There are many kinds of artists and there are many kinds of photographers, but there are few who pushed the limits of acceptability quite like Helmut Newton. The German-Australian visual pioneer became famous for his provocative and sexually charged photography, which graced the pages of magazines such as Vogue. His work was controversial and the debate continues over his depiction of female subjects, whether it’s empowering or whether he’s just treating them as sex objects.
In Gero Von Boehm new documentary, Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful, he interviews a number of the late artist’s subjects to get to the heart of the matter. These include Grace Jones, Marianne Faithfull, Charlotte Rampling, and Isabella Rossellini. They discuss Newton’s life and work throughout his career, the relentless creativity, and what lies behind the themes which cut through his output.
