Pretty In Pink
August 11, 2013 7:53 PM Subscribe
While we've discussed it before, the link was removed but YouTube's new content guidelines have allowed it to be re-uploaded. In 2001, photographer and filmmaker David LaChapelle directed a video to be shown before Heatherette's first runway show and MAC cosmetics in-store video. Starring Amanda Lepore, the 6 minute video is a bizarre gunshot of pink lipstick, gay cowboys, 80s pop music, and constant full frontal nudity. YouTube (sign-in required) Vimeo. (NSFW)
This is exactly what I imagine the "malkovich malkovich" scene would look like if ported over to a new film called Being John Waters.
posted by etc. at 8:09 PM on August 11, 2013 [15 favorites]
posted by etc. at 8:09 PM on August 11, 2013 [15 favorites]
I now need someone to take me to a quiet tent, give me orange slices and maybe a B12 shot, and gently talk me down.
posted by codswallop at 8:11 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by codswallop at 8:11 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
What... her breasts... what are they made of?
posted by fatbird at 8:13 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by fatbird at 8:13 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
aubilenon: "Huh."
I agree fully. Furthermore...huh.
posted by notsnot at 8:16 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
I agree fully. Furthermore...huh.
posted by notsnot at 8:16 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
This is what drying off after bathing or showering was like before towels were invented.
posted by oceanjesse at 8:20 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by oceanjesse at 8:20 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
The baby was helpfully labeled "me". Clearly autobiographical.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:21 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by Ad hominem at 8:21 PM on August 11, 2013
Goofs: There's not enough lipstick in one tube to pull that off.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:21 PM on August 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 8:21 PM on August 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
The baby was bringing them.Lipsticks that is.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:24 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by Ad hominem at 8:24 PM on August 11, 2013
Thirding huh.
posted by Swisstine at 8:25 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Swisstine at 8:25 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
OK, I'm actually from the future, and I have no idea what the fuck that was.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:25 PM on August 11, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:25 PM on August 11, 2013 [8 favorites]
This is why art school is worth every penny. Fuck the haters.
posted by klanawa at 8:28 PM on August 11, 2013 [11 favorites]
posted by klanawa at 8:28 PM on August 11, 2013 [11 favorites]
Was? Что?
posted by njohnson23 at 8:30 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by njohnson23 at 8:30 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'll see your "Huh" and raise you an "Umm...."
posted by jayb3369 at 8:32 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by jayb3369 at 8:32 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Huh doubled and redoubled.
posted by ogooglebar at 8:33 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ogooglebar at 8:33 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I now need someone to take me to a quiet tent, give me orange slices and maybe a B12 shot, and gently talk me down.
Hang on, codswallop, you're gonna get through this and everything's gonna be fine. You just gotta wait it out, it's just gonna be a few hours and then everything's gonna be right back to --
Oh shit! It's the cops!
posted by aubilenon at 8:34 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Hang on, codswallop, you're gonna get through this and everything's gonna be fine. You just gotta wait it out, it's just gonna be a few hours and then everything's gonna be right back to --
Oh shit! It's the cops!
posted by aubilenon at 8:34 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
It's obvious.
Amanda Laporte represents his mother. The music gets increasingly modern as she covers herself more and more makeup, it signifies the passage of time. The makeup signifies aging. The baby is a figurative standin for LaChapelle. Kind of clever as the baby represents him in multiple ways. He is not only his mothers baby, he is an observer to her aging, but he also literally provides the lipstick.
Meanwhile, LaChapelle is a dancing cowboy. At the end death, in the guise of a luxury sedan, comes for his mother. She takes her baggage with her, leaving cowboy LaChapelle free.
It couldn't be clearer.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:37 PM on August 11, 2013 [5 favorites]
Amanda Laporte represents his mother. The music gets increasingly modern as she covers herself more and more makeup, it signifies the passage of time. The makeup signifies aging. The baby is a figurative standin for LaChapelle. Kind of clever as the baby represents him in multiple ways. He is not only his mothers baby, he is an observer to her aging, but he also literally provides the lipstick.
Meanwhile, LaChapelle is a dancing cowboy. At the end death, in the guise of a luxury sedan, comes for his mother. She takes her baggage with her, leaving cowboy LaChapelle free.
It couldn't be clearer.
posted by Ad hominem at 8:37 PM on August 11, 2013 [5 favorites]
Lynchian
posted by Flashman at 8:39 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 8:39 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
David Cross on Hollywood: "...the women with the fucking fake tits and the collagen-injected lips and the lip liner around it that makes it look like an asshole which is the worst fucking fashion choice I've ever seen in my life. It looks like an asshole and every time you talk, all I can think of is like six different types of shit coming out of your mouth."
posted by GoingToShopping at 8:39 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by GoingToShopping at 8:39 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Lynchian
He did the same thing with lipstick in Wild At Heart right?
posted by Ad hominem at 8:41 PM on August 11, 2013
He did the same thing with lipstick in Wild At Heart right?
posted by Ad hominem at 8:41 PM on August 11, 2013
Actually, her name is Amanda Lepore. No 'a' in her last name.
posted by jiawen at 8:42 PM on August 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by jiawen at 8:42 PM on August 11, 2013 [3 favorites]
And she's aware of, and in control of, her aesthetic.
posted by jiawen at 8:45 PM on August 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by jiawen at 8:45 PM on August 11, 2013 [7 favorites]
(mods contacted, e and as are problems of mine)
posted by The Whelk at 8:46 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 8:46 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I never did like his work, and this sort of really highlights why, in addition to animating it and making me want to claw my eyes out.
posted by nevercalm at 8:48 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by nevercalm at 8:48 PM on August 11, 2013
What the I don't even...
posted by jferg at 8:51 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by jferg at 8:51 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
I love this and I wish advertising were like this all the time.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:58 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by louche mustachio at 8:58 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
That toddler is going to be traumatized by boob jobs and lipstick for the rest of its life.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:01 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:01 PM on August 11, 2013
I clicked on this post, meaning to click on the one about the boy genius in Nevada. Confusion reigned in my head.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:02 PM on August 11, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:02 PM on August 11, 2013 [8 favorites]
I think it help that I knew who Amanda Lepore was and what she was all about before I saw it, though. And I didn't recall who Heatherette were but when I put the pieces together it made perfect sense.
Oh wait, no, it didn't. But it ... seemed to be very much a product of their particular oeuvre. Their aesthetic. Yes.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:04 PM on August 11, 2013
Oh wait, no, it didn't. But it ... seemed to be very much a product of their particular oeuvre. Their aesthetic. Yes.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:04 PM on August 11, 2013
This is wonderful.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 9:15 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 9:15 PM on August 11, 2013
New York's hottest club is M.A.C., the place that asnwers the question, "DING!" It's got everything: Naked chicks in wig caps listening to Leonard Bernstein, clocks, Wonder Woman bracelets, the disembodied laughter of Vincent Price, stop-stop dancers...
Stop-stop dancers?
You know, that's when go-go dancers hold their hands up like they're saying, "STOP!" but they don’t stop dancing? There’s a big woman with a toddler dressed just like her... or is it a toddler with a big woman dressed just like her? And then, you can either get a bluetcase...
That's a blue suitcase?
That's right. Or, you can hang around for the Gumfighter.
Do I even want to know what the Gumfighter is, Stefon?
The Gumfighter? That's that thing where a couple of jacked-up cowboys dance around while you rub Hubba-Bubba-colored lipstick all the heck over yourself and shake your boobs in the mirror. Big bubbles? No troubles!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:32 PM on August 11, 2013 [13 favorites]
Stop-stop dancers?
You know, that's when go-go dancers hold their hands up like they're saying, "STOP!" but they don’t stop dancing? There’s a big woman with a toddler dressed just like her... or is it a toddler with a big woman dressed just like her? And then, you can either get a bluetcase...
That's a blue suitcase?
That's right. Or, you can hang around for the Gumfighter.
Do I even want to know what the Gumfighter is, Stefon?
The Gumfighter? That's that thing where a couple of jacked-up cowboys dance around while you rub Hubba-Bubba-colored lipstick all the heck over yourself and shake your boobs in the mirror. Big bubbles? No troubles!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:32 PM on August 11, 2013 [13 favorites]
Love it!
posted by gingerbeer at 9:38 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by gingerbeer at 9:38 PM on August 11, 2013
I miss weird art like this. I mean, just. Absolutely surreal art for the sake of art. Or bananas. They probably just want more bananas. I think they left the empties in a big pile. I wonder how many they had to go through.
Now I want bananas.
posted by daq at 9:58 PM on August 11, 2013
Now I want bananas.
posted by daq at 9:58 PM on August 11, 2013
Wait, wait. What kind of store had this on an in-store display? Huh.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:00 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by ob1quixote at 10:00 PM on August 11, 2013
I remember an animated GIF from a decade ago that I could never imagine what in the world it was from. I just learned it was from the middle of this video.
posted by bongo_x at 10:02 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by bongo_x at 10:02 PM on August 11, 2013
I had the same experience as bongo_x. This was the face that launched a thousand gifs.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:11 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:11 PM on August 11, 2013 [4 favorites]
I miss weird art like this. I mean, just. Absolutely surreal art for the sake of art.
There's no lack of weird art, but finding anything that goes unironically happy and bubbly and joyously weird like this is the trick.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:12 PM on August 11, 2013
There's no lack of weird art, but finding anything that goes unironically happy and bubbly and joyously weird like this is the trick.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:12 PM on August 11, 2013
So that happened.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:09 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:09 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
Okay I once saw this in the middle of the night on cable tv while I was in my pubescent years. I had been almost sure it was a hallucination or some kind of psychosexual manifestation of patriarchy-induced stress or something, and yet I still think of it when applying lipstick sometimes.
Now I know. Damn, effective.
posted by Mizu at 11:11 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
Now I know. Damn, effective.
posted by Mizu at 11:11 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
They're made of sexy, duh.
posted by Meatbomb at 11:26 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Meatbomb at 11:26 PM on August 11, 2013 [1 favorite]
there must be some element of context to this that i am missing
posted by a birds at 11:27 PM on August 11, 2013
posted by a birds at 11:27 PM on August 11, 2013
Cocaine is a hellofa drug!
posted by Windopaene at 11:27 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 11:27 PM on August 11, 2013 [2 favorites]
there must be some element of context to this that i am missing
It may help to know that Heatherette runway shows are, depending on your tastes, either a wild, avant garde party or an alienating mess. Here's somebody who finds them to be the latter, and in no way dissuades me from believing the former.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 12:20 AM on August 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
It may help to know that Heatherette runway shows are, depending on your tastes, either a wild, avant garde party or an alienating mess. Here's somebody who finds them to be the latter, and in no way dissuades me from believing the former.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 12:20 AM on August 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
...and how am I going to get pink lipstick butt-marks off my Rolls?
posted by MtDewd at 12:32 AM on August 12, 2013
posted by MtDewd at 12:32 AM on August 12, 2013
Okay, I am a drag queen, and I have seen some crazy drag queen shit. I could tell you stories.
But this video? Damn. I am as a child in its presence.
I'm kind of amazed I've never seen this playing at a club. I've seen gross surgeries and old Krofft kiddie shows playing on TVs at drag clubs, but never this. Huh.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:41 AM on August 12, 2013 [6 favorites]
But this video? Damn. I am as a child in its presence.
I'm kind of amazed I've never seen this playing at a club. I've seen gross surgeries and old Krofft kiddie shows playing on TVs at drag clubs, but never this. Huh.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 12:41 AM on August 12, 2013 [6 favorites]
I remember an animated GIF from a decade ago that I could never imagine what in the world it was from.
I MADE a gif of this pretty much right away when I first saw it.
posted by louche mustachio at 1:54 AM on August 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
I MADE a gif of this pretty much right away when I first saw it.
posted by louche mustachio at 1:54 AM on August 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
There was a mod on a LiveJournal community who used that gif as one of her icons for her posts sometimes, and it never failed to prompt a whole round of very confused and startled "um....what IS that?" posts whenever she did.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:09 AM on August 12, 2013
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:09 AM on August 12, 2013
One of those GIFs (Lapore on the hood of a car) was just on /r/wtf the other day...again...
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:46 AM on August 12, 2013
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:46 AM on August 12, 2013
Speaking of Amanda Lepore, I just did a search, and am gratified to find that I'm not the only one who's had this notion...
posted by taz at 3:16 AM on August 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by taz at 3:16 AM on August 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
(note: the first dozen or so comments in this thread are awesome without having viewed the video. Despite being a big fan of LaChappelle, I'm tempted not to watch, as it can only disappoint compared to what I'm now imagining.
posted by ShutterBun at 4:42 AM on August 12, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by ShutterBun at 4:42 AM on August 12, 2013 [3 favorites]
OK, so I watched it. Having just finished a 5+ hour session of replaying Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, it was eerily appropriate, for several reasons (the music, first and foremost)
Also, it appears to have been removed from Vimeo in the second link, just as a heads-up.
posted by ShutterBun at 4:57 AM on August 12, 2013
Also, it appears to have been removed from Vimeo in the second link, just as a heads-up.
posted by ShutterBun at 4:57 AM on August 12, 2013
The Vimeo link is gone, and I don't want to sign up for YouTube.
What to do, what to do. . .
posted by Curious Artificer at 5:24 AM on August 12, 2013
What to do, what to do. . .
posted by Curious Artificer at 5:24 AM on August 12, 2013
Just FYI, all of LaChapelle's work is at LaChapelleStudio.com, including the Lepore video.
I found this site a while back while looking up who did the background videos for Elton John's Vegas show. It's all done with the knobs set to 11, but it's also amazing work.
posted by JoeZydeco at 5:29 AM on August 12, 2013
I found this site a while back while looking up who did the background videos for Elton John's Vegas show. It's all done with the knobs set to 11, but it's also amazing work.
posted by JoeZydeco at 5:29 AM on August 12, 2013
I first read David LaChapelle as Dave Chappelle, and it was even weirder for a while there.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:46 AM on August 12, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by Rock Steady at 6:46 AM on August 12, 2013 [5 favorites]
I do wish the cowboy theme had been more fully developed.
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:22 AM on August 12, 2013
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:22 AM on August 12, 2013
I do wish the cowboy theme had been more fully developed.
I've always loved cowboys, but they are totally my new big thing. I'd try to start a Talk Like a Cowpoke Day, but I don't want to get sick of them like I got sick of pirates.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:29 AM on August 12, 2013
I've always loved cowboys, but they are totally my new big thing. I'd try to start a Talk Like a Cowpoke Day, but I don't want to get sick of them like I got sick of pirates.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:29 AM on August 12, 2013
I don't know art, but I know what I like.
And this isn't it.
Oh yeah, and..... Huh.
posted by Doohickie at 6:10 PM on August 12, 2013
And this isn't it.
Oh yeah, and..... Huh.
posted by Doohickie at 6:10 PM on August 12, 2013
I saw this video way back in the long ago time and I think it had an impact and influence, in the LaChapelle sense of the obvious "photo-shoot" seamless with my music video debut
posted by The Whelk at 8:32 PM on August 12, 2013
posted by The Whelk at 8:32 PM on August 12, 2013
This, if anyone has been wondering, is the freedom they hate us for.
posted by artof.mulata at 11:37 PM on August 12, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by artof.mulata at 11:37 PM on August 12, 2013 [3 favorites]
If you've ever been turned on by the thought of an anthropomorphic wad of Bubble Yum, well, your day has come my friend.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:13 AM on August 14, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Rhomboid at 12:13 AM on August 14, 2013 [2 favorites]
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posted by aubilenon at 8:05 PM on August 11, 2013 [5 favorites]