Ringraziamo di cuore Maria Balanovskaya, l’artista di Yalta, per questo importante contributo. Nella foto: Maria con l’editore di Ticinolive; scattata al Rivellino Leonardo da Vinci il 15 aprile (Sabato Santo) 2017.

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Nell’inaugurare la Helmut Newton Foundation a Berlino, nel 2003, un anno prima della sua scomparsa, Helmut Newton espresse la volontà che quello sarebbe stato un luogo dove raccogliere e mostrare al mondo non solo le sue opere, ma anche quelle di altri maestri della fotografia.

Una volontà che continua ad essere perseguita anche grazie a grandi mostre come quella che prende il via il 2 giugno e che vede esposte raccolte di immagini di autentici virtuosi dell’obbiettivo fotografico, colleghi e amici di Newton: Mario Testino e Jean Pigozzi, oltre ad un compendio di immagini del compianto fotografo tedesco.

Proponiamo alcuni ricordi dei suoi colleghi Pigozzi e Testino (in via eccezionale nell’originale inglese).

Jean Pigozzi :

„I met Newton like 100 years ago, when he used to have only one assistant and made photos with no other features but white canvas behind for the reflection, but they were perfect and when I brought them to Vogue it was no need to make a retouch“

Photography is like a drug, In our time of digital world, taking photos does not cost anything, every day when I wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning the only thing I want to do is to take pictures, and I can’t stop.

I prefer summer time for the shoot, because people are happier and more relaxed, so for the pool parties I usually cheer people with rose wine, because I hear it makes them even happier. I photograph good looking people and not really but it is all about meed and being relaxed by the pool“

Mario Testino:

„I met Helmut Newton at the early beginning of my career, but that was a beginning when Mario Testino became Mario Testino, it took me a long time to find myself. It was early 90s and I was working on the magazine Visionaire, and I wanted to ask him if he could send me the picture in order to fulfill my issue, because he as nobody else knew what female elegance was. Later on we worked together on the same Vogue publications.

Being a Photographer was very difficult years ago, you had to wait for the production and postproduction, and than it would be chosen by publisher, so there was no possibility of an immediate communication from my side. Access to the information was so limited as I remember when I grew up in Peru, Lima and wanted to watch a movie, I only could choose movies produced 10 years ago. Digitalizing of the world changed everything, now if I have a feeling to make a shot and share it straight away I can.

Right now people don’t want only to observe things they want to interact and be a part of everything, they wake up take their phone and they want to know what is going on in the world right now.

But still the most important thing in my work is the content, it is a collection of pictures which all together makes sense.

Why Undressed?

I think there is nothing wrong of being naked, our society is body shaming people and creating the standards which cause anorexia and complexes. I believe if we will accept the thing that there is nothing wrong with our body we will have less problems in the society.

Do you still have ties with Peru?

Yes I work with young artists from Peru, Lima and help them as much as I can by opening doors to my museum and bringing them to the Europe. Lima is a fantastic place to visit, very inspirational.“