Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 27, 2012 – The 2013 Pirelli Calendar was presented today in Rio de Janeiro at the “Pier Mauá”, warehouses at the old port of the “Cidade Maravilhosa”.
The creator of the 40th edition of ‘The Cal™” is Steve McCurry, one of the world’s most renowned photographers, who recounts the recent social and economic transformation of Brazil. His work celebrates the beauty and colors that represent the soul of this magical South American country, which takes center stage in the Pirelli Calendar for the third time, following Patrick Demarchelier’s 2005 edition and Terry Richardson’s in 2010.
In the two weeks it took to shoot the Calendar on the streets and in the favelas of Rio, McCurry made one of his fascinating journeys of discovery, capturing stories, experiences and traits of people and faraway lands. The 2013 Pirelli Calendar tells its tales through faces drawn in graffiti and ordinary people, as well as through this year’s models whose common thread is a powerful commitment to foundations, humanitarian projects and non-governmental organizations.
“I tried to portray Brazil, its landscape, its economy and its culture, along with the human element” said McCurry. “This was the story I wanted to tell through my lens. For me photography is an important expressive means to tell large and small stories of daily life.” In the background, Rio is bustling with life, with its historic quarters like Lapa and Santa Teresa, its favelas, its bars and nightclubs, its markets, dance centers and gyms, its schools and bus stops. The city appears at its most authentic, very different from the usual stereotypes. “I walked a lot through the streets, looking at all these moments of daily life and taking lots and lots of pictures,” said McCurry. “I look for the moment of passage, when the image reveals a bit of tension.”
McCurry, armed with his years of experience as a traveler and guided by innate curiosity, entered into the spirit of Rio and opened himself to its people,offering up faces and moods. The Calendar alternates portraits of models and actresses with pictures of ordinary people: a young boxer working out, a fruit seller at the market, samba dancers, capoeira masters practicing their art, a woman jogging, an art teacher, a tourist at a museum, a secretary looking out a window, lovers walking together at sunset. These scenes of ordinary and not so ordinary life recount the evolution of a nation that is changing without losing its true nature and the traits that make it unique.
“I would say I am a street photographer doing ‘found situations.’ You can photograph nudes anywhere. But these models are clothed, and each of them has her own charity. They are purposeful and idealistic people. So I wanted to photograph them in a special place, and Rio was perfect for this,” McCurry adds.
There are 34 colorful images in the 2013 Pirelli Calendar, bound together in a calendar-book: 23 portraits of actresses and models, nine images depicting bits and pieces of daily life, and two pictures entirely composed of graffiti and murals. These are an evocation of popular artistic expression that attracted McCurry’s attention with their ability to reflect the social aspects he wasinterpreting, and became the background in many photographs.
The Calendar features 11 models, actresses and singers: Brazilians Isabeli Fontana (who appeared in Bruce Weber’s 2003 Pirelli Calendar, in Patrick Demarchelier’s 2005 edition, in Peter Beard’s of 2009, in Karl Lagerfeld’s of 2011 and in Mario Sorrenti’s of 2012) and Adriana Lima (also in Patrick Demarchelier’s 2005 edition), actress Sonia Braga and singer Marisa Monte; Italian-Egyptian actress Elisa Sednaoui, Czech model Petra Nemcova, Tunisian model Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, Ethiopian model Liya Kebede, and American models Karlie Kloss, Kyleigh Kuhn and Summer Rayne Oakes.
PIRELLI
Founded in 1872, Pirelli is the fifth largest tire manufacturer in the world in terms of sales. Present in over 160 countries, Pirelli has 22 manufacturing sites and employs approximately 36,000 people around the world. Pirelli is a leading producer of premium tires due to its commitment to R&D. Successfully competing in motorsport since 1907, Pirelli is the exclusive supplier of the Superbike world championship, many single marque championships around the world, and above all it is the sole supplier for the Formula 1 championship for the 3-year period 2011-13.
Pirelli Tire North America (PTNA) services NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) member countries through its Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) facility and research and development center at its Rome, Georgia headquarters, its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Silao, Mexico and its New York City, Montreal and Mexico City sales and marketing offices. The company manufactures, distributes and markets original equipment and replacement tires for export and domestic car/motorcycle applications (US, CA, MX) and Agro/Heavy Truck platforms (MX).
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For further information please contact:
Orazio Mastracchio – Canada PR Manager
+1 514 940-7922 orazio.mastracchio@pirelli.com
Pirelli Communications and Media Relations – NAFTA Region
212. 497. 8820 ptna.pr@pirelli.com
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