Art It’s Been Said Before
Written by Daniel Brantley
He’s worked with Andy Warhol; photographed Courtney Love, Lance Armstrong, and Drew Barrymore; and become synonymous with surreal, humorous photography. With his hand, LaChapelle has improved the skin tones of many an American celebrity and reminded teen girls why they ought to stay away from publications that tout man-made perfection as a worthy and attainable goal.
And somehow, his work has been deemed art. Likely his connection to the art scene came via Warhol. Given his first assignment with Interview magazine by Warhol before earning a high school diploma, LaChapelle was thrust into a world of art he may never have entered. He was seen as some kind of protégé, a natural behind the lens, an unnatural talent to be exploited. Right now.
Had he underwent years of schooling and training, he would have become a photographer, but his photos would not be considered art. They would simply be pictures of artists, musicians, actors, and actresses in magazines. Though they would stand out, the pictures wouldn’t be applauded by the world of rock and roll as the savior of the camera. But school would have changed him. Something would have been lost, whether his attention to edge or fresh perspective on the world around him. Being snatched out of the world at such a young age allowed LaChapelle to remain guided by his primal photographic urges, without being tainted with stuffy formal training.
Convincing as this argument may be, LaChapelle’s early rise to photographic prominence wasn’t without damage. Being a mere teenager, he had yet to grasp how to best use his subjects. While the vision and genius is there—has always been there—it is unfettered, unrestrained, unthoughtful. As a result, LaChapelle’s photographs celebrate celebrity at its most celebrated: well-packaged, slick pornography.
Obviously, it is easy to call LaChapelle’s work pornographic, as so many of his subjects are nude. But the harsh label has come with a price for centuries. Many critics and clergymen deemed paintings by the greats as pornography, only for art professors, students, and time to prove them wrong over and over. And LaChapelle does produce some very gripping, antagonistic pieces. They are intriguing, visually stimulating. But look at who is being stimulated. It is the MTV, Rolling Stone, MySpace crowd. (He actually has nearly 70,000 MySpace friends to his credit and has the motto, “Good taste is the death of art” beside his name.) No, artwork and artists should not be judged on those who enjoy it or those who hate it. But when art is so infatuated with the temporal as to risk becoming temporal itself, a problem arises.
Whether the problem is dealt with is not a matter to be determined by art critics or artistic communities. It can only be handled justly by LaChapelle. However, it is doubtful he has any concern over the problem or knows a problem is present that may force him into anonymity when his photos cease to excite and shock or his heart stops beating. Why should he be concerned? He never asked to be taken seriously. He just wants to make a decent living taking pictures for magazines. And that task he performs with great skill.
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