Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful

The powerful Helmut Newton (Helmut Neustädter, German/Australian fashion and nude photographer) behind his camera strips these not-so-weak women of their clothes in often surprising circumstances, in bizarre poses, often with frowning faces. They accept this, admire the resulting photographs and are grateful to him for allowing them in front of the camera, often pushing their way through the queue of those waiting their turn. Barely an attempt to expose an artist specialising in female nudes, which provokes contradictory opinions. Instead of an honest portrait and an insightful analysis of the artist's achievements, the adoration of female flatterers (not a single male reference!) from Anna Wintour to Isabella Rossellini, Grace Jones, Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Faithfull, Claudie Schiffer and Hanna Schygulla to Susan Sontag. She was the only one - while having nothing for Newton himself - to distance herself decisively from the products of his work and allow herself to assess them critically ("...victims, as in Stockholm syndrome, fall in love with the abuser..."). _ Witek Rusin.