The calendar for this year was meant to capture the "myth" of California in a year when all things Californian were in vogue; from the Mamas & Papas' California Dreaming, to the Beach Boys, and from surf boards to beautifully tanned blonds in tiny bikinis.
Derek Forsyth is once again the art director and the photographer remains that of the year before: Harri Peccinoti. The team heads off for the US west coast and establish themselves in Los Angeles at Bel Air, in a stupendous villa that once belonged to Tyrone Power.
There are no models with them, in fact Peccinotti sustains that the California beaches are full of beautiful, sexy girls, already nearly undressed. Peccinotti had already worked on a film in California, but his memory of the California of that visit, no longer corresponds to the reality of the day. The girls, the surfers, and the atmosphere that people on the other side of the Atlantic imagine, no longer exists, everything is banal and insignificant.
These facts, as well as the difficulty in finding modeling agencies, create problems. The 1969 Calendar is, therefore, born in a somewhat hybrid manner.
On one hand, there is the creative idea to show details of the mouth: girls drinking Coca Cola or licking an ice cream, but the risk is the images might seem posed and done in a studio. On the other hand, there are photos, taken by chance, in public locations with a telephoto lenses: on the beach or along a road, scenes from everyday life, which have the greatest impact.
The photos, which are taken casually, could cause legal problems, for there are no signed releases from the subjects. Peccinotti overcame the obstacle by declaring that the Calendar is not being sold, and that the project has a journalistic form for which releases are not required.
Presentation
The following year Peccinottishot again the Pirelli calendar, but this time with no models. He and Forsyth travelled alone to California and photographed the girls on the Golden State's beaches and LA's Sunset Boulevard. Their pictures created a sensation. Far from the delightfully delicate shots of the 1968, the Californian Pirelli was raunchy and full of symbolism. It was launched in a London nightclub to an appreciative press with the help of Beach Boys' music. Those days Pirelli produced the calendar mainly for its customers and could only afford a small number of extra copies for public distribution. Calendars were so scarce that a burgeoning black-market started to appear. Early copies were sold to collectors for up to £1,000 each. The Sunday Times received so many Pirelli calendar small ads that the paper created a special "Calendars" column in its "For Sale" section.
The theme
Photographer Pecinotti brings the calendar on the beaches of California. The California of the 'Beach Boys' of 'Mamas and Papas, with girls wearing only bikini. This gives Pecinotti inspiration for a series of close ups, allusive and provoking, today much used in TV ads but then, quite outrageous.
The photographer(s)
Harri Peccinotti began his career as art director of Rolling Stone before switching to photography. Peccinotti has worked in the graphics field since he was fourteen years old, designing album covers and advertising campaigns. He was sent to cover the war in Vietnam as a photojournalist, an experience which came in handy during the shooting of the 1968 edition of the calendar. While on location in Tunisia, the Arab-Israeli war broke out and Peccinotti found himself in a Tunis invaded by tanks. Peccinotti founded the magazine Nova in 1963, where he is best remembered for having the audacity to work with coloured models. He has also worked for the magazines Vogue, Elle, Queen, Tween and Town. In the 70's, Peccinotti began working in film, which is his primary occupation today. He has a keen interest in films of an ethnic nature.
Peccinotti photographed the 1968 and 69 editions of the Calendar.
The Art Director
Credited with the idea of creating the Pirelli Calendar as a means of promotion, Forsyth produced and/or art directed each edition from the first to the 1983 edition and the 1994 to 1996 editions.After graduating from the London College of Arts, Derek Forsyth joined Esquire magazine as art editor, where he remained for two years. He then became the publicity manager of Pirelli Ltd. and began to make his name as a uniquely brilliant exponent of stylish industrial and commercial design.International recognition came to Forsyth through the Pirelli Calendar. His 1996 edition was the one to set both Forsyth and the calendar on the road to achieving a level of international acclaim never previously by an art director and one of his projects.Derek Forsyth left Pirelli to set up his own company, The Derek Forsyth Partnership, a company which has since won numerous awards and accolades for work for such clients as Rolls Royce, General Motors, Selfridges and England's Royal Family.Besides his work in advertising, Forsyth has four best selling books to his credit: "With Flying Colours", a history of world motor sport, "The Pirelli Calendar Album", "Fangio", the life story of the world's greatest motor racing driver and "Heroes", which celebrates twenty of the world's best known racing drivers.
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