David La Chapelle: began taking photographs in high school. At the age of 18, at the end of the 70s, he moved from North Carolina to New York's Lower East Side. After a chance meeting with Andy Warhol, he began shooting for Interview, the place he calls "art school." He is a product of 70s youth, sub-divisions, suburbia, pot-smoking, and a mom with a knack for appropriating a fantasy life onto film. His use of colors are original and vibrant. Pictures seem almost surreal. initially distinguished by his campy fixation with white-trash culture and is also known for his groundbreaking use of computer manipulation and futuristic fashion shoots and for placing Hollywood celebities. Known for working with the stars.
David LaChapelle, recipient of the 1997 International Center of Photography's Infinity Award and the 1996 VH1 Fashion Award for Photographer of the Year, creates images that are cultural cues as well as advertising campaigns for such prestigious accounts as Keds, Estee Lauder, Prescriptives, Volvo, Levis, MacCosmetics and the notorious Diesel jeans campaign of last year.
Born in North Carolina, Mr. LaChapelle studied at the Art Student's League and School of Visual Arts. He began his photography career by creating fine art images for Interview Magazine and has evolved his photography into an idiosyncratic and highly personal combination of reportage and surrealism.
In 1997 Mr. LaChapelle released LaChapelle Land, a coffee table volume of his images published by Callaway Editions/Simon & Shuster. It is further evidence of a photography style that can be compared to no one. He continues to push his colors to new extremes while reinventing the vivid palette that is uniquely his. Lachapelle is one of photography's brightest stars, bringing high intensity, larger than life images to the pages of magazines worldwide.
David LaChapelle began taking photographs...