| Helmut Newton in MDF The title of Helmut Newton's exhibition - "Retrospective" - despite the amorphous wording, is quite correct. Before us are luxurious prints, the best works of Newton from different years, from the sixties to the zeros. Against his father's wishes and the obstacles of fate, Helmut Newton became a fashion photographer. But the fashion that existed at the very beginning of the century in Berlin, having disappeared forever in concentration camps, emigration and the mess of the World War, is recalled in Newton’s works only by the endless shades of silver tone, the magical processing of the photograph and the economical consumption of film. But the aggressive, uncomfortable and powerful style of the thirties remained with him forever.
Newton is hardworking, cynical and old-fashioned. He is sure that hungry people work better than well-fed ones. That female models are more interesting than men. What good advice can help a young photographer. Newton does not think about philosophy and aesthetics, he chooses models as physical objects, twirls them as he wants. Young bodies are like mannequins for him, and he doesn’t set any super-tasks for them. The world of his fashion is material, physical, completely meaningless. It is ruled by strength, not beauty. This world can be recreated anew each time at will, reproducing the slightest shades of poses and movements, separating the necessary details from the unnecessary - feet from legs, torsos from heads. Dismembering the torsos (though only of mannequins), separating meat from bones, dressing and undressing models. At the same time, naked people do not become sexier; Only the ratio of tones changes, the shadows become more distinct and dense. Newton loves cruel scenes with chicken carcasses and pieces of meat attached to the perfect faces, bodies, and hands of well-groomed models. He stages murder scenes, imitates injuries, and demonstrates corsets that create perfect beauty. There are no illusions - the photographer knows himself and is not going to hide from the viewer the physical and chemical background of the fashion industry, its peeling backs. Newton is indifferent to female models, treats them “like potatoes,” without trepidation or interest. Young people are just material for him. Feminists accuse Newton in vain. His photographs do not offend women, but the very idea of fashion - fashion, which Newton deeply hates, loves passionately and photographs flawlessly. Faina BALAKHOVSKAYA |
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