David LaChapelle
Born in 1963, Connecticut, David LaChapelle is an American commercial and fine art photographer, film director, music video direction and an artist. He is best known for referencing art history and social messages through photography. He studied in the School Of Visual Arts ,Manhattan, NY and in The University of North Carolina School of The Arts.
LaChapelle was recognised in 1980 at 17 yrs. old by Andy Warhol and was given his first job shooting for 'Interview Magazine', which was the most popular magazine at that time. "I believe in a visual language that should be as strong as the written word". His work is very vibrant and hyper-realistic that often accompanies odd scenery that's 'out of this world'.
"Once he took pictures for a magazine that wound up in a gallery, he's now doing the reverse: taking pictures for a gallery that wind up in a magazine" - Y-Jean Mun-Desalle (Forbes.com). David has now turned to fine art after years of photography and personal struggles, even though he tries to distance himself from certain topics, all of his work comes around to one main theme - Pop culture. I agree with this strongly as only he can represent the horrors and the highs of celebrity culture due to his (sometimes) extreme imagery.
1) KIM K. 2018 KKWbeauty Shoot, 2018.
2) Elton John 'NEVER ENOUGH' ,1997
3) AMANDA AS ANDY WARHOL'S MARILYN, NYM 2002, Chromogenic print on acrylic, edition No.3/10 (typographically), 53.5 x 50.8 cm, framed.
4) Lost and Found. Good News. Art Edition.
Hardcover, 2 vols. in a box with fold-outs, 27.8 x 35.5 cm, 10.15 kg (22.33 lb), 554 pages total; with three prints on Canson Baryt paper, each numbered and signed by David LaChapelle.
Most of his art has repetition to it, and its mostly colour. The contrast between blue and yellow is something very prevalent in his work. I really like the strong saturation , that's what makes the art stand out the most. David also uses alternative compositions in his art and photography, the placement of the subject is key and it makes the rest of the details come to one.
He photographed many famous celebrities such as: Leonardo DiCaprio, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian etc. Due to this, I believe his work speaks about the celeb culture and it's flamboyant nature. He truly takes a look at every single client and creates scenes that can only represent them the best, like Elton John as he is known to have a very charismatic character, so the composition of the 'Never Enough' photo conveys his energy and wild-self.
Going back to colour, I think he uses red and blue as those are the best primary colours to display emotion since there can be a lot of meaning, e.g. red for: love, passion, luck, hatred, evil, and anger. Blue for: sorrow, honesty, peace relaxation etc.
David's work is influential to me as I also like to focus on contrast of colours , but I could definitely learn how to create better compositions in reference to his work as I like to keep my subjects as the focal point.
“His photos, as blinding as they are, have a penetrating force… Our fantasies and derangements have risen to the surface, where LaChapelle was looking for them all along.”
Famous-photographers.com. 2021. David Lachapelle Facts & Biography | Famous-Photographers.Com. [online] Available at: <http://famous-photographers.com/david-lachapelle/#:~:text=David%20LaChapelle%20is%20a%20fine%20art%20photographer,%20film,messages.%20David%20was%20born%20in%201963%20in%20Connecticut.> [Accessed 25 January 2021].
STAGED PHOTOGRAPHY. 2021. Photographer Of The Week: DAVID LACHAPELLE. [online] Available at: <https://stagedphotography.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/photographer-of-the-week-david-lachapelle/> [Accessed 25 January 2021].
Dorotheum.com. 2021. David Lachapelle - Contemporary Art II 2019/11/28 - Realized Price: EUR 6,400 - Dorotheum. [online] Available at: <https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/6485742/> [Accessed 25 January 2021].
Davidlachapelle.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.davidlachapelle.com/davidlachapelle-about> [Accessed 25 January 2021].
Color-Meanings.com. 2021. 12 Color Meanings - The Power And Symbolism Of Colors (Infographics). [online] Available at: <https://www.color-meanings.com/> [Accessed 25 January 2021].
Mun-Delsalle, Y., 2021. David Lachapelle: From Fashion Photography To Fine Art. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/yjeanmundelsalle/2014/09/19/david-lachapelle-from-fashion-photography-to-fine-art/?sh=6314228a2023> [Accessed 25 January 2021].
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