SUMO was a titanic book in every respect: a 480-page tribute to the 20th century’s most influential, intriguing and controversial photographer, it broke records for weight, dimensions, and resale price.
Helmut Newton (1920–2004) always demonstrated a healthy disdain for easy or predictable solutions. SUMO—a bold and unprecedented publishing venture—was an irresistible project. The idea of a spectacular compendium of images, a book with the dimensions of a private exhibition, reproduced to exceptional page size and to state-of-the-art origination and printing standards, emerged from an open, exploratory dialogue between photographer and publisher.
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