Written by: Darko Vlahović
In the early eighties of the last century, the illustrious American photographer, conceptual artist, and director David LaChapelle, was just a drop in the ocean of young people trying to make waves and find their place in the sun shining on the busy streets of New York.
LaChapelle was born in 1963 in Hartford, Connecticut, and he got into fine art photography when he started high school in North Carolina, so he already boasted an impressive portfolio of photographic works upon coming to New York as a teenager. He did a lot of odd jobs by day in order to earn a living, and in the evening he would go to the East Village on a quest to discover all the wonders of the big city, an artistic mecca whose creative faucet flooded the streets with bright ideas at the time.
During his nocturnal meanderings, he would often cross paths with Andy Warhol, the man who defined and redefined the world of art in that era. Warhol would soon change his life as well.
– Ever since I came to New York, I worked on my own art while also revelling in the downtown New York art scene. I was either in my darkroom or a dark nightclub. Andy Warhol went out a lot and I used to see him in nightclubs – says LaChapelle in his interview for Symbol, recalling the moment that launched his career as a fine art photographer in 1982.
– And then I finally mustered the courage to ask Andy to see me. I brought him my portfolio, and he offered me a job at his Interview magazine. My first assignment was a photoshoot with the Beastie Boys. We filmed in Times Square and Coney Island… – he reminisces.
We have no way of knowing if David LaChapelle would have become who he is today were it not for that decisive event, but Andy Warhol’s patronage certainly never hurt any aspiring visual artist.
Noted for his unique ability to capture the very essence of contemporary culture through the lens of his artistic Canon, David LaChapelle is considered to be one of the world’s most important visual artists of today. He made his name in the global hall of fame in the nineties thanks to his surreal photos that combine photography with conceptual art. By portraying celebrities from the world of music, fashion, film, sports, and politics, shooting commercials and exhibiting his photographs in galleries as autonomous works of art, following the example of his mentor, Warhol, he tried – and succeeded – to bridge the gap between pop culture and high-brow art.
He spent his early childhood in Hartford, and at the age of nine he moved to Raleigh in North Carolina with his family, where he later enrolled in a school of arts and crafts. He dropped out of school no later than he reached 15 years of age, and he moved to New York, where he got a job as a busboy at the iconic Studio 54 nightclub, spending his free time doing fine art photography.
From time to time, some of his works would end up in galleries, but until his fateful encounter with Warhol, he was just one of many ambitious younglings trying to break through in the artistic jungle of New York.
I ask him why Warhol took him under his wing. What made him stand out among hundreds of other young and talented photographers?
– I’ve always been strongly influenced by classical art, especially the Italian Renaissance. Just like my more recent works, my earliest works were also figurative. I approached photographs like paintings, putting focus on playful and bright colours that stuck out of the palette of that time. While other photographers snapped pics of extravagant new-wave models with gobs of makeup and short, spiky hair, and mohawks, I portrayed angels with romantic bodies. Maybe that’s exactly what caught Andy’s eye and fancy.
LaChapelle says Warhol also admired the old masters and based many of his works on Renaissance paintings, such as Leonardo’s “The Last Supper”.
When asked what Warhol means to him today and which of his qualities still stick in his memory, he responded that “Andy was hard-working and consistent.”
– He split his time between different walks of artistic life. He took his work seriously, but not himself. He had great faith in God, too.
LaChapelle adds that he hopes that he also possesses these qualities himself.
– During the many decades of working as a photographer, I have played many variations on different themes – they have always been a reflection of my thoughts on life and my preoccupations at a given moment. My views on the world evolved as I matured. I have always balanced between serious and thought-provoking subjects and photos that give the world a sense of lightness of being. When I look back on my awkward age and see a kid who was a complete outsider, I’m glad I was like that. That status gave me the confidence to continue moving in my own direction – he says.
And it was this very direction that eventually led him straight to the top of the world of art: it is not an exaggeration to say that David LaChapelle has changed the image of contemporary culture with his photos. His bizarre aesthetics characterised by bursts of colour, provocation, symbolism, hyperrealism, playfulness, and satire has become part of the collective visual narrative and the embodiment of contemporary glamour.
Interspersed with suggestive details, LaChapelle’s photos tell a certain story, simultaneously evoking a strong sense of intimacy in the viewer. His style was declared “kitsch pop surrealism” by art critics for a reason.
– I used to be offended by the “kitsch” part because in America this word implies a lack of candour. However, all my works, be they ironic or not, are made from the heart. Fortunately, in Europe, where my work is often described as kitsch, that word can also denote a “beautiful or emotionally charged subject”. Either way, my goal is to create something that holds the viewer’s attention for more than a few seconds. Taking into account the infinite amount of photos today, this is becoming ever more difficult. This is where exhibitions enter the picture – says LaChapelle.
In addition to gallery exhibitions, his photos also made the covers of world-famous magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue, and the Rolling Stone, and his creativity caught the attention of the powerhouses of the fashion industry. In the 1990s, he did some visually stunning advertising campaigns – which have since gained cult status – for fashion giants such as Diesel, Gucci, and Alexander McQueen.
At that point, he also started directing videos – his directorial portfolio counts about fifty music videos for the top-of-the-pops musicians such as Elton John, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Robbie Williams, Moby, and Jennifer Lopez – and he also shot three documentaries.
There are many links between photography and video, but I’m curious as to what the biggest challenge he faced transitioning to a new medium was.
– Working on videos came naturally to me. All of my photographs tell a certain story, so I’ve always worked according to a narrative that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. However, I see myself primarily as a photographer. As a medium, photographs are very come-at-able; they don’t require electrical energy, and they freeze the moment – LaChapelle claims.
However, he is best known for his portraitures of celebrities. He photographed some of the most famous people of our time: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Naomi Campbell, Eminem, Hillary Clinton, Leonardo Di Caprio, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Cameron Diaz, and many others. Placing them in different settings, carefully crafted or even more carefully improvised sets, LaChapelle managed to portray his models as divine beings – saints, martyrs, and angels alike – individuals who exist beyond the realm of ordinary everyday life.
His iconic photos helped create the celebrity myth, and people lined up in front of his lens. I asked him what it is like working with celebrities, wondering if they listen to his instructions. How does he get them to go along with his ideas?
– They don’t have a clue about the setting in which I’ll do the photoshoot until the day arrives. I never tell them about my ideas in advance because in many cases it might scare them off. When they show up at the shoot, they can see the sets, take in the atmosphere, and feel like rock stars. We got to have mutual trust, and they have to understand my vision. Once that’s settled, almost all of them are eager to cooperate. Most people come to me in pursuit of an iconic photo. That’s what I love to do more than anything else!
Now I want to know who left the strongest impression on him as a human, not an artist.
– Shooting the portraiture of Muhammad Ali was one of the highlights of my career. He was so humble and kind to me and my whole crew… Elton John is great, too; in fact, I’m working with him these days. He changed the world with his music and paved the way for many of us to be who we are. Elton is a kind friend and a loyal collaborator. Whitney Houston was also a big deal for me, because… well, she’s Whitney Houston! Then Stevie Wonder… Many celebrities are very different in person, but when it comes to the most successful ones, what you see is what you get – he explains.
Over the course of his career, LaChapelle had a lot of exhibitions and residences in Europe, staying in London for a while in the 1980s. How did that period affect his artistic development? What’s the biggest difference between the artistic environment in the US and European countries?
– I often contemplate moving to Europe and working there. There’s this sense of liberty in Europe. It’s the cradle of classical art, fashion, dance, and music. I am inspired by European art, opera and theatre, as well as painting, sculpture and film – he says.
However, LaChapelle has been doing most of his projects in Los Angeles for decades, where he put together a sophisticated photographic studio and where all his works of art and fellow photographers are situated.
– My work relies on long-term collaborations with local artists in Los Angeles, so moving would be a risky move for me. However, I shoot in Europe whenever I get the chance…
In 2006, LaChapelle decided to move to Hawaii, where he bought a house in the middle of the woods with nothing but infrastructure essentials, and where he spends most of the year. What were his main motives for moving?
– I grew up surrounded by the woods of Connecticut. As a young photographer, especially when I worked for the Traveler Magazine, I travelled all around the globe and I had the opportunity to visit Hawaii. It was love at first sight. When I got tired of boring and extraneous editorial work, I felt that I needed a break and decided to move to the Hawaiian island of Maui to practise farming – he says.
Ironically, instead of farming, the change of scenery actually made him commit to artistic creation even more so than before.
– Life in Hawaii invigorated my spirit. I found inspiration for a whole new body of work that really reflects my earliest photos. I’ve come full circle.
In his artistic production, LaChapelle has combined religious iconography, pop culture, and classical works of art, but he also did not shy away from shedding light on touchy subjects such as the AIDS epidemic, LGBTQ+ rights, ecology and environmental protection. He shot commercials for various major brands, but many of his photographic works also include social commentary. I ask him if it is possible to be commercial and socially responsible at the same time…
– I don’t think of myself as a critic of contemporary culture. I’m also a consumer, a user of fossil fuels and I enjoy the finer things in life. My work is a reflection of the times in which we live. My mother was a vegetarian, and an extremely frugal one at that, because she arrived at Ellis Island as a refugee from Lithuania. She taught me the importance of doing my part in solving the world’s problems. I’m far from perfect, but I’m doing my best to be a good steward of the Earth.
Finally, I want to take a candid of David LaChapelle’s very essence. He has surely shot the works, acing artistic photography, advertising, fashion, theatre, music videos, documentaries, conceptual art. But what is his favourite artistic activity?
– I feel my best after a rewarding photo session. It keeps me in high spirits. There is nothing better than working with your crew and a beautiful model or object in the studio, and then seeing how all the pieces come together. It’s like a performance that only happens once and cannot be reproduced. But a picture lasts forever…
Earlier when I asked him what all the famous people he has worked with so far have in common, LaChapelle replied: “They all give much more to the world than they get.”
I guess that could apply to him as well.