Two simultaneous exhibitions: one in Moscow and one in New York. An artistic dialogue that supports a global idea of passions and shares.
A connection between Moscow and New York. The Pirelli Calendar, through its role as a cultural icon, an expression of beauty and a barometer of feminine sensibility, has forged a link between these two great cities. A link arising from two exhibitions coming to life at the same time.
In Moscow on the seventh floor of the Museum of Photography, as part of the Biennial event dedicated to this particular art form. In New York at the IMG Lounge, as part of Skylight at Moynihan Station, in the heart of New York's fashion world. With Moscow, the idea of hosting the famous calendar that Pirelli creates every year, as a kind of creative totem, has been an annual occurrence since 2005, whereas for New York this is a first.
But the most significant fact is that it has triggered an artistic dialogue. A dialogue about modernity, events and intentions. It's an experience that shows the ease with which art can overcome barriers, dissolve prejudices and unite sensibilities. In Moscow, the exhibition is clearly focused on the work of Annie Leibovitz, with her photographs of Yao Chen, Ava Duvernay, Tavi Gevinson, Agnes Gund, Mellody Hobson, Kathleen Kennedy, Franz Lebowitz, Shirin Neshat, Yoko Ono, Amy Schumer, Patti Smith, Natalia Vodianova and Serena Williams for The Cal™ 2016 edition. An iconic project that has attracted global attention, not only media's, for its choice of a conceptual aesthetic.
New York, on the other hand, hosts an exhibition that says more about the nature and the history of the metropolis that is more evolved and more capable than any other of capturing different sensitivities in an image culture. In "The Cal™: Icons from the Pirelli Calendar Collection", there is a desire to celebrate interaction with the fashion world through the work of many photographers who are leading figures in the fashion system, and also to show the beauty of top models who have made their mark in fashion shows around the world, defining the concept of glamour with their presence. Different messages, different facets of the multiplicity of original ideas which Pirelli is capable of communicating. But the timing of these events also creates a curious, unprecedented and upbeat kind of synchronicity, which reinforces the idea of globally shared passions.
