BERLIN.- The Berlinische Galerie presents the exhibit “The Pirelli-Calendar Provocation and myth - for the first time: backstage motives. The show includes 120 motives by 27 international renowned photographers that trace the history of the legendary Pirelli-Calendar, simply called The Cal. The story begins in 1964 with the issue that was photographed by Robert Feeman, the portraitist of the Beatles, and spans more than 40 years, up to the provoking photographs by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, the photographers of the 2006 issue.

The calendar reflects the historical metamorphosis of the ideal of beauty as well as the contemporary society. Thus it became a myth and a cultural phenomenon. 27 photo-artists met the challenge of the prominent calendar, seven of them even for a second time. Women also are able to communicate the message of this worldwide treasured edition in a unique way. This was demonstrated by the French photographer Sarah Moon (1972) and the Americans Joyce Tennyson (1989) and Annie Leibowitz (2000). The Berlinische Galerie, the only German museum that presents the exhibition, shows for the first time the photographs of the 1963 edition, which was never printed, as well as unpublished backstage motives. The current edition, The Cal 2006, is also a German premiere. The Pirelli-Calendar: A 43 year old success story of photographs, which combine eroticism and irony, zeitgeist and advertising, and which have gained fame all over the world.