Pirelli commissions new artistic works on ‘Resiliance’ for annual report

Pirelli’s 2019 annual report will feature new writings by Emmanuel Carrère and John Seabrook, and illustrations by Selman HoÅŸgör. The Italian tire manufacturer continues its ten-year tradition of “enriching” its report “The Road Ahead” with new artist commissions. Pirelli says it helps tell the company’s story “beyond the numbers.” All three artists have produced works based on the theme of resilience, or the “ability to react, change and improve,” as Pirelli defines the word. While the theme resonates with the current context, Pirelli adds that the controls were designed before the changes imposed by the Covid-19. However, the emergence of the pandemic appears to a large extent in the plays “Le midi à notre porte” by Carrère and “La brigata du Zoom” by Seabrook.

In his play, Carrère shares his thoughts and reactions while writing a book during the pandemic: that his novel about a love triangle or the first disillusions of his childhood had become obsolete after September 11, 2001. So what? So it doesn’t matter: I continue, correct, put the finishing touches to my book on yoga. It might sound silly but – if yoga is what I think it is – it isn’t, and doesn’t try to describe, not so much a little life, but through a little life, l aspiration to be who you want to be and the destructive forces that keep you from being: our struggle, more or less, all of us. I continue like this: it is my form of resilience ”.

John Seabrook sketches a dialogue between friends on a virtual platform during the pandemic. His work refers to a cornerstone of Italian literature, Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, originally published in the context of the plague: “Did you know that The Decameron was one of the first printed books? “But what does the Decameron have to do with the Renaissance?” One of the brigata asked. “Only everything,” I replied. “Think about it: the world is coming to an end, and five years later arrives the first epic prose masterpiece of modern Western literature. The cannon begins with Boccace. And the moral of his story is, “As long as there are stories, humanity will continue. Even the Black Death could not extinguish this life force. Is there a better example of human resilience in the face of unimaginable adversity than the Decameron? “

The texts of the two authors are accompanied by eight panels illustrated by Hoşgör, known for his colorful, playful and dynamic style. The panels are based on key words and phrases with which Pirelli identifies: Artificial Intelligence, Change, City of the Future, Connection, Resilience, Smart Mobility, Sustainable Development and Speed.

Artistic history of Pirelli’s annual report

Pirelli’s collaborations with writers and artists are part of a long tradition which has led, over the years, to the involvement of many international personalities from the world of art and literature who have enriched the annual reports. from Pirelli to creative content.

The 2010 annual report, for example, was illustrated by photography students from Naba di Milano, who were invited to interpret the theme of sustainability. In 2011, it was the turn of designer Stefan Glerum, who interpreted typical Pirelli values ​​such as reliability, speed, technology and innovation. In 2012, instead, the annual report was enriched by the work of New York designer Liza Donnelly, who graphically interpreted ten words chosen by a group of college students from around the world embodying the values ​​they considered the most important for their future. In the 2013 annual report, on the other hand, author and screenwriter Hanif Kureishi coordinated 10 young international talents who reworked the idea of ​​the “wheel” in the “Spinning the Wheel” project.

In 2014, it was the turn of street art in Pirelli’s integrated annual report, with three works by Brazilian Marina Zumi, German Dome and Russian Alexey Luka, which addressed typical themes of street art such as the road, mobility and multiculturalism. The following year, 2015, Pirelli hired Russian artist Pokras Lampas, a representative of modern calligraphy, to represent the value of “uniqueness” (hence the volume’s title “Every brand is unique”) using graphics and fingerprints. The annual report featured the text “Like the sentinel moon” by writer Javier Marias.

In 2017, the annual report “Data meets passion” told the story of Pirelli’s digital transformation with the artistic and written contributions of the volume from artist Emiliano Ponzi and three internationally renowned writers: Mohsin Hamid, Tom McCarthy and Ted Chiang.

Finally, the 2018 annual report was devoted to the 25th anniversary of “Power is nothing without control”, the slogan with which Pirelli is identified around the world. To mark the occasion, the volume included images evoking the concept of “Power without control” and pieces by three internationally renowned authors: Adam Greenfield, Lisa Halliday and JR Moehringer.