Calvin Walker
HELMUT NEWTON – AUTOBIOGRAPHY
When Helmut Newton wasn’t having sex with every woman that he could bed, he was dreaming of being a famous Vogue photographer. At least that’s what he says in his autobiography originally released in 2003. The German photographer, who passed away in 2004, definitely saw his dreams come true in spite of the monstrosities that were happening in Germany that eventually pushed his family to send him to Singapore just so he could continue living.
Newton loved the female form and he did not shy away from photography it exactly how he saw fit. This, in turn, was models wearing little to no clothing. Alex Liberman, Vogue‘s Art Director, even sent a memo to the Editor-In-Chief of Vogue Italia to warm them of the erotic content of Newton’s pictures. I read a passage in the book where Newton says how his work is tame compared to what we see today but I have to disagree. We saw lady bush! Ladies locking lips! All sorts of nipples! Don’t get me wrong; his work was beautifully striking and I feel like that level of artistic excitement is missing in a lot of today’s fashion photography.
I love photography and have decided to just fully dive in and learn everything I can about this man so this is definitely a great start and a fun read. Sure, the chronological timeline gets a bit muddled at times but the way Newton has laid out his memories is quite charming.
