Playboy: Helmut Newton

Book Description

Following Playboy's celebrated fiftieth anniversary Photographs and Cartoons comes an arresting retrospective of Helmut Newton, one of the 20th century's most influential photographers. Renowned for his carefully composed, almost cinematic shots, Newton's signature style makes for a dramatic counterpoint to the Playboy nudes known the world over. Collected between shimmering metallic covers are more than 150 color and black and white photographs. Here we see Newton's take on Playmates in Los Angeles, Nastassja Kinski playing out a fantasy with a doppelg nger doll, a Lolita-esque travelog, and more. With a foreword by Hugh M. Hefner, an introduction by celebrated writer Walter Abish, and an afterword by Playboy's director of photography for the past 30 years, Gary Cole, Playboy: Helmut Newton is the definitive book of Newton nudes.

Customer Reviews:

Not one of the best Helmut Newton books.......2006-04-21

In fact, it is one of the worst. Still, I rate this book 3 stars. Helmut Newton. What a great photographer!

On time: classic Book.......2005-12-05

Hugh Hefner is One of the Coldest Playa's on the Planet. the Cat always Kept it Gangsta.Much Props&Daps always to Hugh Hefner. this Book is On time.very artistic&Very Creative. the Ladies are Beautiful&Look fly. my only knock is that every once&in a while is that Hugh needs to Bring some More thick chicks into the Mix. but other than that this is a Tasteful&cool Visual. My Eye-sight after viewing this Book is Better than it has been in years.sexy Ladies always have been great for my eye-sight&Playboy has had plenty of them that have corrected any shortness of sight that I thought i was having. Props to Hugh Hefner&to the Photography of Mr.Helmut Newton. that is one of the Ultimate Jobs to have.

Average customer rating:

The book ACTUALLY was titled "Women"... way back when.
White Women Indeed
Separate But Equal?
Extreme Fashion Fantasies Involving Available Women

White Women
Helmut Newton
Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1560252928

Book Description

White Women, Helmut Newton's legendary first work, appeared more than twenty years ago. With its superior mixture of aesthetics, technical perfection and bourgeois decadence it has lost nothing of its potency and attractiveness. Newton's work encompasses a wealth of themes, also embodying facets of the mass-media world of glamour, masquerade and show. Using subtle, yet striking images--like those of Paloma Picasso, Veruschka, Elsa Peretti, Karl Lagerfeld, David Hockney, and Charlotte Rampling--Newton embraces the delicate, natural beauty of the naked female body. White Women is a masterpiece of erotic visual literature.

Customer Reviews:

The book ACTUALLY was titled "Women"... way back when........2005-10-09

This is really just a response to the two other reviewers who are going back and forth about the title. The book "white woman" was actually printed back in 1978 and was titled "women"... not sure how it picked up the "white" label... or when or why... maybe I'll research that... but jsut so you know... the first printing of it was titled "women"

White Women Indeed.......2004-10-12

The late Helmut Newton, who died in a car crash this year, was a premier fashion photographer whose blatantly sexual images graced the pages of glossy fashion magazines around the world. Newton's sexually charged pictures were laden with beautiful women caught in dangerous situations. He was the master of the "fashion narrative", meaning Newton's photographs usually told a dark story, leaving much to the imagination, unlike today's lensmen who simply shoot models against white backgrounds. Every single element in a Newton photograph was part of a story, from the half-filled glass of whiskey to the newspaper folded neatly on the table to the man in dark shades standing in the background. Viewers were invited to peek into the world of Newton's naughty aristocrats, wondering just what the next frame would reveal. The reference to "White Women" in the title was not racist. Newton has often said that he found pale, cold skin alluring, even using certain filters to get this effect. Over the course of his career, Helmut Newton has photographed Iman, Naomi Campell, Grace Jones and many other women of color. I think it's sad indeed that people choose to use every oppurtunity to factor race into something as simple as a book title. I am black and won't let the title "White Women" deter me from enjoying this great photographer's work.

Separate But Equal?.......2002-11-25

Why is this book titled "White Women"? Does he have books titled "Asian Women", "Black Women" or "Latino Women"? Why didn't he just make a book titled "Women"? It is interesting that he likes to "color code" his women.

Extreme Fashion Fantasies Involving Available Women.......2001-03-14

Before reviewing this book, let me point out that it contains much female nudity in sexual situations that are sometimes on the hard side of what would be rated "R" in a motion picture.

This book is a reissue of Helmut Newton's first book from the 1970s. The shock value of that work continues in this very well produced volume with images of high reproduction quality featuring carefully posed compositions involving sumptuous fashion and beautiful models.

The introduction captures the spirit of the book. "It is the visual inventiveness that make the images memorable." Newton peels away respectability from the outer aura of powerful, well-dressed women to show their carnal natures. For example, in one of the first images, he shows a woman wearing a beautiful dress, who is perfectly coiffed. But the dress is totally see-through. She wears it as though it is totally opaque.

He expresses these personal visions in his own language in brief paragraphs and through the visual images that often suggest a taste for some "rough sexual trade" through the use of props and body positions.

The settings in the book are mostly at the Villa D'Este on Lake Como in northern Italy, in or around swimming pools on the French Riviera, in powerful cars and limousines, on public streets and in public places, and in hotel rooms and bedrooms.

The photographs are all reproduced here in large size with virtually flawless technical details of composition, lighting, and exposure. I have seen many of these images reproduced elsewhere (including the recent retrospective, Helmut Newton Work), but not as well as they are done here.

Through the combination of the text, notes, and large size photographs, you can appreciate more of his subtle work here than elsewhere. At his best, fashion, celebrity, and exposure are intertwined in almost inseparable ways. For example, Paloma Picasso appears wearing her own jewelry in a dress by Karl Langerfeld (who is seen on the facing page wearing a similar outfit) from which one shoulder has been peeled away to reveal her left breast, which in turn is artfully obscured behind her left arm. In a famous Newton image on the rue Aubriot in Paris in 1975, one mannish-appearing model sports a suit by St. Laurent in close proximity to a nude model wearing a chapeau by Paulette. The two and the street scene serve to focus attention unerringly on the contrast in clothing and on the clothes themselves. Nicely done!

As fine as this book is, I graded the book down one star because many of the photographs fall far below the best in the book. Many of the nudes in and around the swimming pool and in the cars were pretty ordinary, in my estimation. It would have been better to create a shorter version of the book that maintained the high standard of the best fashion work.

My favorite images in the book include:

Villa D'Este (Woman with riding crop), April 1975 (p. 9)

Elsa Peretti in Halston's bunny costume, New York, November 1975 (p. 15)

Winnie off the coast of Cannes, 1975 (p. 32)

Lisa in Saint-Tropez, 1975 (p. 34)

Peter in Saint-Tropez, 1975 (same day) (p. 35)

Photographed in Saint-Tropez, June 1975 (p. 46)

Charlotte Rampling, Arles, France, 1973 (p. 89)

My favorite quote in the book is from Mr. Newton's father, "My boy, you'll end up in the gutter."

After you examine these photographs, I encourage you to think about the ways we reduce our communication by keeping a placid, masked exterior to the world. How much more could we accomplish if we were more open? What are the best ways to express that openness?

Book Description

With his Big Nudes, in the 1980's Helmut Newton created a quite unprecedented long-term bestseller. Simultaneously, it provided a concentrated image of his aesthetic agenda. Powerful women were presented in all their naked truth - without fig leaves or fashion frills. This series of black-and-white photos, produced between 1979 and 1981, also marked a stylistic change in Newton's work. Elaborate layouts full of luxury and decadence gave way to an unambiguously formulated and monumental statement - "Here they come!" Dressed only in their indispensable high heels, Newton's amazons self-confidently paraded on show. They rippled their muscles and marched individually as well as in formation toward the observer. Helmut Newton's classic work was published by us in 1990 for the first time. To date, 45,000 copies have been printed worldwide and the 9th edition is on its way!

Customer Reviews:

Review of "Helmut Newton: Big Nudes".......2006-02-25

The book is in beautiful condition and got here in a timely manner. Very pleased with this transaction.

Wry Visual Humor, Good Variety of Nudes.......2006-01-31

The only reason I did not give this book the full five stars is because I feel there was more of a sameness to this selection of photographs than is true of most of Helmut Newton's work. This "sameness" is of uniformly high quality, exhibiting the inventiveness and playful sequences characteristic of his images. On one page, a group of stylishly attired women appear in stationary or moving poses; on the next page, the same women in the same pose appear nude. Newton has a taste for this sort of dress/undress contrast, as he does for incongruous assemblages: a woman lying in the midst of seaweed thrown about by incoming waves on the beach; another nude lying on an expensive fur coat, while sprawled on the lawn; cords tied in a pattern across the torso of a woman gesturing with her arm in a bodybuilder's pose. Occasionally, Newton produces a truly outstanding photograph, even relative to his own standards; such an example is that of a woman caught mid-breath as she inhales cigarette smoke. The sensuality of this is immediately present on viewing, catching the reader/viewer's eye irrespective of the less-than-appealing reality of smoking.

All of these photographs are in black and white, all of the women are Caucasian, and all appear in attire and settings that suggest wealth and ease. In this respect, Big Nudes is similar to another of his collections, White Women. The photography is always of the highest order, and the selection of nudes is not of the cookie-cutter "perfection" that so often fills the volumes of this genre.

This is a book worth viewing and having, especially if you are fond of Newton's work.

Classic Newton.......2006-01-30

Helmut was a genius. I feel qualified to say this because I once had the honor of being his assistant. Standing next to Helmut while he shot gave me little clue as to how his pictures became so signature.. This book is more of his clever self, the subjects are the most beautiful women in the world... wearing nothing.. Amazing.

Helmut Newton's Big Nudes.......2000-03-25

Stark ,haunting photographs by Helmut Newton of women. Not sexual exploitation but tribute to forceful and strong women like Gayle Olinekova and Lisa Lyon. The women confront the viewer with their nudity. There is a type of eroticism that permeates the photographs that draws you in yet makes you feel like a voyeur. A great conversation table book.

Average customer rating:

Even One Helmut Newton photograph...
very big pants
Female Dominance in Sexual Symbolism
Wow...
The Best of...?

The Best of Helmut Newton
Urs Stahel
Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Helmut Newton (Photofile) (Photofile)

ASIN: 1560251352

Customer Reviews:

Even One Helmut Newton photograph..........2002-08-29

is worth a thousand words. He just has that magic!

very big pants.......2001-08-10

Helmut newton. yuk! just another glossy athena, teenage poster loving fantasty's of an old man who should know better. How he ever managed to worm this tat into the art world i will never know. The equilvent of man holding kitten. yuk! avoid avoid avoid

Female Dominance in Sexual Symbolism.......2001-02-07

"My women are always victorious." -- Helmut Newton

This collection of Helmut Newton's work casts a special focus on his harder edge images of women as sexually domineering and manipulative. Among the fetishes and voyeuristic images are some wonderful portraits of women, as well. The book is an interesting study in how strongly the personality of the model can be injected into a portrait, especially by the objects chosen, the setting, and the way clothes are worn. The essays do an excellent job of developing your understanding of his methods.

Before going further, please be aware that these images contain much female nudity in sexual situations and one male nude. If these images were in a motion picture, some would undoubtedly go beyond an "R" rating. Many of these images are not appropriate for children, in my view.

Many people think of Helmut Newton as a fashion photographer. These images focus instead on the timelessness of the female personality and role in "overcoming the other." "The clothes . . . only have one purpose: to insufficiently conceal the long, slender female bodies . . . [which] lack innocence." In each case, the women are "defiant."

I found his more playful images, rather than his darker side, the most rewarding. I especially liked "Sie Kommon" where the same scene is done first as dressed and then as naked. It is a stunning set of facing pages. In many other images, he appears in the photograph while taking it. Yet in other cases, the model is juxtaposed against a background object that creates a moderately sexual joke.

I graded the book down one star for overrepresenting the sexual dominance theme at the expense of Newton's other styles, since this is a "best of" book by its title. The sexual dominance images are often highly repetitive, and sometimes not particularly appealing in any way -- even as abstract compositions.

Here are my favorites in the book:

British "Vogue", London 1967 (images 3 and 4)

Tan Giudirelli for Mic-Mac, Paris 1970

French "Vogue", Paris 1975

"Sie Kommon", Dressed and Naked 1981

Jodie Foster, Hollywood 1987 (jacket cover image)

Leni Riefenstahl, near Munich 1992

Big Nude II, Paris 1980

Study for Voyeurism, Los Angeles 1989

Helmut Berger, Beverly Hills 1984

Skull and diamond necklace, Paris 1979

Andy Warhol, Paris 1974

Crocodile eating ballerina, Wuppertai 1983

After you enjoy this book, think about what you believe about women that makes these images work or not work well for you. Where do you detect "truth" and where does the image seem "made up" to you? In particular, is life this sexually tinted?

Then imagine how you would have to change these photographs in order to create feelings of love, peace, and progress. How would you benefit or not benefit from such images as compared to these?

Should the person describing the world have an agenda, or a slant . . . or simply seek to reveal the underlying overall truth that is already there?

Which one of these (if any) is Newton doing?

Overcome your stalled thinking that what you see is literally what it seems to be. This book will help you with that.

Wow..........2000-03-31

Don't believe the nay sayers. These are stunning photos and shoots of the so called "big nudes", the celebrities and the notorious from the fifties to the eighties. A pictorial history like no other, drenched in helmut newton's decadent/art-nouveau style, it has jaw dropping scenarios with beautiful models. Like I said elsewhere, Leibowitz, Ritts, Scavullo, helmut newton. They will open your senses...

The Best of...?.......1999-05-15

The title "Best of..." reminds me of something cheezy in the audio world, but in this case as well as this book. I can't believe Helmut Newton would agree to publish this kind of quality (or lack of). This book looks like earlier works that were hacked from the cut or an porfolio deemed unworthy for professional world. Sorry, "The Best of..." just isn't.

The Best of Helmut Newton: Selections From His Photographic Work (Schirmer Art Books on Art, Photography & Erotics)

Average customer rating:

Nice book

The Best of Helmut Newton: Selections From His Photographic Work (Schirmer Art Books on Art, Photography & Erotics)
Zdenek Felix
Manufacturer: Schirmer/Mosel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3888146356

Book Description

Helmut Newton's best photographic work from the 1960's to the 1990's traveled around Europe in a major retrospective in 1993. The catalogue of that show has now run to a 4th edition. It contains all the icons of Newton's special fields of interest including fashion, nudes, portraits as well as works for which he became world famous - the sensational fashion photos for the British magazine Vogue, Liz Taylor with a parrot in a swimming pool, Helmut Berger naked at his fireplace, Helmut Kohl with a German oak, Salvador Dali on an IV drip, the "Big Nudes" and some of his later macabre wax figures… Newton was a genius for not being blinded by the glamour and the masquerade of pretence that were prevalent in the world in which he lived. On the contrary, he illuminated and exposed that world with bright lights and displayed it in brilliant photographs which contain much more than they show.

Customer Reviews:

Nice book .......2007-05-25

Decent printing of a nice choice of photographs.
If you like Hemut Newton's work, you will enjoy it.

Average customer rating:

A Lot of Book for the Money

Mrs. Newton
June Newton , and Helmut Newton
Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3822830577

Customer Reviews:

A Lot of Book for the Money.......2004-04-29

Our favorite photographs of ourselves are usually taken by family members and friends. Regardless of their technical quality-- that depends on the prowess of the photographer-- they often remain those pictures we come back to again and again. The reason is obvious: we are often more relaxed and natural around people we know, and they are better at capturing our essence if that can be captured in a photo. I suspect that June Newton aka Alice Springs and Helmut Newton felt the same way about many of these photographs included in this very fine collection. Some of my favorite shots in this coffe-table sized book are those that each of them took of the other. Helmut's portrait of June as Joan of Arc (p. 43) is fantastic. Mrs. Newton was obviously a great beauty in her youth. The photograph on page 211 of Coral Browne, Audrey Wilder and June is stunning. There are also candids taken by Mr. Newton of his wife nude. She in turn shoots Helmut working, clowning, relaxing (pp. 80-81, 86-87) and pensive: "From My Bed In The Clinic" on page 247.

I was not previously familiar with Ms. Newton's photographs, most of which fall into the category of portraits and many of them celebrity portraits. While she is no Helmut, many of these portraits printed here are very fine. Most of them appear to be shot in available light, something that requires all the skills a photographer can muster. Many of them, particularly those of celebrities, according to the text, were shot in less than desirable circumstances and often had to be done very quickly. She obviously can hold her own as a good photographer although I'm sure it didn't hurt her any to learn from someone as talented as her husband.

Mrs. Newton in a well-written narrative takes the reader from her childhood in Australia to her marriage to Helmut and their travels in Europe, Australia and the United States. She's obviously a character in her own right. How many women as public as she would discuss a facelift in their memoirs, for instance?

Book Description

AMAZONS AND STARS IMMORTALIZED BY THE MASTER OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PROVOCATION

Turning 80 is not so bad when the occasion is marked by a sweeping retrospective of your life's work. An exhibition of 300 Helmut Newton photographs, curated by June Newton and TASCHEN editor Manfred Heiting, opened on October 30th, 2000 at the National Gallery in Berlin. TASCHEN is proud to bring you HELMUT NEWTON - WORK, the catalog of the exhibition. WORK features for the first time all aspects of Newton's oeuvre: carefully selected fashion and advertising photographs, nudes, portraits, montages and experiments. All together, photographs that span Newton's entire career as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century.

Embracing without reservation the somewhat menacing sexuality of strong women, Newton's work has a history of creating extreme discomfort - even outrage - in the viewer. Legs apart, breasts exposed or girded in erotically charged undergarments, these über-women stare the viewer down and dare him or her to approach. Even in the notorious shot of a model wearing both riding boots and a saddle, Newton's women truly own their sexuality and that is a threatening stance to many. Knowing this about his work, celebrities allow themselves a more blatantly sexual persona in front of his camera than they might for any other photographer resulting in truly astonishing images of Sigourney Weaver, Catherine Deneuve, Elisabeth Shue and others.

WORK is the perfect book for those who coveted TASCHEN's record-breaking book of Newton's work, SUMO, but who could not meet its $1500 price. WORK is SUMO for the rest of us!

Customer Reviews:

A Newton book to purchase...and keep.......2003-04-21

If you plan on buying only a single hardcover photographic book by Helmut Newton I strongly recommend this one. (It probably will not be the last you buy anyway...)

The book cover quality is not the best possible but the price is at par with that. Luckily the printed, amply sized pages (279 numbered) are very good. The publisher is TASCHEN, Cologne and the book is printed by EBS, Verona 2000, at least the one I have

The book contains undisputably many of the icons of Mr. Newtons work the most striking, as always, in monochrome. The book has also several color plates.

On page 29 there's a statement that is a guidline for my own, and certainly many others work; "Nothing has been retouched, nothing electronically altered. I photographed what I saw."

5/5.......2002-03-31

Published to coincide with the huge touring exhibition arriving at ICP later this month, Work is both a catalog of the exhibition and the first comprehensive review of all aspects of Helmut Newton's photographic life, ranging from fashion shots to nudes and portraits and some of his more experimental work. Some viewers might be offended by some of his more extreme images -- the woman on all fours with a saddle on her back springs immediately to mind -- but their beauty and technical perfection is undeniable. Newton often focuses on the threatening sexuality of women, often placing them in confrontational poses in seemingly incongruous settings. Balancing out his more overt images, however, are portraits that display a fragility and peace that serves to underscore the impact of his more outre work. The breadth of Newton's styles and his technical virtuosity are simply staggering. Containing many new and previously unseen works, Work is a must for any devotee of photography.(

An Eye of Art.......2001-12-01

I swear Master H. has peered into my mind! Photograhy as it should be, Photography as it is meant to be. A captured thought in your mind or a captured picture in your own eye. Taste the visuals of this well put together book of b&w & color. Enjoy it as it is. Pace yourself with or without your Martini, and let the Princess of Hanover steal your thoughts as she did mine! If you have never danced along the edge, you will........

Helmut Newton's Most Unrestrained Work.......2001-02-26

Mr. Helmut Newton's work continues to have the ability to shock, and this exhibition catalog from the recent 80th birthday celebration show at the German Center of Photography at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin will definitely get your attention. The images contain many new and previously unpublished works by Mr. Newton. For those who like his aggressive and humorous views of women as leaders in sexual fantasy, this book is a must. For those who like his close-ups of faces more, this book will be a disappointment.

Before going further, let me mention (as the jacket cover images certainly suggest) that this book is rife with female nudity in sexual situations of an extreme nature. I suspect it would be hard to get this book rated as an "R" if it were a motion picture. The book is inappropriate for children, so make your purchase decision accordingly.

The essays in the book are the best part. I thought they captured the spirit of Mr. Newton's work especially well. Here are a few key phrases about the subject matter of his work that I liked and found particularly apt:

"women who take the lead"

"women who love and desire"

"women who are both responsible and willing"

"imagination and reality merge"

Mr. Newton was born in Berlin in 1920 and had to leave with his parents to escape persecution by the Nazis in 1938. It is very fitting that this show be held in Berlin, and that it contain some very wonderful images he shot in Berlin of women just before the Wall came down there.

He does not add much to his work to help you understand it. His view is that "a photographer . . . should be seen and not heard." His messages are very overt, so I think you see what he had in mind.

The works displayed here are primarily his female nudes and sexual fantasies. These involve female nudes in both domestic and public situations (as well as ones where they are treated like objects, such as the woman hanging from the wall like a part in an auto assembly plant), contrasts with clothed women (using the same models), as participants with mannequins (evoking the famous Newton humor), and as contrasts between the use of color and not for the same scenes.

The brilliant part of this book is its design. Facing pages always present a problem for photography book designers. What should be the relationship? In almost all cases, the facing pages here dialogue powerfully with one another and add to your understanding of each image. There are also some stunning color montages that could keep you occupied looking at them for hours.

Some viewers will be offended by the most extreme of the images that display women as objects. These are meant to be criticisms of that perspective, so they are meant to offend. Offend they will. To me, the most powerful is a woman hunched over on a bed facing down with a saddle on her back.

Of course, some may be even more affected by seeing the carefully posed statements employing his wife, Ms. June Newton, the show's curator, as the unclad model.

Many of my favorite images of his were missing from the book. Among my favorites available here include:

Chatillon Mouly Roussel & Dormeuil, French Vogue, Paris, 1979

Pierre Cardin, French Vogue, Theoule, France, 1992

Faye Dunaway, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles, 1987

Ralph Fuentes, Vanity Fair, Venice, Italy, 1995

Walking Women (clad and unclad), Vanity Fair, Paris, 1981

Sie kommen (clad and unclad), Vanity Fair, Paris, 1981

To me, Mr. Newton's greatest genius is in his ability to capture the personality of the model. This draws him in closer to the subject, and his aim is unerring. I missed seeing more of his portraits in this volume.

The editor deserves commendation for including some of each of Mr. Newton's many experimental styles. His virtuousity with technique has not been shown in one volume before.

The quality of the paper and reproduction are outstanding, and you will be very pleased with the representation of the images in this volume.

After you finish seeing these images, I suggest you think about how we can move beyond these perceptions of who a woman is. Does identity have to be so sexual to be honest? In a world of sexual equal opportunity, how should women think about themselves and how should men think about them? Those questions still need a lot of work photographically.

Look closely and have a great good laugh at the outrageous humor!

Helmut Newton Work.......2001-02-15

This beautifully bound and printed tome is a must for any Helmut Newton fan. If you are looking for an introduction to Newton's work, this is an excellent starting point. Included are many of the master's better known photos, as well as many not frequently seen. The photos are sumptuous. The quality is exceptional. Why are you waiting???? Buy this book!

Helmut Newton, a Gun for Hire (Photo Books S.)

Average customer rating:

Woman as an idolized goddess again...
Best Newton book on the market!
slightly disappointing
newton for the masses

Helmut Newton, a Gun for Hire (Photo Books S.)
Helmut Newton
Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3822846430

Book Description

A selection of Newton's fashion catalog work! Helmut Newton once said, "Some people's photography is an art. Mine is not. If they happen to be exhibited in a gallery or a museum, that's fine. But that's not why I do them. I'm a gun for hire." (Newsweek, 02/02/04) This prosaic proclamation from one of the 20th century's most celebrated photographers is not a little shocking, but nonetheless firmly positions Newton as the no-frills image-maker that he was. His work is so powerful, so striking, that it defies categorization. In refusing to call his work "art," Newton leaves us free to do so, and judging from the amount of museum and gallery shows that have featured his work, it is clear that the option has been widely exercised. This book brings together a selection of Newton's fashion catalog work from as early as 1962 through 2003 and his last editorial photographs for US and Italian Vogue—all work he made as a "gun for hire."

Client list: BiBA, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Thierry Mugler, Blumarine, Italian Vogue, US Vogue, German Vogue, Villeroy & Boch, Bikini Calendar for Sportsmagazin, Absolut Vodka

Customer Reviews:

Woman as an idolized goddess again..........2006-02-03

The Christianity and even more the Islam have abolished to idolize woman as a goddess. However this was the daily use in the Greek, Roman and Egyptian religion (sorry to remember, that the Aztecs tore the heart of young virgins out of the live body). Newton has reversed this development - he told us, to idolize women again. I visited the Helmut Newton exhibition A GUN FOR HIRE in the "Museum for Photography" in Berlin, near the Station ZOO, Jebens-Street 2. Sometimes I thought Newton is cynical, contemptuous against women, emphasizes the power struggle between the sexes too much. After the reading of his autobiography I thought: "What a humorous, witty person! " After having the pleasure to watch the film of his wife on his work, I thought, oh God, I get dizzy by this hand-held shaking camera. After the reading of the museum catalogue A GUN FOR HIRE I always get quiet again. Newton was skilful. He regarded himself as A GUN FOR HIRE self ironically, as an unfortunately rentable killer because of the kind money. But if he had carried out a banal "killer" order with the necessary simple, most childish aesthetics guidelines for any fashion magazine, showing the models in a predefined wardrobe sales beneficially - then he afterwards extended the dialog with a lady in most cases after completion of this obedient work for the capitalist system of the chewing fan heating - then he enlarged the dialog into the direction of more human, erotic, adult and no longer infantile situations, real and no more prudishly, running free experimenting for new emotion and aura. The growing picture collection from the vermiform appendix after that official work peeled out that image, that unique art form, which everyone connects now with the name Helmut Newton - a milestone in the history of photography. Before the visit of the exhibition A GUN FOR HIRE (in the long night of the museums in Berlin, January 2006) I went astray in that nightmare of holocaust stele field in Berlin. Newton had managed to escape from the insanity of the Third Reich. Newton's work could have never resulted under the thumb of any ideology. At first in the private, thereupon in a society, where is the liberty to make something new, it was possible for him, to make what could correctly be described as "making a woman to an idolized goddess" again. A GUN FOR HIRE is the reminding bequest which, shortly before his death, he bequeathed to that town which had dropped him 1938. I hope, that Berlin people (and many more) will awake and learn, what he wanted to show...

Best Newton book on the market!.......2006-01-09

Highly recommended for anyone who knows Helmut Newton only by reputation. This doesn't show his most graphic work, but it has a nice range of his early editorial photos, fashion campaigns, absolut ads. This book is a great example of showcasing Newton's talent as a photographer. Instead of focusing on his sometimes intense sexual images, this book focuses on the composition, layout and colors his photography had. Don't worry, you Newton-lovers, the sexuality is still here for all to enjoy.
Newton is one of those photographers whose intense images and reputation can overshadow the actual brilliance of what's important...the photographs. If you are mostly familiar with his black and white photography, the colors in this book will take your breath away.
Don't be shy, this book will make you appreciate what a true talent Newton was without shocking you.

slightly disappointing.......2005-09-30

While i like HN work and always pick out his style even if i dont know a particular photograph, this book was downright disappointing. Its like someone assembled pictures which weren't good enough to be included in any of the other (previous) books just to sell it to suckers who will buy anything by HN. However, i absolutely adored the 4 or 5 pics of Monica Belucci and bought the book solely on account of them.

newton for the masses.......2005-09-10

While I am always happy to grab a book full of naughty Newtons, it would have been even more wonderful to see the complete series of images that the undisputed master of kinky chic had created for the various euro fashion giants....some campaigns being a one season adventure, while others scandalized for years. The amount of advertising that he shot for french designer Yves Saint Laurent alone ,could easily fill a book. It was the perfect marriage of designer and imagist, followed very closely by Newton's ads for Thierry Mugler's erotically charged fashion fantasies. Sometimes it's hard to tell who came first, Newton or Mugler! In any case, Newton's unique imagry clearly remains unchallenged, even at their most commercial and subtle. The perfectly over groomed mannequins posed ever so precisely to convey roles of power, dominance , discipline, torture, fetishism and erotic menace...are all here. The acres of flawless,palest skin, highest heels, blood red lips, cold, smokey eyes often expressing a complete indifference to anyone looking on. The spectacularly graphic and bold compositions combined with the clever use of the blackest shadows as design devices instantly helps to define a Newton photograph. Many of the images showcasing his legendary wit and black humor, not to mention social and sexual comment.There's an amusing series shot for a calender with wickedly suggestive teenage lolitas posed at the ready in a desolate , dusty desertscape showing newton's playful and light hearted side.....very tongue and chic...and clearly inspired by one of his favorite themes, American Pop Culture. One missed opportunity for an amazing campaign would have been Helmut Newton for Tom Ford's Gucci....I can't imagine a more perfect union: A Newton "driving' a Ford to ecstasy....both men forever fascinated with drama, controversial lust and impossibly decadent glamour. If there was indeed some tests, it would be terrific fun if they ever surface. Paging mr. Ford....

Helmut Newton: Private Property (Schirmer Visual Library)

Average customer rating:

Great Photographer
Not So Private

Helmut Newton: Private Property (Schirmer Visual Library)
Marshall Blonsky , and Helmut Newton
Manufacturer: Schirmer/Mosel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3888143918

Book Description

Through their inimitable mixture of eroticism, subdued elegance and decadent luxury, Newton's pictures reflect in the highest aesthetic quality an obsession with human vanity - from female exhibitionism to male voyeurism. With technical perfection, an extremely detailed style and a relentless directness, Newton staged the neverending psychodrama that contrasts glamour with the need for admiration, self-confidence with the desire for self-presentation, and Eros with Thanatos. Private Property was originally a three-part portfolio containing 45 b&w photographs. It includes Newton's best work from the period 1972-1983 - an exquisite assortment of fashion shots, portraits and erotic motifs which are all based on real location and luxurious lifestyles. The entire sequence of pictures from the Private Property portfolio is included in our book which first appeared in 1989.

Customer Reviews:

Great Photographer.......2007-05-23

Very good collection of great photos.
The size of the book is the only I change, it's a little small

Not So Private.......2006-02-08

A number of the photographs in this small collection appear elsewhere in books of Newton's work, e.g., Big Nudes. That said, they do not disappoint, exhibiting the familiar taste for unconventional portrayals and quirky humor that mark his style.

One other thing for potential viewer/readers to keep in mind is that this is a small book, almost identical in size to the (humorously named) Mammoth Book of Illustrated Erotica, which I have reviewed elsewhere.

Average customer rating:

Helmut Newton: No. 1 - No. 4
Helmut Newton
Manufacturer: Schirmer/Mosel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3888146135

Book Description

For ten years - from 1984 until 1995 - Newton published his best photographs in his own magazine, Helmut Newton's Illustrated. During this period, four editions appeared: No. 1, "Sex and Power," No. 2, "Pictured from an Exhibition," No. 3, "I was there" and No. 4, "Dr. Phantasme." Their titles were as suggestive as they were thematic and all issues quickly became sought-after collector's items. With their provocative mixture of nudes, journalistic pictures and sensationalist portraits, these four editions of Helmut Newton's Illustrated are considered to be among the most powerful visual documents of the 80's and 90's. Our complete edition brings all four together in one volume and was published in spring, 2000. It is a real power pack - 134 Newton photographs in rich duotone and color - charged with sex, power and beauty.

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