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The third installment of LaChapelle’s trilogy
“The only link between Andy Warhol and J-Lo.” —GQ,
London, on David LaChapelle
LaChapelle Heaven to Hell is the long-awaited third volume in an exhilarating
trilogy that began with LaChapelle Land (1996) and continued with the
infamous Hotel LaChapelle (1999). Packed with astonishing, color-saturated,
and provocative images, those titles both became instant collector’s items
and have since gone through multiple printings. Featuring almost twice
as many images as its predecessors, LaChapelle Heaven to Hell is an explosive
compilation of new work by the visionary photographer. Since the publication
of Hotel LaChapelle, the strength of LaChapelle’s work lies in its ability
to focus the lens of celebrity and fashion toward more pressing issues
of societal concern.
LaChapelle’s images — of the most famous faces on the planet, and marginalized
figures like transsexual Amanda Lepore or the cast of his critically acclaimed
social documentary Rize — call into question our relationship with gender,
glamour, and status. Using his trademark baroque excess, LaChapelle inverts
the consumption he appears to celebrate, pointing instead to apocalyptic
consequences for humanity itself. While referencing and acknowledging
diverse sources such as the Renaissance, art history, cinema, The Bible,
pornography, and the new globalized pop culture, LaChapelle has fashioned
a deeply personal and epoch-defining visual language that holds up a mirror
to our times.
Sumptuously packaged in the trilogy's boxed hardcover format, LaChapelle
Heaven to Hell is a must-have for anyone interested in contemporary photography.
It is also keenly priced, especially for those who have coveted TASCHEN’s
limited edition, LaChapelle, Artists & Prostitutes.
The artist: Not yet out of high school, David LaChapelle was offered
his first professional job by Andy Warhol to shoot for Interview magazine.
His photography has been showcased in numerous galleries and museums,
including Tony Shafrazi Gallery and Deitch Projects in New York, the Fahey-Klein
Gallery in California, Camerawork in Germany, Sozzani and Palazzo delle
Esposizioni in Italy. His unfettered images of celebrity and contemporary
pop culture have appeared on and between the covers of magazines such
as Italian Vogue, French Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stoneand i-D. LaChapelle
has also directed music videos for artists such as Moby, Jennifer Lopez,
Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and The Vines. His burgeoning interest
in film saw him make the short documentary Krumped, an award-winner at
Sundance from which he developed RIZE, the feature film released worldwide
in 2005 to huge critical acclaim. American Photo recently ranked him as
one of the top ten “Most Important People in Photography.” |