Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
There had never been such a project and has not been one since: husband-and-wife photographers published very personal, even intimate, self-portraits and portraits of each other taken over several decades--and supplemented these private photographs with portraits of personalities and celebrities from the jet-set culture. In 1998 Helmut and June Newton published their legendary joint project Us and Them, in book form and in accompanying exhibitions. It illustrates an incomparable story of fifty-five years of life and love, with the first part of Us and Them offering us a view into the photographers' private life.It is a kind of photographic diary that records the life that Helmut and June Newton shared in photographs they took of each other. There are also photographs of actors, artists, and other important cultural figures of the time, including Brassa and Peter Beard, Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler, Jane Birkin and Charlotte Rampling. The portraits taken by Helmut and June Newton in various sittings are presented side by side in pairs, thus revealing two facets of the same personality. This publication thus closes the circle in several ways, because the life and work of Helmut and June Newton were linked in many ways. One is not possible without the other--and vice versa.Accompanying exhibition: Alice Springs. Retrospective, through November 19, 2023, Helmut Newton Foundation, Berlin.In 1970, June Newton, aka Alice Springs, officially began taking photographs in three genres--fashion, nudes, and portraits in particular--but even before that, she took numerous photographs of her husband, which are shown in this exhibition. The Berlin retrospective is concluded by the juxtaposition of portrait diptychs by Helmut Newton and Alice Springs--primarily from the Us and Them project.
Synopsis
This is a photographic love story tracing the fifty-five years of collaboration, partnership and history of Helmut and June Newton. First published in 1998, their legendary joint project Us and Them was presented in book form and accompanying exhibitions. The book's first part features personal portraits of each other and self-portraits taken over several decades, revealing affection and intimacy behind each image and bringing forth nostalgia of the time. It is a photographic diary that records the life Helmut and June Newton shared away from the public eye. The second part of the book is a sumptuous journey through time, where the lens of the master brings forth images of stunning portraits of an array of jet set, celebrities, important cultural figures, and some of the most famous faces of the time. From Catherine Deneuve, Anjelica Huston, David Hockney, and Timothy Leary to Peter Beard, Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, Jane Birkin, and Charlotte Rampling, among others. The portraits taken by Helmut and June Newton in various sittings are presented side by side in pairs, thus revealing two facets of the same personality. This volume unmistakably highlights that the life and work of Helmut and June Newton were inexplicably linked in every way. One was never possible without the other.