LaChapelle Land by David LaChapelle, First Edition

LaChapelle Land by David LaChapelle

First Edition, First Printing, 1996

Mint Condition – Still in Publisher’s Shrink Wrap

This is a first edition, first printing of the David LaChapelle’s first photobook “LaChapelle Land” published by Simon & Schuster,New York in 1996. 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. From the publisher, “The acclaimed Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century recognizes David LaChapelle's 1996 LaChapelle Land as its 101st book. And rightly so. The marriage of LaChapelle's vivid, high-octane images with graphic artist Tadanori Yokoo's supersaturated designs make for an astonishing physical object. 'There's a tradition of celebrity portraiture that attempts to uncover the 'real person' behind the trappings of their celebrity. I am more interested in those trappings,' says LaChapelle. Indeed, he exaggerates the artificiality of fame and Hollywood culture in a head on collision of color, plastic, and whimsy. His photographs confront our visual taste and challenge our ideas of celebrity, all the while taking us on a roller coaster ride through his hyper-sensationalized galaxy. Lil' Kim becomes the ultimate status symbol, tattooed in the Louis Vuitton pattern. Madonna rises from pink waters as a mystical dragon princess. Pamela Anderson hatches out of an egg; and Alexander McQueen burns down the castle dressed as the Queen of Hearts. David LaChapelle's uncompromising originality is legendary in the worlds of fashion, film, and advertising. His images, both bizarre and gorgeous, have appeared on and in between the covers of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Vibe and more. LaChapelle Land is fun park America gone surrealistically wrong - but in such an attractive way. David LaChapelle's photos have appeared in Vanity Fair, Details, French Vogue, The Face, Detour, The New York Times Magazine, Arena, and on MTV. The images [LaChapelle] creates are part sex, part satire, part fantasy--in a word, outrageous. This 'mind-blowingly lavish compilation' features portraits of Drew Barrymore, Leonardo DiCaprio, Faye Dunaway, Andy Warhol, Tupac Shakur, Smashing Pumpkins, and many more. Packaged in a beautiful box designed by the legendary Japanese graphic artist Tadanori Yokoo, this book offers a truly entertaining visual experience.”

Containing 131 four-color full-bleed plates (including numerous two-page spreads) and additional color and black and white illustrations, the book measures approximately 14.5” x 11.5” the book is bound in photographically illustrated laminated paper-covered boards, no dust jacket as issued, contained in a photographically illustrated laminated paper-covered box that includes a list of plates and an additional 4-page illustrated "LaChapelle Land Map" insert with black and white thumbnail reproductions of the page layouts and plate captions.. This first edition was issued as numbered copies stamped on the underside of the box (this being number 27742). The exact number of books produced is not known. LaChapelle used numbering system to poke fun at limited editions. The book and box are in MINT condition still in the publisher’s shrink wrap.

Cited in both “The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century” by Andrew Roth.

Stock photographs of the slip case as well as photographs contained in the book appear below. Please note that although the photographs appear digitized as thumbnails, they are viewable in the photo viewer by running your mouse over the thumbnail.