David Lachapelle

The work of David LaChapelle can be seen everywhere you turn, be it on a magazine rack, album cover, advertisement, or even a music video. Dubbed the “New Surrealist”, LaChapelle’s vivid, colorful, bizarre, and humorous images have been admired by millions and have made him one of the most famous photographers alive today.

Since the start of his professional career, LaChapelle’s work has attracted the attention of many other artists, celebrities, journalists, and regular people. I first noticed his work on advertisements in magazines several years ago. I immediately felt drawn to his images- they are photographs I could stare at for hours, playing out in my head the story each photograph is telling and what it says about the character of the individual he is portraying. I am amazed at how he is able to pick up certain quirks in his subject’s personality and build entire scenes around the unusual parts of their character. Each piece of work he creates is anything but mundane- even his simpler images tell a story.

Born in Connecticut in 1969, David LaChapelle learned to love the art of photography at an early age. He grew up observing his mother, a non-professional photographer with a flair for appropriating a fantasy life onto film, whose influence can still be seen in his work today. He began taking photographs in High School, where he stated his original inspiration was “white-trash culture”. Upon graduation, he moved to North Carolina to attend the North Carolina School of Arts, where he trained as a fine

artist. A short time later at age nineteen, David LaChapelle made the decision to move to New York’s Lower East Side and enrolled in both the Arts Student League and the School of Visual Arts.

Although he was receiving an excellent education at two of New York City’s finest art schools, David LaChapelle states that his real education didn’t begin until he had a chance meeting with Andy Warhol, who was so impressed with his work that he immediately offered him a job. He began working as a photographer at Interview magazine, an experience that he refers to as “art school”.

David LaChapelle quickly began to gain recognition for his unusual work. In 1995, at only 26 years old, he was named “Best New Photographer of the Year” by both French Photo Magazine and American Photo Magazines. The following year he published his first book, “LaChapelle Land” which caused him to gain a great deal of recognition. That same year, he was named “Photographer of the Year” at the VH1 Fashion Awards. A slew of prestigious awards began to follow, and in 1999 he published his second book, titled “Hotel LaChapelle”. At the end of that year he was placed second on CNN’s list of “20 to Watch in 2000”, and by the turn new millennium, LaChapelle truly had become someone to take notice of.

By the year 2000, David LaChapelle began making his mark in the fields of music, fashion, film, and advertising. He had already finished directing his third music video, a haunting piece for Moby’s song “Natural Blues”. This video was named Best Video of the Year at the MTV Europe Music Awards and nominated for several other awards in various categories. LaChapelle’s work had definitely made a huge presence in the music video industry that year, and from that point on he was called upon to direct

music videos for many top artists and musicians. Some of the artists he has worked with include Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, No Doubt, Elton John, among others. He