2007 Volkswagen Eos Art Prints

Alongside its launch, the Eos is also making a debut in photographic art. No sooner had Canadian singer Bryan Adams picked up the prestigious Lead Award of the German marketing and media scene for his photo shoot with US rebel actor Mickey Rourke, than he had set his sights on a very special model: the Eos convertible coupe from Volkswagen.

The idea was born at a breakfast attended by representatives of Volkswagen and the magazine ZOO, which has been running for three years and is published by Bryan Adams. In search of ways of depicting the Eos that were out of the ordinary, the magazine's editor in chief Sandor Lubbe suggested photographs by internationally renowned fashion photographers.

The International Zeitgeist Magazine ZOO: Photograph Alexei Hay

"We gave the photographers completely free hand. It is obviously risky to put a vehicle that is not yet established on the market in the hands of artists. As you know, there are no limits to what modern art is capable of. But nothing ventured, nothing gained" said Emanuela Wilm, Head of Lifestyle Communications at Volkswagen, commenting on the enterprise. And so the Eos has been photographed by Frenchman Philippe Cometti, Americans Nicolas Moore, Tom Fowlks, and Alexei Hay, and by Bryan Adams himself, sometimes in highly unusual settings. The chosen scenes were in Los Angeles, New York and Paris.

Philippe Cometti, who had already photographed campaigns for the fashion designers Givenchy, Armani and Herms, saw the challenge in how to convey the youth and energy of the car.

Alexei Hay, also known for his photo shoots for GQ, Dutch and the fashion label Gucci, based his work on a picture by the French photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue and sought to capture the instant of motion with sophisticated camera technology.

The experienced Vogue and GQ photographer Nicolas Moore chose Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood as the background for his photograph, since Los Angeles is "sexy, glamorous and always sunny".

The winter sports photographer Tom Fowlkes chose a setting from "Terminator II" to express the "joy of driving" in his photograph. And Bryan Adams wanted to associate "the Eos with already established brands such as the prestigious Hotel Ritz in Paris and the luggage by Louis Vuitton."

"Volkswagen's openness played a major role in the success of the project", said Lubbe. "With both, fashion and cars, people can make a statement, underline their personality. Both have aesthetics and design as a topic. ZOO magazine offered the optimum platform to join both themes in a high-value context. That is something we are obviously proud of."

The photographs are being published over twelve pages in the June issue of ZOO magazine. ZOO is one of leading magazines for fashion and design and publishes four issues per year.

The International Zeitgeist Magazine ZOO: Photograph Philippe Cometti

The International Zeitgeist Magazine ZOO: Photograph Nicolas Moore

The International Zeitgeist Magazine ZOO: Photograph Tom Fowlkes

The International Zeitgeist Magazine ZOO: Photograph Bryan Adams