David Lachapelle Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

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 receiv... ...how in Las Vegas. The show has received many four-star reviews, including one from Rolling Stone magazine, which states "David LaChapelle fashioned a dizzying sexy, emotional spectacle that both parodied expectations about Vegas glitz and put new life and meaning into fifteen of John's strongest songs". With all of these achievements, it's easy to see why David LaChapelle has captured the attention of millions, including his own favorite photographer, Helmut Newton. He has essentially started a new genre of photography, and his work has become an inspiration for many up and coming photographers, including Michael Anthony, Frizzy Cube, and more. It's hard to believe that David LaChapelle could get any more amazing. The world can only expect more amazing things from this talented artist in years to come, and I think it's an honor to do my paper on this living-legend.