The From’ Girls Calendar is back …
12 NUDE ZODIAC MUSES TO ADD A TOUCH OF BEAUTY TO FRENCH TRADITIONAL CHEESES
In an attempt to unite art and tradition, the From' Girls 2008 calendar has entrusted the artist Dany Leriche - known for her female nude photography - with the task of returning to the time of the Renaissance Muses, transforming them into zodiac warriors for the defence of traditional cheeses.
With the camembert war declared between traditional producers and industrial groups - with the latter trying to remove the last remaining traces of poetry from our plates - the Fromages de Terroirs organisation is responding with arguments of a different kind, choosing the art of living, voluptuousness, pleasure, aesthetics…, aspects undetectable in a laboratory and which are good for the health.
Muses of traditional French cheeses, Misses Adeline Camembert, Clara Chaource, Solène de Selles-sur-Cher, Emma de la Tomme de Savoie, Bérénice Brie de Meaux, Elsa de la Fourme d’Ambert, Barbara Munster, Eva Morbier, Apolline du Crottin de Chavignol…, alongside new recruits such as Aurore de Neufchâtel, Laetitia Brin d’Amour and Clotilde de Maroilles…, are presented this year in the form of Muses subject to the laws of the cosmos, reminding us that the body, just like cheese, is shaped by Nature.
Their naked bodies displaying tattoos with the emblems of the twelve signs of the zodiac, these young ladies lead us on a journey into a world of poetry, uniting beauty and tradition. Convinced that traditional cheeses are closely linked in all aspects to culture, Véronique Richez-Lerouge, president of the organisation, has entrusted the production of the 2008 calendar to the French artist Dany Leriche www.danyleriche.org, whose artistic photographs question the place of women and the feminine ideal in western painting from the Renaissance to Courbet, through the representation of female nudes.
Natural, like a cheese…
By choosing the subject of the female body in its most natural form, the organisation wants to express the true natural aspect of traditional cheeses, transforming over time as they mature. Sensual and voluptuous, traditional cheeses take us back to the soil, to simplicity, to nature, to life.
Throughout history, women have created most great cheeses. They were milkmaids, farmers, mothers… and carried with them the secrets of production which passed from generation to generation. Indeed, raw milk camembert, which has become the emblem of France around the world and is currently under threat, was created in 1761 by a woman, Marie Harel…
Camembert for Taurus, brie de Meaux for Capricorn…
Vibrant and impulsive products par excellence, cheeses are linked to the seasons, and their taste varies according to the climate, the soil and the time of year. The organisation aims to illustrate this concept through the representation of the twelve signs of the zodiac on the bodies of the Muses, following the example of the Renaissance painters, celebrating nature and the cosmos. A cheese provided with an astrological sign takes on a character, expressing the terrestrial and cosmic energies strengthened by the presence of the four classical elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Air. Throughout the pages, these elements are symbolised by different colour groups - sienna for earth, blue for water, red for fire and grey for air… The atmospheres created, in rhythm with the months of the year, are associated with cheeses chosen according to the season and the morphopsychology of the young ladies.
From tradition to art : a new aesthetic value
The women represented in the From' Girls calendar have painted the signs of the zodiac on their bodies as emblems, to show that they are also warriors and that they are initiated in the art of sculpting their bodies with a deep awareness of new ethical and aesthetic values. They have the art of being themselves, and defend their individuality against surrounding standardisation. Nowadays, women's bodies are influenced by economic and cultural factors, which lead them towards conditions such as bulimia or anorexia…
"Just like in Greek civilisation, we have remained "fixated by beauty". It is from this issue, still unresolved, that nude art came about. Placing the nudes on a pedestal, we have not stopped examining them, constantly studying their variations, for the response to the question which, once asked, has never left us. This abstract quest for beauty has been concentrated in - and concretised by - the nude form", explains the artist Dany Leriche.
Eight family small and medium-sized businesses support the From’ Girls calendar
Eight family businesses, from all corners of France, have renewed their support for the 2008 edition of the From’ Girls calendar.
The Fromagerie Dongé for the Brie de Meaux
The Fromagerie EARL de Milly for the Crottin de Chavignol
The Fromagerie du Pays Welsche -Haxaire for the Munster
The Société Fromagère du Livradois for the Fourme d’Ambert
The Fromagerie Lincet for the Chaource
The Fromagerie P. Jacquin & Fils for the Selle-sur-Cher
The Fromagerie des Monts de Joux for the Morbier
The Fromagerie Schmidhauser for the Tomme de Savoie
The organisation has also been sponsored by the Lyon-based company Bianchini Ferrier for silk muslin and velvet.
4000 copies of the calendar have been printed, available for 15 euros from the website www.fromages-de-terroirs.com, with the profits being given in full to the organisation in order to carry out militant actions.
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