Fotografiska New York hosts legendary photographer David LaChapelle, in his first solo museum show "David LaChapelle: Make BELIEVE." With 150 pieces, the collection highlights his most iconic works and offers new work for the very first time.

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♪♪ Having an exhibition this size in New York City, it makes my heart race a little bit.

I wanted to be an artist since I was very little.

I'd gotten bullied in school and I didn't pay attention to subjects that weren't interesting to me because I knew I was gonna be an artist.

Came to New York when I was 15, in the East Village, in the 80s, as a dropout.

I found the school in North Carolina that would accept me with an art school based on my drawings and paintings, and that's where I learned photography.

Once I started taking pictures, I never went back to drawing and painting.

It was the collaborative aspect of working with people.

I want to do what's in my mind and if I'm true to that, you know, you grow up and you mature and you're not going to want to do what you did 10 years ago or when you were 20.

Some of the, a lot of the ideas where I started the last 15 years, they really connected.

It's the first time we've done a museum takeover.

I mean, David is 1 of the biggest stars of his generation in terms of photography, so he's the right man to do it.

40 years to the day, you know, a block away was his first show in New York, so it's a big moment.

There's lots of layers to enjoy from the very early days in the darkroom when he was at Interview Magazine with Warhol, right through to his current practice.

It was the most important popular culture magazine, arts magazine.

I said I'd really love to show you my pictures.

He just was like, well come by the factory on Union Square at the time.

And that started another avenue that I didn't plan on, which was doing magazine work.

So my first photos were like the first pictures of the Beastie Boys.

That was their first photo session and mine, and we met in Times Square.

And it was also different than I was taking pictures out of my little squat on 3rd Street, still doing black and white then, before I even started color.

I always try to do what I think of as beauty as a tool.

There's a connection between making something and having the faith to make it, and believing you can make that.

I grew up at a time where artists didn't describe their work, the viewer was supposed to take it in.

If it doesn't speak clearly to you on the wall, then you didn't do your job.

Now I find that there's a lot of people wanting explanations and wanting more context in this vast world that we're in with so much information, devices, images coming at us all the time, that a photo, a still photo, will stop time.

Taking an image in, you know, much the way music touches people.

To connect with someone is when art pieces, That's when it's finished.

So hopefully there's some pieces in this exhibition that people will connect with.

My mom was an immigrant from Europe, in the war, and my dad, you know, it was first his family go to college.

You know, I didn't finish high school so that kept that fear of like not having anything to fall back on, that really kept me busy and doing editorials all over the world.

Magazines were like really happening at that time.

Took that on like feverishly as well, you know, just started shooting portraits and fashion and working for all kinds of different magazines and and doing music videos and I really loved doing all those different types of work.

You know there is this adrenaline rush when you're shooting and you've got people on a set, everything going, and you're like, oh man, is this gonna work?

It usually does work, you know, and you get better at it as you get older too.

Art history is a record of what that culture believes in, what they valued at the time in which it was created.

You know, as an artist, what can you give the world that we haven't seen that is gonna add something that's gonna be of value in some way?

I have all ages come into my exhibitions.

It's really great to see a whole mix of people, young to old, coming through.

I would love to touch them more than maybe just saying, oh, I want to be a photographer, but really I hope people get inspired in all kinds of ways, whether to make art or they get inspired by the sort of narratives and stories I'm trying to tell.

Being an artist is a calling and if you feel that, then you have to do that.


Speaker 0: ♪♪ Having an exhibition this size in New York City, it makes my heart race a little bit. I wanted to be an artist since I was very little. It was a calling. I spent a lot of time alone as a kid. Being in the woods all by myself a lot.

I'd gotten bullied in school and I didn't pay attention to subjects that weren't interesting to me because I knew I was gonna be an artist. Came to New York when I was 15, in the East Village, in the 80s, as a dropout. I kind of found where I wanted to be. And then I learned photography. I found the school in North Carolina that would accept me with an art school based on my drawings and paintings, and that's where I learned photography.

Once I started taking pictures, I never went back to drawing and painting. It was the collaborative aspect of working with people. I love the Renaissance. I want to do what's in my mind and if I'm true to that, you know, you grow up and you mature and you're not going to want to do what you did 10 years ago or when you were 20. You're going to change and keep growing.

Some of the, a lot of the ideas where I started the last 15 years, they really connected.

Speaker 1: It's the first time we've done a museum takeover. I mean, David is 1 of the biggest stars of his generation in terms of photography, so he's the right man to do it. 40 years to the day, you know, a block away was his first show in New York, so it's a big moment. There's lots of layers to enjoy from the very early days in the darkroom when he was at Interview Magazine with Warhol, right through to his current practice.

Speaker 0: Interview was the zeitgeist. It was the most important popular culture magazine, arts magazine. And it was so accessible. I said I'd really love to show you my pictures. He just was like, well come by the factory on Union Square at the time.

And that started another avenue that I didn't plan on, which was doing magazine work. So my first photos were like the first pictures of the Beastie Boys. That was their first photo session and mine, and we met in Times Square. And it was also different than I was taking pictures out of my little squat on 3rd Street, still doing black and white then, before I even started color. That was the beginning.

I always try to do what I think of as beauty as a tool. There's a connection between making something and having the faith to make it, and believing you can make that. I grew up at a time where artists didn't describe their work, the viewer was supposed to take it in. If it doesn't speak clearly to you on the wall, then you didn't do your job. Now I find that there's a lot of people wanting explanations and wanting more context in this vast world that we're in with so much information, devices, images coming at us all the time, that a photo, a still photo, will stop time.

How do you get a viewer to do that? Taking an image in, you know, much the way music touches people. That's the goal. To connect with someone is when art pieces, That's when it's finished. So hopefully there's some pieces in this exhibition that people will connect with.

My mom was an immigrant from Europe, in the war, and my dad, you know, it was first his family go to college. And that was tough for them too. You know, I didn't finish high school so that kept that fear of like not having anything to fall back on, that really kept me busy and doing editorials all over the world. Magazines were like really happening at that time. Took that on like feverishly as well, you know, just started shooting portraits and fashion and working for all kinds of different magazines and and doing music videos and I really loved doing all those different types of work.

You know there is this adrenaline rush when you're shooting and you've got people on a set, everything going, and you're like, oh man, is this gonna work? And is this gonna happen? It usually does work, you know, and you get better at it as you get older too. Art history is a record of what that culture believes in, what they valued at the time in which it was created. You know, as an artist, what can you give the world that we haven't seen that is gonna add something that's gonna be of value in some way?

I have all ages come into my exhibitions. It's really great to see a whole mix of people, young to old, coming through. I would love to touch them more than maybe just saying, oh, I want to be a photographer, but really I hope people get inspired in all kinds of ways, whether to make art or they get inspired by the sort of narratives and stories I'm trying to tell. Being an artist is a calling and if you feel that, then you have to do that.

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Photographer David LaChapelle at Fotografiska New York for 'Make BELIEVE' | ALL ARTS Dispatch