Extravagantly Newton

The Helmut Newton Foundation presents a Larger-than-Life Collection at the Museum for Photography

XXXL

Helmut Newton SUMO, published in 1999 by Benedikt Taschen and presented by the Helmut Newton Foundation, is not exactly a coffee-table photography book. Rather it is a photography book with its own coffee-table.

Newton and Taschen with one of the first copies of  SUMMO in the courtyard of the publishing house, 1999.  Photo by ⓒ Alice Springs

The gigantic 464-page book weighs 66 pounds and needs a custom-made metal holder, designed for SUMO at a cost of $15,000 by Phillip Starcke. Taschen originally introduced the book as a limited edition of 10,000, signed by Newton, but this September a more handy edition will appear on bookshelves for those who could not afford the stand.

To mark the tenth anniversary of SUMO, all its 394 photographs are on display for the first time at Berlin's Museum of Photography. The pictures in the book appear as framed pages: the fashion photography for Vogue, the nudes, portraits and advertisements.  All the classic Newtons are here: the striking Big Nudes; the domestic nudes; the celebrity portraits: Elizabeth Taylor half-submerged in a swimming pool, a resplendent greeen parrot perched on one finger;  Versace unclothed;  Charlotte Rampling sinuously draped on a baroque dining table.

Charlotte Rampling. Photo by ⓒ Helmut Newton Estate

Newton's photographs read like a thriller. They are set in basements, empty streets, anonymous lobbies or palatial European interiors. His beautiful women wear treacherous stiletto heels, cruel steel leg braces, handcuffs, or transparent trench coats, and there is mysterious, psycho-sexual sinister drama behind each shot.

Villa d'Este

Photo by ⓒ  Helmut Newton Estate

Arranged in three halls in the imposing interior of the Museum of Photography (once the casino for the Landwehr officers), the extravagant sweep of the exhibition reminds us how many iconic photographic images Newton produced in his lifetime.

Parallel to the main exhibition is the smaller "Three Boys from Pasadena," featuring Mark Arbeit, George Holtz and Just Loomis. All three were students at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California in the 1970s and later became Newton's assistants.

Don't miss the excellent documentary film in the video room on the making of Helmut Newton SUMO .

Helmut Newton SUMO runs till 31 January 2010 at the Museum for Photography, Jebensstraße 2, 10623 Berlin. Take public transportation to U Zoologischer Garten, then take the Jebensstraße exit from the station. The museum is open every day, except Monday, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. and tickets cost 8 EUR (reduced cost: 4 EUR).