An exhibition of 40 disquieting, large-format, hyper-realistic photos by the multi-tasking commercial photographer and artist David LaChapelle will no doubt continue to cause a stir in Guadalajara until it closes July 30.
The show, entitled “David LaChapelle Lost+Found” (Volver a Encontrarse) and populated by a grotesquely glamorous cast of models, landscapes and still-lifes, has drawn criticism for its cost, reportedly US$168,000 (3.4 million pesos).
The bill was paid by Guadalajara city hall and no less than Mayor Enrique Alfaro was present at a kickoff event attended by 6,500 young people March 29, when LaChapelle obligingly explained the philosophy behind his commercial work, which has included a 1995 high-profile advertisement showing two male sailors kissing for the Italian fashion house Diesel.
This philosophy, reportedly influenced by Michaelangelo and Andy Warhol (the late 20th century pop artist who made blatant commercialism more acceptable in the art world), includes what “I would have liked to hear when I was young,” LaChapelle said.
While LaChapelle’s brilliant palette could cause some to label his work eye candy, the disturbing subject matter (much more evident in this show than in his clearly commercial work and celebrity photography) hits you in the face or peeks out from obscure corners and ensures that many will find the flavors in the confection excessively strong – and probably unsuitable for children, conservatives and the faint-hearted.
As one walks through the show, it is easy to imagine the artist romping in the lush forests of Hawaii, where many of these photos are set, along with his entourage of gorgeous models, one or two of whom are “dead” or very ill. (Or perhaps the human figures were added later, in one of LaChapelle’s several studios.)
It is a bit more difficult to imagine his creative process. Is he offering a critique of religious, sexual and commercial norms, seen in his jarring juxtapositions of lush landscapes with, say, an over-the-top sexy, nude Virgin Mary and his 13 images showing what are apparently the detached heads and hands of some wax museum display on the theme of “The Last Supper”?
Is he criticizing artistry itself, as in his parodies of famous work such as the 15th century “Birth of Venus” and 17th century Dutch hyper-realistic, floral still-lifes? Or are they even parodies? Boticelli’s nude goddess and the Dutch still-lifes, with their elements expressing death and decay, may have been as shocking in their day as LaChapelle’s photos are now and some note that his eroticism, changeable sexuality and grotesqueries are tame – and humorous – compared to the gratuitous nudity seen in the tsunami of pornography currently being produced by young people.
The largest image in the show is easy to decode, if I dare, for those of us familiar with Donald Trump’s hostility toward Mexico. A room-sized photograph depicts a naked young man – doubtless an inhabitant of LaChapelle’s recent Diesel campaign – and, with “Make Love Not Walls” ringing in our ears, appropriates a slogan from the hippie era, while reincarnating, from that same era, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous nude photos that expressed their anti-war, pro-love philosophy. LaChapelle’s good looking young man, dressed only in boots (presumably Diesel boots), stands with his back to the viewer and before a rainbow-striped tank backed by an imposing, barbed-wire-topped wall that is pierced by a heart-shaped hole.
“Let’s all dissolve in a sea of sexy glamor and forget any tendencies toward hatred,” the ad campaign and this photo seem to say – a message that might have been taken to heart by Trump, except that he only got the part about sex and glamor.
It is never hard to find a reason to hang out at the lovely Instituto Cultural Cabañas. And this show, along with two concurrent exhibitions, “Acervos Artísticos de la Nación” and “Pierre Verger – Mexico” (Guadalajara Reporter, March 25), provide three reasons. With “David LaChapelle – Volver a Encontrarse” you can try to figure out why Guadalajara city hall spent so much money on it to promote their new “Guadalajara Guadalajara” brand image. My guess, of course, is all the outrage in Mexico over President Trump’s wall, along with LaChapelle’s history, including his 2009 show here at the University of Guadalajara’s MUSA. And it never hurts to be chic.
Don’t leave Instituto Cultural Cabañas without taking in its large chapel with masterful frescoes done in the 1930s by José Clemente Orozco. There is still a bit of shock and even nudity in this statement on brutal economic, political and religious oppression and they make an interesting comparison with LaChapelle’s work on similar themes.
“David LaChapelle –Volver a Encontrarse” shows until July 30 at Instituto Cultural Cabañas, Plaza Tapatia (Cabañas 8) about five blocks behind (east of) Teatro Degollado. Cost: 70 pesos for adult foreigners. Officials say showing “Residente” visa card gets foreigners in for the normal price of 45 pesos. Closed Mondays; open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesdays free. Call (33) 3818-2800 or 3668-1800 to inquire about hours during Holy Week/Semana Santa. Also see hospiciocabanas.jalisco.gob.mx.