Helmut Newton’s Photographic Portrayal of Women, Research Paper Example

Photography is an objective art. Nuances in style presented in some of the more mainstream photographers’ repertoire are debated in terms of feminism, objectivism, or even if such photographs should be considered art at all. Among some of the more hotly debated topics, Helmut Newton stands out as one of the more outrageous, strongly opinionated, and most certainly more daring of modernist photographers. Newton’s work has always focused on women for even as a child growing up in Germany his parents would debate on whether or not he would join his father working in the button factory or follow his passion for photography. For Newton’s entire career he has stood out from his contemporaries not chiefly because of his style, composition, or drive, but because of his subject matter. Newton’s photography depicts women, mostly in the nude, in bizarre stances, wearing high heels. Such subject matter has been debated as being anti-feminist, borderline pornographic, as well as not fit for viewing in modern art museums across the globe. This paper will develop a theory that Newton’s art work, while depicting nude women, does so in retaliation of their more traditional roles, and tries to display them as powerful entities and not subversive. The following areas will expound on this theory: how Newton breaks women’s stereotypes with his photography; how Newton views his own photography not as art but as a device in which to change how women are viewed by society (that of women as strong characters, not obedient servants, but powerful leaders); and how Newton’s photography is being debated, and the reaction to this debate throughout the art world.

Prior to 2011, Newton had not had a show at any prominent American museum. This was in large part due to Newton’s subject matter: large scale photographs of completely nude women, done mostly in black and white.[1] In fact, Newton had earned himself the nickname, “King of Kink” because “his shots of modern Valkyries posed like extras from Cavani’s “The Night Porter” or Sally Bowles’ co-workers at the Cabaret.”[2] There was, however, a different view and intent that Newton wanted to establish in his work that countered pre-existing and rather mundane stereotypical opinions (e.g. such as his art being pornographic). Newton debated through his life that his photographs were an effort to try to break women from their stereotyped roles. [3] Rebelling against his work being pornographic and making women out to be beings dressed like prostitutes or otherwise, Newton’s first three books “White Women,” “Sleepless Nights” and “Big Nudes” showcase powerful women. The photographs in these books display women in stark black and white photography (the photographer’s method of choice as opposed to color or sepia, although he did in later years do work in Polaroid) walking around cities (the photographer didn’t like studios but preferred the settings of real-life so that his photography was something real and not forced) and are considered to be “provocative scenes both passionate and cool.” [4] Newton’s photographers are a depiction of the time and space he grew up, “the decadence that so famously permeated 30s Berlin left its mark on his young psyche.” [5]

Newton’s work does not subjugate women, however, even with Newton’s 2011 show in the States the photographer still met with harsh criticism from his work, opinions that did not end even when the photographer died in a car crash. Instead, Newton’s work advocates a theme of “power and debauchery” but does so in an explorative way[6] and not blatantly; although the viewer does have to take some steps to get to this analysis. Newton broke boundaries in the art world beginning with his first work in French Vogue and Italian Vogue; his work showed a true push against typical desires and relevant drama that was lacking in the fashion magazines up until this point in mid-century Europe; “He challenged taboos and preferred his models tall and posed with precision and attitude, never meek.” [7] This type of challenge was met by appreciation from his female models; they loved being depicted as strong women, “He was not a kinky guy. He positioned the women as they really wanted to see themselves, and that was a revelation.” [8] It is interesting to note that while Newton’s work was being criticized for being pornographic and adhering to stereotypes, the models and fashion industry were vehemently against these opinions; it is as if the nude female form was offending the world when artists had been rendering the female nude form for hundreds of years.

Newton’s photography was exhibited in fashion magazines around the world but he also worked on his own personal photography and sought to find gallery space, as well as coveted museum space, in which to showcase his work. Along this journey the photographer met with more opposition. While Newton’s work very brazenly depicted nude women, there was something else calibrated in the presentation of these women. In some of Newton’s work the female model picked certain elements of her setting, or made commentary on it, commentary that did not advocate women as stereotypes, as something servile and demeaning. Newton’s work was a powerful masterpiece of beautiful, Amazonian women, wherein the “portraits are elegant and coldly revealing, and the fashion photography – unfurling, inexplicable dramas depicted in night-time settings and peopled by sleek.” [9] These photographs present the viewer with an unwavering look at feminine power, a look that both frightens and seduces the viewer, and in this dichotomy, the images are “unsettling and chilling.” [10] In this view then, Newton’s work does not present a weak female figure.

It is interesting to note in Newton’s work his images are placed in fashion magazines, but the subject matter, the positions of the models, and the way in which Newton turned his nose up at studios for his shoots, all seem to mock “the very notion of fashion, or the vanity and artifice of it.” [11] This is exemplified with his attention to detail and his mis en scenepresentation of the fashionable article supposedly on display: “Two models in ultra-glamorous evening wear pose languidly at a public swimming pool as sunbathers look on. A model – gorgeous, but also faintly absurd-looking – runs down the street in her underwear past bemused onlookers, or tears along an aeroplane runway, apparently pursued by a low-flying plane.” [12]  Newton juxtaposes real-life images and settings with high fashion, something that had not been done before his work, or at least, not to the degree in which this photographer accomplishes it.

Although there is strong debate between the public arena seeing Newton’s work as pornographic or adhering to female stereotypes, and Newton denying this definition, Newton’s work most definitely exhibits fetishism. Fetishism isn’t necessarily a stereotype but the photographs do create (through artistic endeavor) an interesting texture to Newton’s body of work and the way in which his work is received. Newton’s photographs explore fetishes not seen in polite culture — such as scantily clad models in leg casts or wearing orthopedic braces; or in leather corsets, with whips. In the Annenberg show, photos from this era show women dressed as men, women kissing women, women on all fours wearing a saddle, women in garters, in high heels and stilettos and not much else — images meant to provoke, to incite and, most important, to hold one’s attention, as if giving us a peephole view into an unfolding narrative. [13]

It is images like the saddle one that made Newton’s photographs classifiable in the sub-genre known as porno-chic. This title was perpetuated in large part due to his fetish photographs as well as his need to have his female models always wear high heels (some saw the wearing of high heels as a sign of subservience to traditional female roles). In the saddle photograph (the saddle being made by fashion icon Hermès), the model is kneeling in bed, mostly naked, except for a saddle on her back. The connotations of a nude female in bed suggest sex, but to have the model wearing a saddle suggests something altogether different. In this way Newton pushed the fashion district’s sensibilities and expectations. Newton said of this photograph, “You see so many images of women riding men” [14] trying to offset the “negative” attention this photograph was receiving. In short, the photograph was Newton displaying his “comic nihilism” [15] to the art, fashion, and perhaps the world in whole.

Newton was a trendsetter. His way of depicting women as powerful Amazons, and displaying them as such, caught on quickly: “his once-extremist vision of decadent luxury and cruel chic – and, of course, the exposure of bare flesh – have emerged as the norm: Newton anticipated the current climate in fashion of wealth, sex and excess by decades.” [16]Newton’s themes, revelations and in fact revolution of the photographic world, was especially seen in his “X-Ray” series. This was a series in which the

photographer took models decked in millions of dollars worth of jewelry from such notable names in the jewelry business like Van Cleef and Arpels, and had the models x-rayed. This was to examine what was going on under the model’s clothes and outer decadence – a way to see beyond the flesh. This series is interesting because it directly rejects the notion of stereotype that was so long held by the world in regards to Newton’s work. Newton was accused of being pornographic, but the “X-Ray” series doesn’t even present any flesh, but goes a step beyond it and allows the viewer to see the true nature of the model. All that the viewer sees in the photographs are the model’s bones, skull and the metal place settings for the jewels. The jewels, the fashionable piece for the photograph, aren’t even on display. The work is genius in its own right. Newton “re-visited the technique in 1994, with an x-ray shot of a foot in ankle-chain and stiletto shoe (he fetishises [sic] high heels) that is particularly macabre, but also beautiful. The picture of a model’s hands, also from 1994, bejewelled [sic] with Bulgari diamonds and dismembering a chicken outraged the jewellery [sic]company, which threatened to withdraw its advertising from French Vogue as a result.” [17]

Another interesting note in Newton’s career is how he depicts male models, that is, when they’re in the photographs at all. In a world that seems to be dominated by men, Newton doesn’t showcase their powerhouse stereotype, but instead, sets them next to very powerful women and has them play the role of servant, thereby emasculating them. Their absence says something. Their depiction as servants, says something. Newton said that his female models were “triumphant.” [18] The men who appear in Newton’s work have a small role to play; Newton gives them roles as waiters, or as fragile beings in fragile frames, and makes them literal servants to the women in his photographs. In one of Newton’s photographs “Miami” (1999), a man looks from an obscure part of the frame at the central focal point, “a peroxide blonde in bikini and mirrored shades who is sprawled on a table in exhibitionist mode.” [19] This composition makes it appear as though the man is afraid of the woman. In fact, he should be – the darkness that covers him protects him from the blonde female whose pose isn’t subversive, but suggestive, and the way that Newton juxtaposes these figures, gives the female the power. The female model is posed this way as an intimidation technique to the fragile male figure/model. Newton in fact is quoted as saying “look dangerous”[20] to his female models when in a fashion shoot.

Newton’s photographs are indeed works of controversy; they seem to breed this from all walks of life. Newton has his models photographed nude, in high heels, handcuffs, wearing saddles, or sometimes casts – each item speaks to Newton’s commentary on society (the “X-Ray” series certainly does as much), and ties the viewer to Newton’s childhood (in Germany). [21] Newton wanted to create a pact with his viewer in which they looked at his photographs and saw something new, not something old (such as a stereotype). Newton once said, “A photographer, like a well-behaved child, should be seen and not heard.” [22] Newton also said that his models were just that: models, clay, something movable and workable to his own vision. Newton said that models were being paid to present an ideal in fashion, and the photograph determined that ideal. Newton was a god during his shoots, demanding of his models a slightly more creative way in presenting fashion to the world. Models are paid to become something else, something fantastical, or unreal, and Newton obliged this definition of them.[23] Newton also said that he didn’t like dominant women, he liked strong ones. [24]Newton states this mostly because he preferred women to be women, not something else; Newton, like his contemporary Edward Weston, celebrated the female form, hence the nudity: “Elegant, desirable, sensual, very classy, very expensive-looking.” (He often places his models in bourgeois settings – grand hotels, genteel arrondisements.) ‘But I never wanted my ladies to be ladylike,’ he adds. ‘I wanted them to look like they are somewhat available, given the right situation and the right conditions.’”[25] Hence the fantastical settings that Newton presents in his work.

Something interesting about Newton’s work is he prefers real life setting as opposed to a studio. Newton also never re-touched his photographs; he let the work stand on its own merit and beauty. Newton considered himself a purist in this sense. Thus, his work may be considered more documentary than fashion as the place, model, and lack of artifice give the viewer a truer sense of the art in the work. [26] Newton believed his work was criticized because it makes an audience view themselves. When an audience looks at Newton’s work, they see something of themselves reflected in it: people hate his work because it reminds them of what they don’t have or are lacking in their lives, or it gives them something to hate because they can’t stand to see such beauty; “While feminists said that his images depicted women as slaves to fashion, style, and men, the reverse could also be argued. Women are liberated by the opportunity to dress and style themselves in a way that expresses something about their identity and Newton’s realised fantasies helped to feed those endless possibilities.” [27] There are psychological reasons behind the upset in Newton’s reception in the world. [28] Newton’s reception in the world was filled with hate: posters to his shows were smeared with paint from protestors. [29] It is interesting because Newton considered himself a feminist. This view can be seen in Newton’s work “Domestic Nudes.” Here, the audience sees Newton embrace not the ideal of women, the real women as his models show their true sides with unkempt hair, blasé expressions, and are not model “pretty” or adhere to previous model looks with curvy bodies or glamour makeup but instead are low key. [30] Here, Newton rejects conformity once again; he sets a standard that the art world follows, and then breaks that standard. Newton’s body of work presents women in all forms: from his “X-Ray” series, to the work he gave to French Vogue and Italian Vogue, to his late-in-life series “Domestic Nudes”. There is nothing polite about Newton’s work; he’s a trail blazer that set an industry standard of portraying women as strong, blond, Amazons, and then broke the mold further with his portrayal of women as women, in all their naturalness. The controversy that surrounds his work, and the opinions of him portraying women as stereotypes are still hot topics of debate. Newton considered himself a feminist, however, and his work stands as a testament to, not an ideal of beauty, but a conglomeration that women are beautiful, even to their bones (as seen in the “X-Ray” series). Newton never considered himself an artist, but merely a photographer, capturing the world as it was, and not as something contrived. Newton did not allow his models to be stereotypes, because that would be banal and Newton was a photographer who sought originality above all else, his work stands as testament to this idea.

Bibliography

Appleford, Steve. “Naughty Photographer Helmut Newton Gets His Due at Annenberg Space, Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2013, http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/28/image/la-ig-helmut-newton-20130630

Baker, Lindsay. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001, http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/may/05/weekend.lindsaybaker

Harvey, Michelle. “Sex. Desire. No Romance.” Blanch Magazine, 2011, http://www.blanche-magazine.com/sex-desire-no-romance/

Steele, Valerie. Fetish: Sex & Power. London: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Teicholz, Tom. “Through the Lens of Helmut Newton.” Jewish Journal, May 29, 2013, http://www.jewishjournal.com/summer_sneaks/article/through_the_lens_of_helmut_newton

[1] Steve Appleford. “Naughty Photographer Helmut Newton Gets His Due at Annenberg Space, Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2013.

[2] Tom Teicholz. “Through the Lens of Helmut Newton.” Jewish Journal, May 29, 2013.

[3] Valerie Steele.  Fetish: Fashion, Sex & Power. (London: Oxford University Press, 1996), 32.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Lindsay Baker. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001

[6] Tom Teicholz. “Through the Lens of Helmut Newton.” Jewish Journal, May 29, 2013.

[7] Steve Appleford. “Naughty Photographer Helmut Newton Gets His Due at Annenberg Space, Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2013.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Lindsay Baker. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Lindsay Baker. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001.

[13] Tom Teicholz. “Through the Lens of Helmut Newton.” Jewish Journal, May 29, 2013.

[14] Lindsay Baker. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Lindsay Baker. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Lindsay Baker. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Steve Appleford. “Naughty Photographer Helmut Newton Gets His Due at Annenberg Space, Los Angeles.” Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2013.

[22] Michelle Harvey. “Sex. Desire. No Romance.” Blanch Magazine, 2011.

[23] Michelle Harvey. “Sex. Desire. No Romance.” Blanch Magazine, 2011.

[24] Lindsay Baker. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Ibid.

[27] Lindsay Baker. “Helmut Newton: a Perverse Romantic.” The Guardian, May 4, 2001.

[28] Ibid.

[29] Ibid.

[30] Michelle Harvey. “Sex. Desire. No Romance.” Blanch Magazine, 2011.