David LaChapelle: LaCHAPELLE LAND. THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF DAVID LACHAPELLE. New York: Simon & Schuster/Callaway, New York, 1996. First edition [no.19324]. Folio. Printed paper covered boards. Photo-illustrated paper over board box. "LaChapelle Land Map" map laid in [as issued]. 151 color reproductions. The box is mildly split on three of the four corners [as usual], otherwise a fine example of this oversized and elaborate production.
This book is one of the Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century described in Andrew Roth's work THE BOOK OF 101 BOOKS (Pages 282-283). The box and book covers were designed by Tadanori Yokoo using elements from LaChapelle's photographs.
11.25 x 14.25 hardcover book with 152 pages of photographer David LaChapelle's signature blend of neon, sexuality, and odd characters. An explosive mix of celebrities and models including Madonna, Leonardo DeCaprio, Pamela Anderson, Marilyn Manson, Alexander McQueen, Mark Wahlberg, Drew Barrymore, and Elton John in an extravagant boxed volume.
"LaChapelle's elaborately planned photo-tableaux are full of theatrically arresting action, of sexiness, of celebrity flesh and faces, of costume and of starkly contrasting, highly saturated colors. They are often so overtly and unapologetically synthetic that they seem to be collages but in the two pages of text, LaChapelle imparts that all 'these scenarios existed somewhere, for some period of time'. They also resemble rock video imagery, you can almost hear them, but not really, thank God, and they hold still, making enjoyment of their studied outlandishness easier"--the publisher
The acclaimed Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century recognizes David LaChapelle’s 1996 LaChapelle Land as its 101st book. And rightly so. The marriage of LaChapelle’s vivid, high-octane images with graphic artist, Tadanori Yokoo’s supersaturated designs make for an astonishing physical object. The reissue of this now classic, long out-of-print volume showcases all the lollipop giddiness of the original now lavishly reproduced in a larger format. “There’s a tradition of celebrity portraiture that attempts to uncover the ‘real person’ behind the trappings of their celebrity. I am more interested in those trappings,” says LaChapelle. Indeed, he exaggerates the artificiality of fame and Hollywood culture in a head on collision of color, plastic, and whimsy. His photographs confront our visual taste and challenge our ideas of celebrity, all the while taking us on a roller coaster ride through his hyper-sensationalized galaxy. Lil' Kim becomes the ultimate status symbol, tattooed in the Louis Vuitton pattern. Madonna rises from pink waters as a mystical dragon princess. Pamela Anderson hatches out of an egg; and Alexander McQueen burns down the castle dressed as the Queen of Hearts. David LaChapelle’s uncompromising originality is legendary in the worlds of fashion, film, and advertising. His images, both bizarre and gorgeous, have appeared on and in between the covers of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Vibe and more. La Chapelle Land is fun park America gone surrealistically wrong - but in such an attractive way.
According to his website: “David LaChapelle was born in Connecticut in 1969. He trained as a fine artist at North Carolina School of the Arts before moving to New York. Upon his arrival LaChapelle enrolled in both the Arts Student League and the School of Visual Arts. Andy Warhol offered him his first professional job shooting for Interview magazine. Recently ranked among the top ten Most Important People in Photography in the world by American Photo, he has continued to garner numerous awards. David LaChapelle’s unfettered images, both bizarre and gorgeous, have appeared on and in between the covers of Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, i-D, Vibe, Interview, The Face, British GQ, etc. He is currently under contract with Vanity Fair. His uncompromising dedication to originality is legend in the worlds of fashion, film, and advertising. LaChapelle has done advertising campaigns for a variety of clients including L’Oreal, Iceberg, MTV, Ecko, Diesel Jeans, Sirius, Ford, Sky Vodka and the Got Milk campaign. David has photographed numerous album covers and packages for such artists as Macy Gray, Moby, No Doubt, Whitney Houston, Lil’ Kim, Elton John, and Madonna.”
“Of all the photographers inventing surreal images, it is Mr. LaChapelle who has the potential to be the genre's Magritte" — Richard Avedon, The New York Times
Helmut is not very impressed by current photography. "There's a lot of pornographic pictures taken by the young today" he said. "There's a magazine, Purple." He frowned. “A lot of nudity is just gratuitous. But someone who makes me laugh is David LaChapelle. I think he’s very bright, very funny and good” — Helmut Newton, The New York Times
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