Title: LaChapelle Land
Author: David LaChapelle
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 1996
Photographs by David LaChapelle; 155 pages, 151 color and black and white illustrations
This richly toned, oversize book was David LaChapelle’s sensational inaugural publication. Gathered from the body of work he produced for magazines including Interview, Vogue, Details, and The Face, between 1991 and 1996, LaChapelle’s humorous, theatrical, and surreal images are said to have been some of the most vibrant emulsifications of fine art and fashion photography. Each page contains a full color or black and white reproduction of a fashion or celebrity portrait, staged in LaChapelle’s trademark hyperbolic fantasy style. The book concludes with a brief biography and artist’s statement, which reveal the roots of the photographer’s penchant for colorful, elaborate staging, as well as his emphasis on the actual event of the photo shoot. He is careful to explain that the majority of the work takes place on set, rather than on the computer, a point that makes each of the images reproduced in this book seem an even more impressive and unforgettable feat. The full LaChapelle Land experience is enhanced by the bold, decorative box and the included “LaChapelle Land Map” that comprise this fine copy of an unmistakably important photography book.
