American fashion and lifestyle photographer LaChapelle has depicted staged images of hedonistic society in a vibrant and iconoclastic way for more than a decade. In contrast, James Nachtwey imbues his imagery with a humane, moral tenor and delivers us a shocking series of images from the war zones of our time. On show also a series of Helmut Newton's portraits of men.
James Nachtwey - David LaChapelle - Helmut Newton
The exhibition 'Men, War & Peace' at the Helmut Newton Foundation presents work by
James Nachtwey and David LaChapelle, two photographers of international reputation,
alongside a series of Helmut Newton's portraits of men.
American fashion and lifestyle photographer David LaChapelle, with his original
visual language, has depicted staged images of hedonistic society in a vibrant and
iconoclastic way for more than a decade. He creates colourful, ironic and
provocative images of the desire/dream machine that is the USA. In his photography
we meet many of those in whom the mass media take interest: Marilyn Manson and
Madonna, Pamela Anderson and Eminem, Paris Hilton and Leonardo diCaprio. Each
setting is designed to be as artificial as possible and it is these obsessively
composed scenarios that form the stylistic basis for his extraordinary photographs,
many of which unabashedly court controversy.
In contrast, the American war photographer, James Nachtwey, imbues his imagery with
a humane, moral tenor and delivers us a shocking series of photographs from the war
zones of our time. He is the epitome of the 'engaged photographer', and succeeds in
capturing the essence of existence within a frame. In spite of their dramatic
realism his photographs possess a surreal quality that engraves itself into our
collective consciousness, as we witness the drama of life unfold before us on an
epic scale.
Opening: Saturday December 2nd, 2006, 7 p.m.
Helmut Newton Foundation
Jebensstr. 2 - Berlin
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 10am-6pm, Thurs 10am-10pm