Lavazza Calendar 20th anniversary - star photographers in photographic & cinematic self-portraits as a homage to the Italians on GoSee

Italian coffee-roaster Lavazza presents the 2012 edition of the Lavazza calendar, which also happens to be its 20th edition. To celebrate the calendar’s 20th anniversary, this year 12 star photographers grabbed their cameras and made themselves the protagonists of a very interesting, if not revealing production.

The 'Lavazzers' who portrayed themselves for the coffee-roaster included many old GoSee friends: Erwin Olaf, Thierry Le Gouès, Miles Aldridge, Marino Parisotto, Eugenio Recuenco, Elliott Erwitt, Finlay MacKay, Mark Seliger, Annie Leibovitz, Albert Watson, David LaChapelle and Ellen von Unwerth.

With their self-portraits, the 12 star photographers, who already realised calendar editions over the past 19 years, visualise their very own relationship to Lavazza coffee. The switch from behind to the front of the camera to become the protagonist of one's very own production was a very new experience for some of the artists indeed.

Some are funny, some are glamorous. Others feature sculpture-like symbols, which are in need of decoding first – the final result is a reflection of the artist's work and becomes a unique artefact of zeitgeist, combining traditional photography, individual techniques and – in some cases – digital art.

“Every year the Lavazza Calendar experiments with new artistic trends and different themes interpreted by an international artist“ explains Francesca Lavazza, head of the Corporate Image division at Lavazza. “In an edition which is so important and significant for our communications, we wanted to turn the tables and ask the great photographers to create self portraits inspired by our espresso: the result is truly exciting.”

Hence, David LaChapelle is the king of the jungle and tells us in a production titled ‘An ordinary morning turns into Paradise’, how Lavazza gets his 'spirit in motion'. It is obvious that Erwin Olaf ‘thinks of a human body while sipping his Lavazza coffee’ when looking at his picture 'My Thoughts flying away'.

Another interesting detail are the various approaches when it comes to the elaboration of the photography – some make do with a model, a cup and a studio while others go with the flow or opt for props. Our winner and the editor’s favourite photograph is by the legendary Annie Leibovitz. We would not want to sit next to it but it's funny nonetheless, to see her sitting in dirt wearing a very feminine outfit, styled from head to toe. That's how to enjoy an espresso in 2012.

Once again, the Armando Testa agency was responsible for the production of the Lavazza calendar and served as link between the various artists. “It was incredible to work with these great talents, managing to capture the relationship between their personalities and coffee in each photograph”, enthuses the Executive Creative Director of Armando Testa.

The Italian coffee-roaster Lavazza has been publishing its collectible annual photo-calendar since 1993, which is produced in limited quantities and not for sale. Many famous photographers could be booked for this project. See list below.