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ted witek

May 14

Farewell June Newton

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“Self-Portrait, Rue Aubriot, Paris, 1972” by June Newton

 

On April 9th, 2021, we bid farewell to June Newton as she joins her love Helmut on the other side.

She radiated with kindness, but well know for her ‘to the point’ demeanour. When I visited openings at the Helmut Newton Foundation I would leave a bottle of Port in her room at Berlin’s Savoy as a birthday gift. Even had the opportunity to join her birthday dinners, singing and all, after press opening parties at Berlin’s Paris Bar.

With Helmut’s resting place next to Marlene Dietrich at Berlin’s Friedhof Stubenrauchstraße , June has kept her humor at his funeral noting ”Don’t worry. I can squeeze in.” She did that as she was laid to rest. May they both rest in eternal peace.

 

Here I am with June and Ralph Gibson before the opening of “Wanted” at HNF in Berlin in 2007.

 

My favourite photographs from the June Newton archives:

 

June’s “Mrs Newton” collection published by Bededikt Taschen and personally signed to me in Berlin.

Oct 31

INSPIRED : The Centennial of Helmut Newton

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Today we celebrate the Centennial of Helmut Newton’s birth ( Born: October 31, 1920, Berlin). I deeply appreciate and admire his work, particularly understanding his early life in Berlin in the 1930’s that undoubtedly influenced his approach to his photographs.
Below is a collection of quotes that I transcribed from the latest documentary of his life (The Bad & The Beautiful) that collectively describes his work. For now, I will leave it at that.

Helmut Newton standing in Yva’s studio in Hotel Bogota, Berlin
Photograph taken by and gifted to me by Joachim Rissman

 

Tono Stano and Helmut Newton in Prague’s Staré Mĕsto Photograph gifted to me by Tono Stano

Quotes : The Bad & The Beautiful

_____

“You’re not going to get a lovely girl on a lovely beach. That’s not what he was about.”
Anna Wintour
_____
“For me it’s very unpleasant. Not the man, but the work. I don’t expect a man to look like his work; especially when it’s about fantasy and dreams.”
Susan Sontag
_____
“There is no neutrality…there is no right and wrong…everything is tainted with a point of view.”
Susan Sontag
_____
“It’s a passion. An obsession. He’s obsessed.”
June Newton
_____
“When I look at the pictures, they are different than me. It was his imagination. It was my imagination…”
Claudia Schiffer
_____
“It’s actually extraordinary Helmut was accepted by the industry because he was much more dangerous, much more ambiguous and frightening than an Avedon or a Penn”
Anna Wintour
_____
“It’s great to be a provocateur. That’s what the world needs, a form of provocation because it stimulates thoughts and it stimulates ideas.”
Charolette Rampling
_____
“In a lot of these pictures (with me and very big white men), they want me, but I’m not available. I am so close….”
Grace Jones
_____
“What we do in fashion…attraction and loveliness… the visions of loveliness…   do need work that is thought-provoking and sometime upset people.”
Anna Wintour
_____
“You express the idea… (he is not) photographing you, (he is) photographing an idea that is in his head…and you are the vehicle…”
Isabella Rosellinni
_____
“I learned to respect a piece of film…”
Helmut Newton
Aug 05

The Bad & The Beautiful

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David Lynch and Isabella Rossellini by Helmut Newton
There is no beauty without emotion
—-Diana Vreeland
With the cancellation of The Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals, the new Helmut Newton documentary The Bad and The Beautiful (Gero von Boehm) is now available from several streaming services.
Released in the centennial year of his birth, it contains fresh footage not seen in previous documentaries Frames From The Edge and Helmut by June. While the later two documentaries are a bit more ‘fun’ to watch, I found this film provides more in depth commentary by several luminaries who add important flavour to understanding the man behind the images.
Below find some of my favorite quotes in the movie, but perhaps the series of comments not to overlook:
===================================
‘I grew up with the memory that if you crossed the road on a red light you were sent to a concentration camp… It was a strange time…we knew it was dangerous… I ran in the day and I tried to hide at night… but some people were very kind to me….there were some people whose cellars were full of Jews…’
— Helmut Newton
“What we do with memories…and all those things we actually deny…too heavy at the time….and they come through ourselves much later on…  and very often turn into an extraordinary form of art.”
— Charolette Rampling
====================================
And my favorite lines from the documentary…
You’re not going to get a lovely girl on a lovely beach. That’s not what he was about.
Anna Wintour
There is no neutrality…there is no right and wrong…everything is tainted with a point of view.
Susan Sontag
It’s a passion. An obsession. He’s obsessed.
June Newton
When I look at the pictures, they are different than me. It was his imagination. It was my imagination…
Claudia Schiffer
It’s great to be a provocateur. That’s what the world needs, a form of provocation because it stimulates thoughts and it stimulates ideas.
Charolette Rampling
In a lot of these pictures (with me and very big white men), they want me, but I’m not available. I am so close….
Grace Jones
You express the idea… (he is not) photographing you, (he is) photographing an idea that is in his head…and you are the vehicle…
Isabella Rosellinni
I learned to respect a piece of film…
Helmut Newton
Mar 11

Lillian Bassman at London’s Atlas Gallery

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On the way home from launching my Lisbon exhibition “The Power of Femininity”, I was inspired to stop at London’s Atlas Gallery (www.Atlasgallery.com) for a rare exhibition of photographs by the Lillian Bassman (1917-2012). I have studied her work from my photo books for years, this being my first opportunity to see prints live. The Atlas curation was both stunning and impactful; all 27 images.

A prelude to her show on Art Rabbit (artrabbit.com) said it best: “Bassman’s work was significant in emphasizing the power of elegance, mystery, and gesture in fashion. Her prints, developed in high contrast and carefully over-exposed, are abstract, luminous, soft yet captivatingly dramatic”

It took years for me to personally be comfortable with my own favorite images which,  in pure technical views, might be considered flawed ( e.g., focus and exposure). I take solace in the fact that Bassman was obviously comfortable with this approach, with captivating results.

Leaving London with visions planted in my brain…

 

Nov 06

Ted Witek wins in London’s Black & White Spider Awards

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On October 26th in London, the 14th Annual Black and White Spider Awards nominated 9 of Ted Witek’s photographs (5 photographs in Fashion, 2 in Nude, 1 in Fine Arts and Silhouette). Ted Witek won 3 of these awards (2 in Fashion & 1 in Nude). Ted‘s work was selected among 6418 entries from 73 countries.

The winning photographs:

FASHION CATEGORY

Miki, by Ted Witek

 

Sunday Afternoon, by Ted Witek

 

 

NUDE CATEGORY

Fabrica Mannequim #1, by Ted Witek

Sep 25

With Carol Fonde and António José Costa

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With Carol Fonde and António José Costa….. My two longtime collaborators to whom I owe intense gratitude…. and the only printers who touch my negatives. I joke they have the ‘prima-donna gene’ of all master printers; but, they have honestly influenced my style and development of seeing photographically more than anyone. Carol is the world’s finest color printer (with early clients Newton and Avedon) coming to NYC weekly from Maine to teach color printing at Parsons. António, the master black and white printer at his Viragem laboratory in Lisbon, was in NYC for his maiden visit. I could not resist having them meet and celebrating our gift of light. They are an extension of my eyes. Thank you both.

Jul 25

Opening of the 20th anniversary exhibition of Helmut Newton’s SUMO

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Show Introduction commentary:
Dr Matthias Harder
Curator, Helmut Newton Foundation Berlin

Opening of the 20th anniversary exhibition of Helmut Newton’s SUMO and return of “Three Boys from Pasadena” ….. (l to r) Just Loomis, Benedikt Taschen, Dr Matthias Harder (Curator at the Helmut Newton Foundation) ….Ted and Matthias…… George Holz, Mark Arbeit, Joachim Rissmann. An exhibition of over 600 photographs including the entire SUMO collection.

Feb 23

NSEW Closing Reception in Cascais

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With sincere gratitude to the Cultural Center of Cascais and the Canadian Embassy in Portugal. PHOTO: This week’s closing reception of North South, East West in Lisbon

The image St. James Hotel, Montreal was chosen for the Foundation’s permanent collection. Picture l to r :  Isabel Alvarenga (Museum Director), Salvato Teles de Menezes (President of Foundation), TedWitek, Lisa Rice Madden (Ambassador of Canada to Portugal) and Joël Monfils (Conseiller to Ambassador).


Photo by Vitor Fortuna

ted@tedwitek.com

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