Recent Acquisitions
Zoe Crosher
California Museum of Photography
November 18, 2023 to March 24, 2024
In LA Like: Transgressing the Pacific (2008–10), artist Zoe Crosher presents infamous disappearance sites along the coast. Each photograph captures the real site of a fictitious or real tragedy, including actress Natalie Wood in 1981, musician Dennis Wilson in 1983, and scenes in films such as Falling Down, 2010, and The Long Goodbye, 1973.
Crosher blends reality, fantasy, and salt air to conjure a surreal atmosphere. Viewers are ushered to the edge of the continent to explore the moments just before the unknown. The project subverts notions of the West, manifest destiny, fame, promise and permanence. These images act as both memoriam and invitation, reminding us of losses real and imagined. They provide a literal space to viewers to contemplate disappearance, the edges of the West, and the fragile construction of life.
Related Events
Winter Reception
Saturday, February 10, 3-6pm
Free and open to the public
Recent Acquisitions: Zoe Crosher is curated by Alyse Yeargan, Collections Manager. The works on view were donated by the Juliet McIvers Estate. The “Recent Acquisitions” series highlights remarkable incoming gifts to the museum’s ever-growing collection.
Image: Zoe Crosher, Where Norman Maine Disappeared at Laguna Beach from the 1954 Version of A Star is Born. Fujiflex archival print, 2010. Collection of the California Museum of Photography/UCR ARTS. Gift of the Juliet McIvers Estate. Image courtesy of the artist.