David LaChapelle

Photography Appreciation

Back in 2016, I posted a short blog on American photographer and filmmaker David LaChapelle, which you can read HERE. This entry will expand a little more into the artist.

Born on March 11, 1963, LaChapelle is best known for his distinctive style that combines elements of Pop Art, fashion photography, and surrealism that often references art history and sometimes conveys political and social messages.  

LaChapelle was raised in Hartford, Connecticut until he moved with his family to Raleigh, North Carolina at he age of nine. At a very young age, he had an interest in photography. His first photo is of his mother, Helga, while on a family vacation to Puerto Rico. He credits Helga for influencing his art direction. 

In his teens, he was bullied in school because of his sexuality. At the age of 15, while he and his family were back in Connecticut, he ran away from home. He became a busboy at Studio 54 in New York City.

He would return to North Carolina and enroll in the North Carolina School of the Arts, and graduate from the high school visual arts program in 1981. 

LaChapelle's photography career began shortly after high school when he moved to New York City and enrolled in both the Art Students League and The School of Visual Arts. He began showing his artwork in various galleries, which caught Andy Warhol's attention. Warhol offered him his first professional photography job for Interview Magazine. LaChapelle's images subsequently appeared on the covers of magazines such as GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and Vogue Paris.

LaChapelle has cited a number of artists who have influenced his photography, such as Salvador Dalí, Jeff Koons, Michelangelo, Cindy Sherman, Helmut Newton, and Andy Warhol.

Throughout his career, he has produced work for ad campaigns such as Diesel, Prada, and Louis Vuitton. He has directed music videos for Rihanna, Britney Spears, and many others. 

 

Pamela Anderson (1998)

Archangel Michael (Jackson) (1990)

Britney Spears with Hot Dog (2000)

Eminem: About to Blow (1999)

Sources: 

Wikipedia

https://www.davidlachapelle.com

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/nov/21/david-lachapelle-photographer-hawaii-warhol

https://www.forbes.com/sites/yjeanmundelsalle/2014/09/19/david-lachapelle-from-fashion-photography-to-fine-art/?sh=77599be32023

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-photographers-mothers/8/

whf c. ai (15%)

Jens Brüggemann

Photography Appreciation

Jens Brüggemann is a German photographer known for his striking and thought-provoking imagery. He is known for his "Faces" series, which captures individuals of all walks of life.

Born in Northeim on March 10, 1968, Brüggemann has been working in professional photography in landscapes, street photography, fashion and abstract imagery. Despite the diversity, a consistent thread in composition noted is the deep understanding of the human experience.

After receiving a Diploma in Economics from the Ruhr University in Bochum, Brüggemann became a freelance advertising photographer. His work has been widely exhibited and published, and he has won numerous awards. He has also published several books of his works.  

Sources:

Wikipedia

http://www.jensbrueggemann.de/

whf c. ai (50%)

Granville Redmond

Art Appreciation

American landscape painter Granville Redmond is best known for his impressionist-inspired landscapes of California. 

Born on March 9, 1871 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Redmond contracted scarlet fever, which caused him to be deaf. As a result, his family decided to move to San Jose, California so that he could get an education at the California School for the Deaf. 

Redmond's artistic career began at a very young age. After graduating from CSD, he enrolled in the California School of Design in San Francisco. 

He associated with other artists such as Gottardo Piazzoni, who became lifelong friends, Giuseppe Cadenasso, and Charlie Chaplin. 

After completing his studies, Redmond settled in California where he was deeply influenced by the natural beauty of the state. His paintings are known for their vibrant color palette and impressionist-inspired brushwork. He was particularly skilled at capturing the light and atmosphere of a scene, and his paintings are often bathed in a warm, golden light.

Malibu Coast, Spring (c 1929)

Catalina Island Coast under a Moonlit Sky (1920)

Talk at the Beach (1931)

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://eclecticlight.co/2021/01/08/the-californian-coast-of-granville-redmond/

https://www.artinsociety.com/the-extraordinary-career-of-granville-redmond-deaf-artist-and-silent-movie-actor1.html

whf c. ai (50%)

Lothar Schmid

Photography Appreciation 

Swiss photographer Lothar Schmid is an accomplished international fashion photographer who is known his stunning images of models and celebrities.

After studying at Zurich University of Arts, he received his first assignment at French Elle, which set off his international career. He arrived in New York City in early 80s, where he was mentored by Alexander Liberman, Condé Nast editorial director. 

His clients would later include Elle, British Vogue, Marie Claire, The New York Times, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, and many others. 

Laetitia Casta for French ELLE

Petrine Houlberg for Marie Claire

Diane Kruger 

Eva Green

Sources:

http://www.lotharschmid.com

https://mymodernmet.com/passionate-beauty-lothar/

https://mymodernmet.com/classic-beauty-diane-kruger-by/

https://www.bellazon.com/main/topic/68217-lothar-schmid/

Milton Avery

Art Appreciation

American painter Milton Avery was born in Altmar, New York  on March 7, 1885. He is often associated with the American Modernist movement and known for the unique approach to color and form. 

From a young age, he supported himself working blue-collar jobs. His interest in art led him to attend classes at the Connecticut League of Art Students in Hartford. There he studied at the Art Students League under the guidance of the American Impressionist Charles Webster Hawthorne. 

He then moved to New York in the late 1920s and practiced painting and drawing at the Art Students League. There he met Sally Michel, a young art student, and they both married in 1926. Both would develop a "lyrical, collaborative style" art historian Robert Hobbs called "the Avery style."

Avery's early work in the 1930s was similar to those of German expressionist painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. By the 1940s, his style became more like to that of Henri Matisse. 

Avery's work was influential in the development of Abstract Expressionism, a movement that emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. Artists such as Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb were inspired by Avery's use of color and form, and his work had a lasting impact on the American art world.

Avery initially struggled to make a living as an artist, until art patron Roy Rothschild Neuberger bought over 100 Avery paintings and loan or donated them to museums. Avery soon became a highly respected and successful painter. 

His work, which often featured large, simplified shapes and vibrant colors, sometimes dreamlike, convey emotion and sensation. 

Gaspé Landscape (c. 1940)

Sally Avery with Still Life (1926)

Blue Nude (1947)

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.wikiart.org/ 

Body Paint: Roustan - Julia Nicoletti

Body paint artist Roustan did a wonderful video of model Julia Nicoletti, who passed away on November 2, 2019 from an apparent Fentanyl overdose. He explains how he used VR footage recorded during a photoshoot and created memorial where individuals can now get to know her as a person and an artist in the metaverse. All proceeds collected go to Fentanyl awareness. 

https://opensea.io/collection/juliasgift

via Roustan

Dance: Rihanna - Rude Boy (Super Bowl Mix)

Choreography: Matt Steffanina

via Matt Steffanina