Interest:
I have heard a few people say I should take a look at David LaChapelle’s work so I decided to investigate his technique, goals, inspiration and overall style. LaChapelle’s website is very comprehensive and really gave me a look into his methods of working using hot lights, large sets and crew, famous people and high end equipment. Aside from the scale of his work I find his inspiration and commentary he hopes to achieve with is imagery most relevant to my work. He began with the simple goal of making it into magazines as he perceived them as a form of a personal museum for the reader. After achieving his goals of being published he went on to explore his more inner thoughts of the paradoxes of the world we live in, specifically the consumption versus poverty and life after death. His ability to shoot commercially and still inject such a strong political voice while pleasing the art director is inspirational to say the least to me. Without name brands and graphic design a viewer would probably be hard pressed to tell the difference between his personal work and his commercial advertising work. I think his work might be a little vague at times if he is truly trying to make political statements but overall I think his execution of his themes in the corporate driven world we live in is still impressive. I feel most connected to his editorial work and his advertising work.
Here are some examples I feel inspired by:
Here are some examples I feel inspired by:
About:
“David LaChapelle's photography career began in the 1980's in New York City galleries. After attending the North Carolina School of Arts, he moved to New York where he enrolled at both the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts. With shows at 303 Gallery, Trabia McAffee and others, his work caught the eye of his hero Andy Warhol and the editors of Interview Magazine, who offered him his first professional photography job.
Recent years have brought LaChapelle back to where he started, with some of the world's most prestigious galleries and museums exhibiting his works. Galleries such as the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York, Jablonka Galerie in Berlin, the Robilant + Voena Gallery in London; and Maruani & Noirhomme in Belgium have housed his works as well as Institutions such as the Palazzo delle Esposizioni and Palazzo Reale in Italy; the Barbican in London, and The Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin.
In 2009, exhibitions in Mexico City at the Museo del Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, in Paris at the Musee de La Monnaie, and in Guadalajara at the Museo de Las Artes all broke attendance records. These shows presented his latest series of works with which LaChapelle has broken out of the frame, presenting three-dimensional sculptural murals.”
In 2009, exhibitions in Mexico City at the Museo del Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, in Paris at the Musee de La Monnaie, and in Guadalajara at the Museo de Las Artes all broke attendance records. These shows presented his latest series of works with which LaChapelle has broken out of the frame, presenting three-dimensional sculptural murals.”
Quotes:
“This time my objective was to document America's obsessions and compulsions using publications as a means to reach the broadest possible audience. I was employing "pop" in the broadest sense of the word. I was photographing the most popular people in the world to the marginalized always attempting to communicate to the public in an explicit and understandable way. The images were always meant to attract, not alienate. Inclusion has always been the goal when making these pictures, and continues on in the newest works that will be exhibited.
I feel that we are living in a very precarious time, with environmental devastation, economic instability, religious wars waged, and excessive consumption amidst extreme poverty. I have always used photography as a means to try to understand the world and the paradox that is my life.
There is the feeling that we are living at a precipice. My hope is that through the narratives told in my images, I will engage people and connect with them addressing the same ideas or questions that possibly challenge them.” –David LaChapelle
There is the feeling that we are living at a precipice. My hope is that through the narratives told in my images, I will engage people and connect with them addressing the same ideas or questions that possibly challenge them.” –David LaChapelle
“My work is about making candy for the eyes. It’s about grabbing your attention. Even though my work is appearing in magazines I am trying to make a large picture. I want my photographs to read like a poster.” –David LaChapelle
American Photo July/August 1995: 53
Interviews:
Making Deluge
“I always ask myself if I have a blank piece of paper what would I want to see, I think heaven and hell.” – David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle Behind the Scenes MTV London Shoot Interview
Artist Website:
Artist Representation (Agencies):
Artist Representation (Galleries):
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