LaChapelle, Heaven to Hell (Photo Books) (v. 3)

We've all gone to an art museum and after about an hour of seeing one masterpiece after another, we've reached the saturation point and can really not properly absorb seeing any more art no how matter how great it is. This boxed, coffee table book of color photographs had the same effect on me as becoming saturated in an unfamiliar museum. This Taschen printed volume differs from his earlier "David LaChapelle" catalogue in that it is 11 1/4 by 14 1/4 inch format and it's possible to really study the photographs. Most of these images are slick, surreal, erotic fantasy images. There are a few relatively straight portraits of major celebrities. The Portrait of a self-satisfied looking Hillary Clinton standing behind her almost empty, spotless office desk is one of those relatively straight-forward portraits. The photo is titled "Hillary Clinton, Century 21, 2001." Thanks to the large format double-page spread the reader is able to notice a lonely red apple sitting on the desk like it was just left by a admiring student. Unfortunately the apple is rotten and one can almost see the worm crawling out from the large black hole in the side of the fruit. Was this portrait some kind of future omen?
The book has many series such as the "Scarface Series", the "Taxi Driver Series", "What Will You Wear When You're Dead? Series", "Jesus Series" and the "Drunken American Series." There are several pictures that weren't necessarily part of a particular series, but were the same locations and sets used in several different series. One fire ravaged bedroom was the set for a portrait of Pink and titled "We Used to Have Fun, 2002." The same set minus Pink, was titled "Tina Used to Be So Much Fun, 2000." In a previous book the same photo had the title "Mama Smoked A Crack Pipe and Wore Fancy Shoes, Los Angeles, 2000." There is nothing wrong with using different titles for the same pictures in a different use, but it is interesting to see. Changing the title can change the entire meaning of the photograph. Another example of the same photo with a different title is the one called "Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee Pose Naked with Sharon Gault's Family, 1999." In "David LaChapelle" that same scene is titled, "Tommy Lee and Family, Los Angeles, 1999."
This is such a wonderful book it's really impossible to do it justice. This one is more erotic and kinky than some of the photographer's earlier work, but even the nudes are so slick and plastic looking that they don't have much sex appeal. That's hard to imagine with so many photographs of Pamela Anderson, Lil' Kim, Angelina Jolie, and some of LaChapelle's other favorite drop-deal beautiful models and celebrities. Separating the various series are outstanding and far-out fanciful portraits of other celebrities including David Bowie, Sylvester Stallone, Philip Johnson, Robert Downey Jr., Muhammad Ali, Justin Timberlake, Jeff Koons, Alicia Keys, Elton John, Jocelyn Wildenstein, Toby Maguire, and Jude Law among others.
Naturally the book contains plenty of LaChapelle's visual puns, parodies, far-side humor and satire. This is an amazing buffet of colorful visual delights. For some reason, it reminds me of looking at those wax or plastic models of meals or services that are so much a part of Japanese merchandising. That's not a criticism,
just an observation. I very much enjoyed this collection of LaChapelle's concepts and finished pictures.

Love Lachapelle, pretty much an insane genius. His work is sexy, provocative, alluring, disturbing, insane, kinky, risqué, all while being too hot to handle... the book is so chock full of fun that a normal person can't look through the entire thing in one sitting without their head exploding. If only one day I can become him... Lachapelle if you are reading this, let me be your apprentice!

I got the book really fast! And it was perfect. Just a small scratch in the hard box.

Mr La Chapelle does it again with tongue in cheek dark humor. I bought this for a friend who collects wild and bizarre photo books...For me, it's a collector's item but not for the faint of heart or a coffee table book for a young family with children. He is an amazing photographer but more, an amazing imagination along with obvious sexual undertones,skills to stir it it all up and produce a unique statement through photo collage. My friend loved this book.

Lachapelle is great. The book has an incredible edition. Pure quality. Enjoy this fine piece of contemporary art.