For The First Time Pirelli Reveals The "Behind The Scenes" Of "The Calendar"

40 years of calendar secrets and mysteries collected in an exclusive book to be previewed at the Cannes Film Festival. The previously unpublished 1963 Pirelli Calendar will make the work all the more attractive. Cannes, 19 May 2005 - For the first time in its 40-year history, Pirelli has decided to reveal the most intimate side of its legendary calendar: secrets and backstage details, curiosities and anecdotes. Everything that enthusiasts of "The Cal" throughout the world have always wanted to know but which has never previously been revealed or described has now been enclosed in an exclusive, prestigious volume, the Pirelli Calendar backstage book. Such a prominent publication could only be presented within an equally prestigious setting: the contents of the book will, in fact, be given their worldwide premiere this evening at the Cannes Film Festival, within the ambit of the Pirelli-sponsored evening devoted to amFAR (the American Foundation for AIDS Research). Many of the leading figures from the world of film and music promoting the event - including Sharon Stone, Liza Minelli, Naomi Campbell, Elton John and Michael Douglas - will be the first to receive and enjoy this new cult object that will flank and reinforce the legend of "The Cal". The evening will be enhanced by the images from the 2005 edition of the Pirelli Calendar that have already bewitched Rio de Janeiro, New York and Moscow; one of Patrick Demarchelier's original shots will then be auctioned with the proceeds being donated to amFAR. The Pirelli Calendar backstage book - coordinated by Costantino Ruspoli with art direction by Stefano Corvi - is intended to illustrate the magical atmosphere of a legend through magnificent and previously unpublished "behind the scenes" images. We are taken on a fantastic journey through time, reviewing with elegance, art and irony over forty years in the history of style. "We wanted to create something new, a book that recounted a true and spontaneous story that only backstage images are capable of expressing", says Ruspoli. "Out of the strength of those backstage images emerges everything that would be impossible to communicate with words alone". In order to transmit this sensation of truth with greater vigour, none of the photographs have been retouched, thus preserving the originality and integrity of the shots: the photographs, perhaps wide-eyed, manage to display the passing of time and the various technical and stylistic approaches adopted during the course of four decades. The long and painstaking process of research led to the discovery, inspection and selection of the most significant and emblematic images corresponding to each edition of the calendar. The most valuable, the rarest and the most intriguing images are drawn from the 1960s. During those early years of the Cal, many of the most allusive and daring images were discarded but they have now been rediscovered and published in the first part of this book. The following decade saw an evolution in social mores and photographic techniques. Of particular significance in this sense was 1974, the edition in which Hans Feurer attempted to communicate the difficulties faced by an artist who wished to capture and encapsulate a philosophy in a fleeting moment while all around, backstage, reigned confusion and creative tension. The backstage images from the 1980s are characterised by "movie frames": in order to faithfully portray what actually went on behind the scenes, stills are used, significant moments captured live on backstage video. The 1990s witnessed a backstage revolution: Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon, Peter Lindbergh - perhaps the greatest exponents of contemporary photography - were among the artists who marked the decade. The backstage images become broader and easier to comprehend, the work of the photographer more intuitive and understandable. The reader perceives the steps that lead to the creation of the final shot. The Pirelli Calendar backstage book is a unique work, freed from the traditional canons of photographic books, with no fixed rules and regulations: the design and layout do not follow a predetermined pattern, but change according to the style of the photographers, attempting to recreate the idiom and atmosphere of the time. The break with tradition can be seen from the cover dominated by a Polaroid negative. This is the leitmotif running through book: each work by a great artist is preceded a Polaroid, the beginning of a great project. The book concludes with a remarkable scoop: the previously unpublished 1963 calendar by Terence Donovan. This was the precursor of the legend. The history The history of the Pirelli Calendar consists of three main periods: from 1964 to 1974: the calendar was launched as a corporate gadget and became an exclusive gift for customers. The photographers included Harri Peccinotti, Brian Duffy and Peter Knapp, the young models portrayed the desires and passions of their age, and the locations were mainly distant, exotic localities designed to make one dream. But this dream was abruptly broken off in 1974 with the coming of the oil crisis, the worldwide economic recession and the wars of those years. from 1984 to 1994: revival and development. Prominence was now given not only to the woman but also to the product (tyres), always discreetly and indirectly (a shadow on the water, a mark on the sand, ruffles in a lavish dress). Historically, this was a period of regeneration and recovery, with new discoveries and new riches, as conveyed by the Calendar: the locations were the luxuriant beaches of the Bahamas, elegant catwalks, the studios of great artists. from 1994 to 2005: an about-turn came when the Cal reflected a change of direction in top management. The Calendar matured, becoming an object of pure glamour and desire. The women were the most famous top models, the locations the most beautiful and prestigious in the world: places like the Seychelles, Rio de Janeiro, Hollywood, the Amalfi coast. And the dream continues...