Helmut Newton

King of Kink

“The desire to discover, the desire to move, to capture the flavor, three concepts that describe the art of photography.” (Newton, n.d). These are the words that brilliantly describe the work of Helmut Newton also known as Helmut Neustädter. His pieces are a delight that captures the audience with their eroticism and elegance, but often causes controversy among the public.

Newton, H. (Photographer). (1975, April). Art of seduction. Paris.

Initially, this pioneer photographer was located in Berlin, where he was born on October 31, 1920 but developed as recognized photographer in Paris. Eventually, after years of revolutionizing not only fashion photography, but photography on a whole, he died on January 23, 2004 in Los Angeles,

Even though feminists of this period viewed his female models as victims, Newton portrayed these women as dominant and strong creatures who were equal to men. These models were often portrayed as femme fatales who were not afraid of their sexuality, but rather embraced their curious and exhibitionistic natures. However, he did not encapsulate himself to one concept, whether it be fashion or sexuality. Portraits of celebrities soon became an important aspect of his work. At first, it was for fashion, but he soon widen his scope by photographing anyone who intrigued him- “artists, actors, film directors, politicians, industrial magnates, the powerful and the charismatic from all spheres.” (Hamiltons,

During his lifetime he has travelled to places such as Sydney, Singapore, Australia, America, London and Paris honing his skill as a photographer. But it was in Paris he started his international career and created his photographic collections entitled White Women, Sleepless Nights and Big Nudes. His pieces had numerous components that created a new form of photography that contained elements of fashion, portraiture, erotica and documentary (Helmut Newton: A Controversial, n.d.), which was revolutionary. This artist has changed the face of photography by pushing the limits set by society and focused on his message and craft rather than the critics. He has completely changed the way society and artists view pictures of people. He has been a pioneer with his skill, but summarized his work with the few words “My job as a portrait photographer is to seduce, amuse and