Each year a photographic vision is released from Pirelli, known as THE CAL which has iconic photographers from Karl Lagerfeld, Annie Leibovitz and more that have created imagery all over the world with notable models and celebrities to transmit their vision. This year, German photographer, Albert Watson had the task to interpret his vision through the just released THE CAL for 2019. We took some time to find out about his approach to working on this project, being on set as well as how this integrates into his body of work!
ATHLEISURE MAG: How did you approach the Pirelli Calendar project?
ALBERT WATSON: The Pirelli Calendar is a unique project for any photographer. When I first took it on, I wanted to do it in a way that would be different from that of other photographers, and I wondered what the best way would be. In the end, I looked for pictures that were of beautiful quality, with depth to them, and that had some kind of narrative. I wanted to create something that was more than just a portrait of somebody – I wanted it to look just like a film still. I wanted people looking at the Calendar to see that my aim was photography in its purest form, exploring the women I was photographing and creating a situation that would convey a positive vision of women today.
AM: How did you formulate the project?
AW: I wanted to ensure there would be a strong narrative, so I thought: “Let’s try and make the shots look like film stills.” Quite a lot of it was shot in widescreen format. And that was quite challenging. Each of the four women has her own individuality, her own particular purpose in life, and her own way of doing things. And they are all focused on their future. So the underlying theme is that of “dreams”, but the basic idea behind the whole project is that of telling a story in four ‘little movies’.
AM: Could you tell us about the stories that bring your Calendar to life?
AW: Each character has a part to play in the 2019 Pirelli Calendar. In some cases, the role was close to what the actress does for a living, but here they were certainly all acting a part. Not themselves. And that’s what I wanted.
The woman played by Gigi Hadid has just split up with her companion. She has a confidant, not a boyfriend, played by the designer Alexander Wang. He is helping her get over this difficult time. I think there’s a degree of angst in these images. With Gigi Hadid’s character, I wanted to convey the sense of a woman thinking about her future, but also showing her in a situation of loneliness. We see her thinking about where she’s going to go in life, what she’ll be doing tomorrow. I wanted her to be much more minimalistic than the other women I photographed, and I wanted her to be reflected in the settings I portrayed her in. The settings of the other protagonists are pretty crowded, and there’s action in almost all of them.”
Julia Garner’s character is a botanical photographer who dreams of putting on successful exhibitions. Julia’s a very, very accomplished actress and she got straight into the character. We were in a beautiful tropical garden in Miami, which turned out to be the perfect place for us to work.
Misty Copeland and Calvin Royal III, on the other hand, play the part of two dancers who want to become famous and live in an Art Deco house. She’s dreaming of dancing in Paris. She is looking to the future and has ambitions. Trying to be successful is her driving force. Copeland’s character earns her living by dancing in a club, but at the same time she has also put up a little stage in her garden, where she practices dancing in order to become a star, sometimes with her boyfriend, played by Calvin Royal III.
The artist played by Laetitia Casta lives in a studio apartment, which she shares with her partner, played by Sergei Polunin. They are both dreaming of success: she as an artist, he as a dancer. We decided to shoot outside, to give the scenes some added natural brightness. The tropical atmosphere of Miami is a key component in this picture. What’s interesting is that Laetitia told me that, in her spare time, she really does do a lot of sculpting and creates artwork. This worked out very well and helped her get into character.