DAV I D L AC H A P E L L E co l o r cra sh
MUSÉE MAGAZINE: Your Aristocracy series shows
much more urgent, less tranquil feeling – do you read these
private jets crashing as a thing of beauty. You create
images as time lapse, or as moments frozen in time?
structure from chaos, order from disorder. Do you consider yourself a revolutionary?
DAVID: It’s variations of a theme.
DAVID LACHAPELLE: I don’t think of myself in terms
MUSÉE: Could you talk a bit about your use of color in this
that have political connotations. I take photographs and
series? Color is a big part of all your work, why did you go
do what I want – I try to say through a photograph the
with this palette?
things I wish to express.
DAVID: I used colors that felt good next to each other.
MUSÉE: You have returned to your roots of your early
Such as sunrises/sunsets.
work with this series, and those immediately preceding
this – what brought about that change? Will you return
MUSÉE: Your work has always been steeped in art history,
to more celebrity focused work? Do you see this series as
your work references not only well known works, but move-
a return to your previous explorations, or do you see this
ments and times – are these Aristocracy works referencing a
as a natural progression of your body of work?
specific period or time? I see Turner.
DAVID: I make images that matter to me. I don’t have a
DAVID: There is the Turner clouds and the color field
map or plan. I go in the direction that feels right
paintings that inspired me. A lot of negative space. Also,
maybe even The Hudson River Valley School as well.
MUSÉE: Why Aristocracy, why now?
MUSÉE: Could you speak a bit about your new film
DAVID: The race to destinations that are unattainable. A
Dancer; you worked with Sergei Polunin in Take Me To
continuous, restless race with no end.
Church – which was an incredible video aesthetically and politically. How did this relationship branch into a film?
MUSÉE: Maybe I am being too obvious here, but for
years you photographed the rich and famous, the fabu-
DAVID: I love dance. I made a film called Rize, a documen-
lous and the, literally, jet setting crowd and now they are
tary about dance. They asked me to direct the documentary
burning – what is your message?
on Sergei but I opted to do just a segment. I love Sergei but I
had the new book to work on and could not do both.
DAVID: I see things lost, nothing as burning. The planes
are circling in confused spirals. The accumulation of lux-
MUSÉE: We have heard that you have been working
ury and wealth that has no end. The continuous journey
on a new book with Taschen, can you tell us what is
of acquiring more. And the busyness of accumulation.
going to be in it?
The unquenchable thirst of materialism.
DAVID: Yes, I have a Taschen book coming out. It’s all
MUSÉE: How did you produce the plane crash images? Were
unpublished work mostly from the last decade but also
they models you made? What is the process behind these?
much from the 1980 to 1990 time period. It’s the best book
I’ve done. The most concise and narrative.
DAVID: They are models of private jets in a large water
tank. Tempera paint was used to create the clouds along
MUSÉE: This issue is about Chaos – how does chaos ef-
with gelled lights.
fect your life? Is Hawaii a way to get away from it all, or
is the jungle more chaotic than the city? Do you do better
MUSÉE: The difference between Aristocracy One, and Ar-
with or without a little chaos in your life?
istocracy Two is, to me, that One seems to illustrate a
plane, on fire, swaying into oblivion. It’s very graceful,
DAVID: The jungle is peaceful. It’s sublime. I don’t feel
whereas Two seems to be two planes colliding and has a
it’s chaotic. There is the order of nature.
Photographer for David’s portrait is unknown, it was taken in 2011.
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