100 Years of Helmut Newton: A Legacy

In celebration of Helmut Newton's 100th birthday, the Helmut Newton Foundation is reintroducing the legendary photographer's iconic, timeless imagery to the public through a large, spacious, public outdoor exhibition at Kraftwerk Berlin, starting 31 October to 8 November.

Born on 31 October 1920, Newton was a son of a Jewish button manufacturer in Berlin-Schöneberg. At a young age, the boy was already training as a photographer under the famous German fashion shooter of the time, Yva. Many of his first portraits were taken in her studio. His apprenticeship came to a halt as he and his family had to flee Berlin. Despite the melancholic story of Newton's time in Berlin, he was always fond of his hometown, even returning to the city to take photographs for magazines. One of his famous shots was a photographic homage to the places from his youth for the second issue of the German Vogue in 1979.

Now, the Helmut Newton Foundation brings Newton's works at home and prepared an 85-meter long wall at Kraftwerk Berlin on Köpenicker Strasse 70, in the Kreuzberg district, with some 30 large-scale photographs from Newton on display. The show will be accessible to the public 24/7. Moreover, light posters showing Newton's work will also be on display.

Some expected works to be displayed in his series Naked and Dressed, which marks his transition from fashion photography to nude photography, along with Big Nudes. The latter series cemented Newton to international recognition in the 1980s and inspired other photographers.

Newton often experimented with themes of exhibitionism and voyeurism dressed in elegance and subtle allure that just made his style coveted by everyone. The Helmut Newton Foundation stated:

"His focus was rarely fashion itself, but an original parallel story, imbued by a sense of Hitchcockian suspense or inspired by Surrealism. The lines between reality and artifice often blur; the visual elements converge in an enigmatic game of power and seduction."

This grand, public exhibition is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime to celebrate the birth of an innovating auteur of fine art photography.

For more information, visit the Helmut Newton Foundation's website.

written by cielsan on 2020-10-04 #culture #news #film-photography #black-and-white-photography #helmut-newton