Vogue India June 2019

96 VOGUEINDIAJUNE 2019 http://www.vogue.in

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DavidLaChapelle

PHOTO:

THOMAS

CANET;

DAVID

LACHAPELLE.

STYLIST:

BRETT

ALAN

NELSON.

DRESS,

VEST:

BOTH

VINTAGE.

MODEL:

GUETCHA

David LaChapelle,photographer and

arbiter of pop iconography,tells me,

“Irony isdead. Wehave no time for

irony anymore.” From a Christ-like

TupacShakurtoa picturesqueCourt-

neyLoveandBritneywitha hotdog,

betweentheStudio 54 daysandchart-

toppingmusicvideosfortheMTVgen-

eration,LaChapellemademartyrsout

ofpopstarsandbeautifullyemployed

ironytomockthereverential.Butit is

2019,andintheover-clutteredworld

of Insta-image making, hashtagging,

sharing,likingandconsuming,thevet-

eran photographer hasn’t fallen into

thesinkholeofirrelevance.He’sa Re-

naissanceman,andevolutionis partof

his DNA, heexplains. “I’msensitive

towardswhat’sgoingonintheworld.

There are photographs everywhere,

there’swaytoomuchofit—there’sno

time for the conceptual, there’s no

timeto contemplate.Imagesneedto be

direct now, so I’m not playing with

ironyanymore.”

ANEWGAZE

Butwhatdoesthismean,a refreshed

gaze or a complete overhaul? While

LaChapelleremainsloyaltohissigna-

turemaximalism, there’s a newthe-

maticvocabularyhe’sexploring—and

geographyplayedthecatalyst.Atthe

heightof hisfame,whenhewasshoot-

ingpopstarsand hisinnercirclein-

cludedthe likesofMadonnaandMi-

chaelJackson,hedecidedtoleavethe

cityandmovetoa farminMaui,Ha-

waii.Heneededtogetawayfromthe

“propaganda” of his own creations.

Andhecontinuestoliveonhisfarm,

awayfromtheassaultofurbannoise

and Hollywood parties. Most of his

newworktakesshapeinremoteparts

ofhisislandhome, increasinglyinflu-

encedbythenaturalworldandhiseve-

rydayexperienceswithclimatechange.

Andinthat,LaChapelleseemstohave

madehispeacewiththedigitalageof

toomuchimagery.Butno,heisn’tgo-

ingallzenonus—he’sstillallabout

Renaissance-meets-airbrushedperfec-

tion within a frame, he’s still using

Christianimagery,youcanstilllocate

hisworksomewherewithinthecanon

of DaliandKoonsandhe’sstillgotthe

popularpulse.

SPIRITSENSE

But LaChapelle is increasingly vocal

about how his faith has shifted his

gaze—buthisreligiosityrefuses puri-

tanical definitions.As a gay man, he

has battled religious conservatism,

witnessedthe HIV-AIDSepidemic of

the1980s,andunderstandshisfaithas

a celebrationof his“moreis more”ap-

proachtobothlifeandwork.Hesays,

“Most religious ceremony is exces-

sive—be it the flowers, aromas or

chanting...AndI lovethat.”Hecon-

tinues,“I recentlywentoverto Kanye’s

Sundaygospelservice.AndI wasa bit

hesitantthinkingit wouldbeall‘Hol-

lywood’,butonceI gotthereit wasjust

a smallbunchofussingingunderthe

skyandrejoicing—itwastrulyauthen-

tic. Religion doesn’tmean not being

partofthe world.Infact,it isbeing

partof theworldandenjoyingit.”And

hecelebratesthisspiritualsensualism

inhisrecentbodyofwork—enterthe

era of direct maximalism in

LaChapellean land, where concerns

arenowupdatedto“nature,spiritand

themetaphysical.”>

Themasterofhigh-gloss,

hyper-real,hot-on-the-zeitgeist

iconicpopimageryshareshis

big-picturevision

DAVIDLACHAPELLE

Untitled(2019)