Lot 23 N

Much has been said about Peter Lindbergh, not least on the occasion of his death in September of this year. He was regarded as the great popular figure in his field. The downto-earth man of Polish descent, who grew up in the Ruhr area, led, as he said of himself in an interview, a completely 'fashion-free' life, which one can hardly believe, considering the frantic environment in which he operated. He avoided visiting fashion shows throughout his life; fashion itself did not interest him much. Strong female personalities, on the other hand, starting with his mother, have accompanied him throughout his life. Lindbergh loved to move his fashion shots to the street, much like street photographer Garry Winogrand in his series Women are beautiful to whom he was often compared. He often accompanied his models for hours, photographing them from a distance without giving any directions or influencing them in any way, quasi as their observer (which, of course, he was not due to his role). His photographs are therefore characterised by an extraordinary naturalness in look and feel. The models could experiment during the shootings, follow their own spontaneous ideas, did not have to pose for the camera in the classic sense.
The two persons depicted on the photograph here - top model Helena Christensen and her little extra-terrestrial companion - look like old confidants on a walk. The picture - as if taken from a film - seems to tell a story, the open car door in the background underlines this impression: Did they meet each other by chance out in the desert? Did they take a trip in the car together and just had to stretch their legs for a short time? What's their intimate conversation about? The photograph raises questions - at this meeting of different worlds, fashion certainly does not seem to be the issue.