywood stars in their luxurious homes.
I’ve been thinking recently of ways to develop and improve this blog, and I realised that I enjoyed writing the Édito post (based on the concept of an editor’s letter) and how it allowed me to express my intentions and thoughts on Le Projet Culturel.
On dry land: the final part of the Aquatic series. Artificial colours stand out against the sandy rocks, like foreign objects washed up by the tide. Aquatic explored the relationship between the sheets of plastic and the coastal environment and how the combination of these contrasting elements created surreal images.
