Helmut Newton
1920 - 2004Sylvia (Cold Lines, Hard Body), 1981
Polaroid
11 x 8,5 cm
In 1971 Newton suffered a near fatal heart attack that led him to a revision of both his art and life. As a result of this revision he committed himself...
In 1971 Newton suffered a near fatal heart attack that led him to a revision of both his art and life. As a result of this revision he committed himself to taking overwhelmingly sexual images, which at the time caused societal symbolic heart attack. This sharp shift in his aesthetic concentration presented women as powerful creatures, a move that was deeply controversial.
"Cold Lines, Hard Body" possesses the perfections of design that characterize the best architectural drawings. Here Newton composes a disciplined pose for Sylvia and places her in the setting with a cold precision that accords with disciplined lines. For Newton women could only truly be naked when wearing high heels. In her high heels and by her precise positioning, Sylvia indifferently imposes her full, strong presence as if to say "Here I am!" The geometrical angularity of her stance projects a fierce and strong woman while her shadow portrays a subdued, unpretentious and even pregnant woman.
By employing shadow and light in black and white photography, Newton non-coincidentally captures the duality of female nature. This duality is successfully expressed by the Newtonian imagery with a distinctness that cannot be matched in words.
© Cigdem Mirol
"Cold Lines, Hard Body" possesses the perfections of design that characterize the best architectural drawings. Here Newton composes a disciplined pose for Sylvia and places her in the setting with a cold precision that accords with disciplined lines. For Newton women could only truly be naked when wearing high heels. In her high heels and by her precise positioning, Sylvia indifferently imposes her full, strong presence as if to say "Here I am!" The geometrical angularity of her stance projects a fierce and strong woman while her shadow portrays a subdued, unpretentious and even pregnant woman.
By employing shadow and light in black and white photography, Newton non-coincidentally captures the duality of female nature. This duality is successfully expressed by the Newtonian imagery with a distinctness that cannot be matched in words.
© Cigdem Mirol