Patrick Nagatani

Early Work

Selected Work (1975-76)

Mary Statzer wrote in 2018 these “black and white photographs … the artist captures ephemeral moments on the streets of Los Angeles or models acting out scenes in enigmatic urban spaces”

7:30, The Buena Vista-San Francisco, gelatin-silver print, 1976

Robert and Robin - Venice #9, California, gelatin-silver print, 1976

Chromo Room, 1977

Mary Statzer wrote in 2019 “… inspired by Nagatani’s interest in theater at the time,
represents his first serious attempt to utilize the directorial mode to create a cohesive body of work.”

Chroma Room (red), chromogenic print, 1977

Chroma Room (blue), chromogenic print, 1977

Chroma Room (yellow), chromogenic print, 1977




Chroma Room (purple), chromogenic print, 1977

Kosmopolites, 1978
“cos-mop-o-lite 1. A cosmopolitan person. 2. A butterfly, the Painted Lady or Venessa cardui. Having brown, black, and orange markings. (Greek, kosmopolites: cosmo- + polites, citizen, from polis, city)

Excerpts from John Berger’s, Ways of Seeing, 1977:
“According to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome, the social presence of a woman is different in kind from that of a man. A woman’s presence expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be done to her. Her presence is manifest in her gestures, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste (and in the case of the Kosmopolites work, her mask). Indeed, there is nothing she can do which does not contribute to her presence. Presence for a woman is so intrinsic to her person that men tend to think of it as an almost physical emanation, a kind of heat or smell or aura ….” [www.patricknagatani.com]

Annie McLoone - Waseca, Minnesota - June 4, 1948, 1978

Gillian Brown - Manchester, New Hampshire - April 25, 1957, 1978




Mimi Parker - Montreal, Canada - August 23, 1952, 1978

Uta Braun - Berlin, East Germany - June 6, 1952, 1978

Beverly Hills Party 1980

Mary Statzer wrote in 2018  “… he was hired to photograph an upscale bar mitzvah in
Beverly Hills where the rock band Devo entertained the crowd. The results …is a
humorous collective portrait of Southern California wealth and fashion in the early-1980s.”

A Party, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.A. #13, 1980

A Party, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.A., 1980




A Party, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.A. #21, 1980




A Party, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.A. #29, 1980

A Party, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.A. #34, 1980

Celestial Earthscapes (1979-1981)

Plate VII From The Portfolio Celestial Earthscapes, 1979

Plate XVI from the portfolio Celestial Earthscapes, 1980