Le Chapelle photographer. David Lachapelle - brilliant surrealist

He told i-D magazine everything

David LaChapelle is one of the largest and most significant figures in modern photography. He was often criticized for being overly commercial and offensively grotesque in his work, but this never stopped LaChapelle from being unapologetically cool.

David's first high-profile work was shooting with Andy Warhol for Interview magazine in the 1980s. After that, everyone started talking about Lachapelle. It's hard to name a celebrity he hasn't photographed. The photographer captures memorable, vibrant portraits of David Bowie, Christina Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, Courtney Love, Whitney Houston, Eminem, Naomi Campbell, Elton John, Angelina Jolie, Moby and many, many others.

This year, for the first time, nearly 100 of David LaChapelle's works will be exhibited in one space - at the Australian Photo Biennale at the Ballarat Gallery. The exhibition will include works from the photographer's more than 30-year career. David flew in from his home in Hawaii to better understand Australia and its context. Now Lachapelle most of spends time on his farm on the island of Maui.

i-D magazine talked to the photographer and found out how he lives now and what he thinks, and we chose the most interesting from this.

“As a child, I always thought that I would become a farmer if a photographer didn’t work out. In my youth, I spent a lot of time in the forests behind my parents’ house. I think it’s the same with Hawaii, it’s a great place to retire and think about everything in silence ", says David.

IN lately Lachapelle carefully selects filming:

"Portraits I took during last couple years, appeared thanks to special contact with the subjects of filming. If we talk about Miley Cyrus, then I feel a connection with her music, I really like The Backyard Sessions. Photographing Paris Jackson was also something special because I had photographed her father before."

Miley Cyrus

Paris Jackson

LaChapelle generally has a special relationship with the world around him. Now he lives like a hermit and tries to spend a minimum amount of time on the Internet.

“I don’t use social networks. I don’t want my pictures to be looked at on phone screens. The main challenge for everyone who makes art is to learn to step back. Peace and quiet is very important to me, that’s the only way I can concentrate on my photographs. It’s not that easy to do when almost all of our lives are connected to phones and other devices,” says David.

Self-portrait in the house, 2013

In the spring of 2017, David LaChapelle exhibited some works in Venice. The photographer himself says that Italy is very important to him. The images and ideas of the Renaissance greatly influenced his work.

"Italy inspires me a lot, I'm heavily influenced by the Renaissance masters. Seeing their work in European museums is an amazing experience. I spent a lot of time reading the news to keep up with what was happening in the world and the places I was visiting." And to maintain internal balance, I read classics and biographies - literature that I really love,” the photographer shares.

This fall, the Taschen publishing house will release two books with LaChapelle's works - Lost and Found and Good News. These will be anthologies with the photographer’s previously unpublished photographs. David LaChapelle enjoys them no less than the exhibition in Australia, and continues to live in peace and quiet on the paradise Hawaiian island.

Who is the star in star photography? Inimitable David LaChapelle Once called the Fellini of photography, LaChapelle works for the most prestigious international publishers and exhibits in both commercial galleries and leading public museums and exhibition halls around the world. He photographed such people as Madonna, Eminem, Louis Armstrong, Pamela Anderson, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hillary Clinton, Muhammad Ali, Britney Spears and many others.

Advertising - Philip Morris

David Lachapelle considered one of the ten most famous photographers peace. He is often called the “Salvador Dali of the third millennium”! Hollywood stars and politicians, top models and show business sharks line up to see him. He creates fantastic, sometimes unrealistic images, without doing anything supernatural.

Breakfast of Champions, 2001

Burning Piano, 2003 (Alicia Keys)

IItalian Vogue, Checkered Room

They say he works miracles. He is able to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, the vulgar into the beautiful, the boring into the funny, and the stupid into the original and unique. Hollywood stars and politicians, top models and show business sharks line up to see him. He creates fantastic, sometimes unrealistic images, without doing anything supernatural. He's just taking pictures. His name is David LaChapelle.

Anna Kournikova

Blow-up Doll, 2000 (Lil'Kim)

LaChapelle loves to be original, this approach to work is his business card, which is why it is so valued in the world of fashion and advertising. David LaChapelle became author advertising campaigns global brands - Estee Lauder, Volvo, Levi's, Camel, L'Oreal, Iceberg, MTV, Ecko, Diesel Jeans, Sirius, Ford, Sky Vodka. He often creates covers for CDs - of course, for the most famous stars, including Whitney Houston, Elton John, Madonna, as well as Macy Gray, Moby, No Doubt and many others.

Bon Appetite, 1999 (Naomi Campbell)

Not a single prestigious exhibition or photo gallery is complete without the work of LaChapelle. In the USA, these are the Staley-Wise and Toni Shafrazi galleries; in addition, the photographer triumphantly exhibits in Austria, Germany, Italy and England.

People try to be cynical because they are afraid of being naive. But being naive does not mean not having your own ideas. For some reason, everyone thinks it's damn cool to be a cynic.

David LaChapelle is one of the ten most famous photographers of our time, according to the American Photo Association, and the number of his awards continues to increase every year. He is often called the “Salvador Dali of the third millennium,” and critics define his style as “reportage surrealism.”
David's works are fantastic worlds, very different from the usual reality and embodying the main creative principle of the great photographer: provocation in everything.

David was born in 1969 in Connecticut. From childhood, he already knew exactly what he would do. His mother was interested in photography and of course great influence to her son’s preferences: she taught David to see what cannot be seen otherwise than through.

My philosophy is to love more than not to love. So I try to love almost everything.

After finishing his studies in North Carolina at the School of Fine Arts, he moved to New York and entered two places there at the same time: the School of Visual Arts and the League of Art Students.
The first job for the future master of photography was provided by the great king Andy Warhol, giving LaChapelle the opportunity to take part in filming for Interview magazine.
Today, a day of filming with the great David LaChapelle costs 185 thousand dollars.
With graceful ease, he makes the wayward Naomi Campbell douse herself with milk, Britney Spears sell hot dogs, and the Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen weed the beds. His photographs appear on the pages of such eminent publications as Playboy, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ.

Among other things, LaChapelle is also known as the author of many videos.
For example, he shot the video “Natural Blues” for the group Moby, in which Nina Ricci played the role of an angel. By the way, the video became one of the most striking events in the music industry of the 2000s, for which it received the MTV Europe Music Awards as “Best Video of the Year.”

It's much easier to live in the world if you try to love it. There is so much criticism in the world, everyone tries to criticize, but in my opinion, it is much easier to just live and have fun.

David LaChapelle is the most provocative and creative photographer of our time, a legendary figure in the world of glamor, advertising and fashion industry. He loves to break established stereotypes in photography, creating unique and original images that always evoke a storm of emotions and vivid impressions. Hollywood stars, models and politicians line up to join him for photo shoots, and his stunning photographs adorn the pages of the most fashionable magazines. His own style is the creation of surreal, sometimes completely unreal photographs that attract the viewer's attention. The work of David LaChapelle is often compared to the paintings of Salvador Dali, thanks to his incredible talent for turning the ordinary into a unique, fantastic fairy tale.

American photographer and video director David LaChapelle was born in the provincial Connecticut in 1969. Thanks to his mother's favorite hobby, photography, he learned to look at the world around us through the camera lens. Already in childhood, David realized that he wanted to be a photographer. So he graduated from the North Carolina School of Fine Arts and then moved to New York. There, David LaChapelle entered both the League of Art Students and the School of Visual Arts. Thus, photography and art became an integral part of his life. The beginning of a real creative career and a turning point in the fate of David LaChapelle was his acquaintance with the legendary American pop star Andy Warhol while working as a waiter at the famous club “54”. It was from him that the young, talented photographer received his first order - shooting for Interview magazine. This was followed by orders from such reputable publications as Vogue, Playboy, GQ, Arena, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. During this same period, the birth of LaChapelle’s own stunning style took place, with original works on the verge of photography and surrealism.

Thanks to his unique, surreal photographs, which evoke a variety of emotions in viewers, David LaChapelle quickly gained popularity in the world of show business, fashion and advertising. He began to develop advertising companies for such people worldwide famous brands like Estee Lauder, Volvo, Levi's, Camel, L'Oreal, Iceberg, MTV, Ecko, Diesel Jeans, Sirius, Ford and Sky Vodka. World-famous stars take part in his photo shoots: Christina Aguilera, Uma Thurman, Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Lopez, Pamela Anderson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Britney Spears. He also creates covers for famous musicians and singers - Moby, No Doubt, Elton John, Madonna, Whitney Houston and many others. In addition, David LaChapelle has gained popularity as a creative director and music video director. In particular, the video clip “Natural Blues” created by him in 2000 for the group Moby with the participation of Christina Ricci received the prestigious MTV Europe Music Awards as “Best Video of the Year”.

Among the most famous and significant photographic works of LaChapelle is a collection of color luxurious photographs entitled Hotel LaChapelle, telling about the chic and extravagance of modern show business. David LaChapelle also created a special series of photographs as part of the “Declare Yourself” project in order to attract the attention of young people to the 2008 presidential elections in America. His work is currently exhibited at the prestigious Staley-Wise and Toni Shafrazi galleries in the United States, as well as in Germany, Austria, France, England and Italy.

What is the secret of David LaChapelle's success? Of course, in the signature manner of creating photographs that are highly expressive, provocative and emotional. Critics define LaChapelle's style as “reportage surrealism,” that is, extensive, fantastic, sometimes funny images that capture the author’s fantasies. His main creative principle - originality and provocation in everything - has earned him popularity in the world of fashion and advertising, because viewers directly associate the positive feelings inspired by his free, provocative and at the same time light images with certain brands. Relating himself to the bright characters of LaChapelle’s photographic works, every person dreams of becoming as successful and happy, which is the key to the commercial success of a talented photographer. David LaChapelle's imagination allows him to create completely unique photographs that sometimes seem defiant and too provocative, almost unreal and fantastic. Thus, the photographer embodies in photography his own unique world, in which everyone wants to be.

David LaChapelle's photographs are his own vision of the world, an uncompromising and eccentric reflection of reality. Thanks to his amazing talent for creating original and vibrant images, he has become a cult figure in modern world glamor, show business and advertising. Not a single significant exhibition or fashion publication can do without his bright and fabulous photographs. David LaChapelle's works are always distinguished by their amazing, unique signature, but you can never predict what his next photograph will turn out to be.

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