PHOTO:Helmut Newton -A Retrospective
Helmut Newton worked as a photographer from the ‘50s onwards, but he changed the fashion photography in 1961, the moment that he photographed a model of Yves Saint Laurent, wearing a man’s costume in the streets of Paris at night. In the ‘90s Newton made an iconic series of photos in Monte Carlo, commissioned by Wolford, in which he created a powerful image of the modern woman: independent, confident, in control, self-assured and timeless.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: FOAM Archive
“Helmut Newton – A Retrospective “ at Foam takes over the entire building on Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht, featuring 200 photographs, ranging from early prints that rarely go on display to monumental photos. Newton is responsible for a rich, authentic and complex oeuvre that can be considered one of the most iconic of the last quarter of the 20th Century. The majority of the works featured in the exhibition are vintage prints from the collection of the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin. “Helmut by June” (1955) the film made by Newton’s wife June aka Alice Springs also is screened. The name Helmut Newton immediately conjures up images for many a photography enthusiast, namely those of long-legged, high-heeled and usually scantily clad women, who radiate an unbridled sense of eroticism. It’s certainly true that women play a central, erotic role in Newton’s work. But this is also the reason why his work is often all too quickly and simply pigeon-holed, and why there’s insufficient appreciation of the intrinsic complexity and multi-layered nature of his oeuvre. Newton photographed primarily on location and used daring, innovative scripts for his shoots. In his work, he empowers women. Whether they are naked or dressed in a dinner jacket, the women are powerful, seductive, dominant, striking and sometimes nothing less than intimidating. These are women who have freed themselves from subjection or subordination and have taken control. His work can be viewed as an ironic commentary on the decadence of a social class that, to a large extent, is characterised by power and money. He was all too aware that eroticism, seduction and desire primarily amount to a game of perception and of displaying an unattainable reality. He fully used this for his commercial work that merged seamlessly with the visualization of his personal obsessions. Through the depiction of women and underlying themes such as power, violence, eroticism and desire, his work can be directly linked to themes in Surrealism.
Info: FOAM, Keizersgracht 609, Amsterdam, Duration 17/6-4/9/16, Days & Hours: Daily 10:00-17:00, www.foam.org
