Last year the famous ACB calendar brought together modern dance, sophisticated graphic design and the architecture and concept of the most successful business park in a very unusual way. This year’s is different: it is inspired by musical instruments
Airport City Belgrade – ACB is a dynamic environment, but with set scenery. Although it is a modern building complex that is not necessarily photogenic, ACB has been a fantastic inspiration for the eye of the camera, not just for the buildings, green areas and beautiful architecture but also for its vibrant atmosphere, the people and the vivacious avenue that inspires many creative people, says Marina Deleon, communications expert, creative director of all ACB calendars to date and advisor to Airport City Belgrade.
Could you tell us a bit more about the concept of the ACB calendar?
At the moment there are about 100 companies in Airport City and our traditional table calendar is our gift to them. We all love photography as artistic expression and we wanted to find someone who will keep up with us and understand our sensibility, but also contribute with their own ideas.
We were very fortunate to start our cooperation a long time ago in 2005 with Miodrag Trajković who takes the credit for all the amazing photographs of Airport City you have seen so far.
After all these years of experimenting with photography, finding inspiration in aerial photos, spring-summer season themes, a woman’s step in Airport City, they all had the signature of Miodrag Trajković, our esteemed cinematographer and more than the talented photographer.
Apart from this, we made four very unusual calendars, from the one inspired by the fashions of Dragana Ognjenović, through the calendar that covers 15 months of the Jewish New Year dedicated to imagination and creativity, to the calendar that combined the virtuoso movement of modern ballet and Airport City façades…
At the moment there are about 100 companies in Airport City and our traditional table calendar is our gift to them
For 2017 you decided to go a different way?
This is not a Photoshop effect. The photographs were made using an oldfashioned method from 1851 called the Collodion wet plate process. When using this technique the negative plate is exposed in a large format wooden camera (in this case an English Underwood camera from 1890).
The entire process is done manually using a number of chemicals that are usually applied on glass, metal or some other material. The entire process of photographing, developing and fixing has to be done in 10 minutes while the plate is still wet – this is why the process is called the Collodion wet plate technique.
The process itself is fairly expensive and delicate, but the challenge of presenting a modern business complex such as ACB with this antique technique was a huge motivator. This is how Rhapsody in ACB, the calendar for 2017 featuring musical instruments, was created.
How many copies will be printed?
This is a small circulation, 2,000 copies intended for our business partners. It is not intended for commercial purposes and, in a way, this is our creative outlet when once a year we doing something that is not directly related to our daily work.
Every year we choose a theme that at first glance does not have much to do with business, such as fashion in black and white photographs, imagination, ecology, and now a traditional photographic technique inspired by a virtuoso performance – musical instruments on our Avenue. Seemingly incompatible but actually quite harmonious…