Photo Caption: (L-R) Georgina Storilijtoric, Lily Cole, Terry Richardson, Meloes Horst and Daisy Lowe attend the 2010 Pirelli Calendar Launch press conference at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane on November 19, 2009 in London, England. - Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images Europe)

London, England, UK – The 2010 Pirelli Calendar – the 37th edition of the annual cult classic – was presented to the press, guests and collectors from around the world at its global premiere in London today. The much-awaited engagement with ‘The Cal’ was held this year at Old Billingsgate, the late 19th century building on the banks of the Thames, where from 1875 to 1982 it housed the capital city’s fish market.
Following China, immortalized by Patrick Demarchelier in the 2008 edition, and Botswana shot by Peter Beard a year later, 2010 is the year of Brazil, and the work of American photographer Terry Richardson, the celebrated “enfant terrible” known for his provocative and outrageous approach to his art.
In the 30 images that span the months of 2010, Terry Richardson depicts a return to a playful, pure Eros. Through his lens, he fantasizes and provokes, but with a simplicity that sculpts and captures the sunniest side of femininity. He portrays a woman who is captivating because she is natural; a woman who plays with stereotypes in order to undo them, and who makes irony the only veil that covers her. This is a return to the natural, authentic atmospheres and images of the 1960s and 1970s. It is a clear homage to the Calendar’s origins, a throwback to the first editions by Robert Freeman (1964), Brian Duffy (1965) and Harry Peccinotti (1968 and 1969). Terry Richardson – like his illustrious predecessors – has chosen a simple kind of photography, without retouching, where natural-ness prevails over technique and becomes the key to removing artificial excesses en vogue today to reveal the true woman underneath the superfluity.
The rooster, the saber, the jets of water and the old tires in the Calendar’s shots become the punctuation marks giving rhythm and harmony to the tale told by Richardson. He takes the Pop Art that inspired some early editions of the Calendar and merges it with an Eros typical of the American photographer. That Eros is alluded to in the 2010 Cal and evoked only slightly. Richardson uses this to mock convention, giving form and carnality to taboo things.
This is a Calendar which Francesco Negri Arnoldi, former Art History Professor at the University of Salento in Lecce and University Tor Vergata in Rome, considers Pop. He defines it as “totally new in its return to the past; absolutely original in its consolidated tradition, and capable of rediscovering the charm of all-natural femininity”. With the return to Pop Art, the language adopted is an essential and immediate iconographic language, understandable by all and contaminated only by daily life.
The 2010 edition is a clear expression and Terry Richardson is its interpreter: he portrays figures without frills, removed from complicated and artificial contexts set by fashion trends. The setting has no showy backgrounds or schemes, in line with the photographer’s simplicity and focus on the essential. “A great photographer,” says Richardson, “captures the moment – that’s why I shoot without extra equipment and without assistants.
“My technique is the absence of technique: the lens is my eye, my charisma, my ability to capture moments of truth, whatever they may be, picture angles, use of color, light, scenery – these have always been the essential aspects of my photographic art.”
Eleven models appear in the Calendar:  Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw and Miranda Kerr of Australia, Eniko Mihalik from Hungary, Marloes Horst of the Netherlands, Lily Cole, Daisy Lowe, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley from the UK, Georgina Stojilijkovic of Serbia and two Brazilian natives, Gracie Carvalho and Ana Beatriz Barros.
Pirelli Tire North America designs, develops, manufactures and markets tires for passenger vehicles in both the original equipment and replacement markets as well as markets and distributes tires for motorcycle and motorsports. Located in Rome, Georgia, Pirelli’s Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) employs state-of-the-art technology to manufacture tires for both export and domestic markets. For more information please visit www.us.pirelli.com.

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Media Contacts:
Rafael Navarro, Director Communications & Motorsports
951-533-0305 rafael.navarro@pirelli.com

Joe Severns, Public Relations Manager
706-506-2195 joe.severns@pirelli.com