HELMUT NEWTON
THE REBEL BEHIND THE CAMERA LENS
(1920 – 2004)
On one of his first assignments for London Vogue, the unknown photographer named Helmut Newton took a model on to the streets. Reprimanded sternly by the then editor (1956), he was promptly scolded that, ‘Ladies, Helmut, do not lean against lampposts.’
"I hate good taste. It’s the worst thing that can happen to a creative person." —Helmut Newton
11 months later, Newton resigned, moved to France and began producing what would become some of the most controversial and artistically insightful artistic works in photography and would later achieve him the title as the most influential photographer in the 20th Century.
"In a particular photo, one girl has a whip clenched between her teeth. She looked great. But I think Mr. Hermes had a fit when he saw the photos."
Born in Berlin on Halloween of 1920, Newton was found his true love in photography early on and began an apprenticeship at the age of sixteen under the wings of the portrait, nude and fashion photographer Yva (Else Simon, neé Neuländer) in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Two years later, he fled Berlin, taking with him two stills cameras which aided him to find work in Singapore at the Singapore Straits Times.
At the age of twenty the young Newton traveled to Australia and served five years in the Australian army prior to becoming an Australian citizen. A year later, he met the actress June Brunell, who posed for him and who would later become his wife.
1956 brought Newton his first real shot in fashion photography as well as gave him a platform to stand on in his creativity. After resigning from Vogue in London, by the early 60’s Newton moved to Paris, which became the time of some of his most influential work, this time for French Vogue. These were the years of which Newton spoke ever pleasantly:
"People gave us everything for free. We were allowed only so much film per picture, but there was no limit to the creativity. I like to say that they let us loose like wild dogs in the streets of Paris."
In ’71, the suffering of a major heart attack would drastically shift the photographer’s subject matter. With the encouragement of his wife, June, (a.k.a. photographer – Alice Springs), Newton began to pursue overtly sexual themes in his photography, and the 70’s would see him redefine the world of fashion photography with his first exhibition at the Galerie Nikon in Paris, where he exhibited his Big Nudes, a seminal series of larger-than-life portraits, shot against a white background. A year later he followed with his first publication of his now legendary book, White Women: a visual theme that included nudes, fashion, and portraits of celebrities such as Elsa Peretti, Karl Lagerfeld, and Paloma Picasso, in the common background setting that had always fascinated Newton since he was young: hotel rooms. The portrait of Yves Saint-Laurent’s muse, Loulou de la Falaise, in which he considered a ‘very private moment’ and the trappings of luxury and wealth (such as swimming pools) created a grand background of interest.
"It’s that I don’t like white paper backgrounds. A woman does not live in front of white paper. She lives on the street, in a motor car, in a hotel room."
The next two decades brought Newton many awards and accolades from around the world. Helmut Newton worked for every major fashion magazine in Europe and the USA, including French, Italian, German and British Vogue, Elle, Stern, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, and Playboy. Newton’s repertoire featured fashion’s dark side, fundamentally changing the terms of the fashion image. Over his successful 40 years as a photographer, he brought a unique mixture of style, sex, and theater to fashion photography and shaped not only magazine imagery, but fashion itself. A master of beauty, Newton cultivated an extremely personal erotic vision.
"I am superficial, my images aren’t deep. Good taste is the anti-fashion, the anti-photo, the anti-woman, the anti-eroticism. Vulgarity is life, is fun, the desire for extreme reactions."
The stark lighting and prevailing scenic backgrounds made for stunning contradictions in ambience, in which his models (sometimes cold, severe and disturbing) are perfectly placed, beautifully in the forefront. For his portraits of famous artists and celebrities, he was able to illuminate their quirks and pretensions, without judging them. His brilliance truly lied within his unique vision of the “erotic” in photography.
A favorite shot of mine is one of a woman wearing Bulgari jewels and stuffing a chicken. Needless to say, Bulgari thought it was a terrible thing for me to do with their jewels.
In his later life, Newton lived in Monte Carlo and Los Angeles. He was killed when his car hit a wall in the driveway of the famous Chateau Marmont, the hotel on Sunset Boulevard, which had for several years served as his residence in Southern California. It has been speculated that Newton suffered a heart attack in the moments before the collision. His ashes are buried next to Marlene Dietrich at the Städtischer Friedhof III in Berlin. SLV
The Most Expensive Book of the 20th Century!
Helmut Newton, SUMO
Revised by June Newton
Originally published in an edition of 10,000 signed and numbered copies, SUMO sold out soon after publication and quickly multiplied its value. This worldwide publishing sensation now features in numerous important collections around the world, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Legendary SUMO copy number one, autographed by over 100 of the book’s featured celebrities, also broke the record for “the most expensive book published in the 20th century”, selling at auction in Berlin on April 6, 2000 for 620,000 German Marks – approximately $430,000.
SUMO was a titanic book in every respect: a 480-page tribute to one of the 20th century’s most influential, intriguing and controversial photographers, it broke records for weight (approx. 66-lbs.), dimensions, and resale price, as Newton created a landmark book in terms of both conceptual extravagance and technical specifications.
SUMO, Edited by his wife, June Newton, features a wide selection of over 400 pictures, most of which are published for the first time, covering every aspect of Newton’s outstanding career in photography. Now available in the limited edition of 10,000 copies, all numbered and signed by the artist, SUMO comes in hardcover, with plexiglass book holder, in a smaller but no less impressive size (10.5 x 14.7in.), 464 pages, $ 150.00 SLV
Issue 56 featuring: Inari Vachs, Jana Cova and Lela Star
|
