Transcending celebrity with surrealism
David LaChapelle, 25 years of photography
By Xing Daiqi
Many photographers aspire to be in David LaChapelle's shoes. Internationally acclaimed and a celebrity in his own right, at age 40, he is ranked among the Top Ten Most Important People in Photography in the World by American Photo. LaChapelle was in Beijing last week promoting his upcoming exhibition and presenting a series of lectures.
Students at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts filled the auditorium for the rare chance to see LaChapelle as he outlined the ups and downs of his 25-year-long career. He also spoke at two bookstores in Beijing, presenting works and promoting his upcoming exhibition scheduled for June.
"His campus speech ignited the enthusiasm of art students," said Li Muyi, organizer of LaChapelle's Beijing tour. "All seats were taken and people had to wait outside the venue to listen to his lecture."
LaChapelle's exhibition next year will include several collections of work including Auguries of Innocence, Deluge, Holy War and Meditation, covering a wide range of themes from society's obsession with celebrity, the decadence of pop culture and religion. His very popular fashion photography will also be part of the show.
The world famous photographer and music video/ commercial director is known for his work in fashion and fine art creations. He has shot personalities as diverse as Tupac Shakur, Madonna, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Hillary Clinton and Muhammad Ali. His work has transcended commercial photography and is now shown in galleries and leading art institutions worldwide.
While last week's visit was LaChapelle's first to China, he explained that he already had a basic understanding of the country and its culture through photographs taken by his friends and his parents who have traveled here previously.
"It is a huge honor to be here in Beijing," LaChapelle said. "The art world here is very important and extremely dynamic."
Born in 1969 in Connecticut, US, LaChapelle was trained as a fine artist at North Carolina School of the Arts before moving to New York. Not yet finished high school, he was offered his first professional job by Andy Warhol to shoot for Interview Magazine.
"Interview Magazine was the most important magazine in America for popular culture," recalled LaChapelle. "So this changed my life at a fairly young age and I spent 20 years working exclusively for magazines."
Noted for his provocative, grotesque and often humorous style, LaChapelle has worked for some of the world's most popular publications such as Rolling Stone, Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair throughout the years.
"LaChapelle tends to use very striking colors and surrealistic images which has become his signature in his works," Chinese stylist Li Dongtian commented. "Everyone who is into fashion will be drawn and inspired by his artwork."
LaChapelle's originality and style is evident in Lusty Spring where Angelina Jolie is portrayed amidst a lively sea of flowers and Burning Down The House showing Alexander McQueen and the late Isabella Blow in eccentric party gear against the backdrop of a medieval castle set on fire.
"The content of my picture dictates the style," LaChapelle told the Global Times. "Naturally I am attracted to certain things, for example, the idea of utopia, of beauty and glamour, the sensual, the celebration of life and the equation of humanity and nature."
LaChapelle said that he previously used publications as a means of exhibiting his work, even when he was working with celebrity and fashion.
"I always had themes that were right there below the surface. I focused my time on documenting America's obsession and compulsion with celebrity, with materialism, with everyone that makes up the world of pop culture. That was my goal of working at that time with magazines."
It was not until four years ago, when LaChapelle finished Heaven to Hell, the last book in his trilogy, that he realized it was time to find new means of expression.
"I've said everything I needed to say with the vehicle of publication and I'm finished with celebrity and fashion photography."
It was then that he was offered the opportunity to exhibit his work in galleries and museums.
"It became a whole new way of working," LaChapelle explained. "I used everything I learned being with publications and applied it to communicate with people, to tell stories that touch someone else through photography."
"I still use beauty and fashion to allure people, to attract them to photography even with subjects that are sometimes repelling and very serious," he said.
In Archangel Michael: And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer, a work produced by LaChapelle in July using a Michael Jackson impersonator, the late pop icon Michael Jackson is portrayed wearing his signature black uniform with white wings and a devil under his foot.
"This picture was as a memorial picture for Michael. I think in some way, he is the victim of judgment and persecution. And he certainly brought important messages to this world. It seems natural in the idea of portraying Michael as the archangel and using the devil to represent the world left behind, the evil and judgment that existed in his life."
"Instead of fighting, he drops the sword beside the devil as a prayer for humanity and peace. I think it was the way he wanted to be pictured."
The memorial picture of Jackson, along with artworks that reflect LaChapelle's take on celebrity and modern culture, will be part of his Asia exhibition tour starting April in Taipei, followed by Beijing in June then Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo.
"I'd like to bring some of my new works made in the last four years, along with some older pieces in my career with magazines and publications," LaChapelle said.
"His upcoming exhibition will provide a first-hand experience to go through his extraordinary achievements in 25 years of art," commented Li Xiaoqian, deputy director of the Today Art Museum, where LaChapelle's exhibition in Beijing will be held.