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Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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Mammoth is home to the largest collection of ski art in the world |
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Saturday, 10 November 2007 |
Mammoth Ski Museum reopens with two major exhibits and great plans for the future
By Diane Eagle
Mammoth Times Staff
 Vintage standees of period ski fashion, colorful icons of the sport's pop culture past, are real attention-getters in the Mammoth Ski Museum's latest collection of exhibits.MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTOS/SUSAN MORNING
The collection's oldest piece is History of Goths, Swedes and Vandals, a book by Olaus Magnus that was published in 1555. It is displayed in a corner nook in front of The Early Years display panel.
In another corner stands a mannequin wearing American ski racer Linda Meyers Tikalsky's 1960 Olympic parade suit.
Peppered throughout the exhibit are pieces by Beekley's favorite artists: Eric Sloane, famous for his paintings of clouds demonstrates unique technique in painting snow; Ansel Adams' black and white photos of snow; and an Andrew Wyeth New Hampshire snowscape. There's even the memorable black and white photo from the pages of The New Yorker magazine, in which ski tracks separate and go around a tree.
Both are part of the largest collection of ski art in the world, amassed by a New Englander, a master collector who wanted to share his vision and passion for skiing. He traveled the world to auctions to bid on hand-pulled lithograph posters, paintings, photography, magazine covers, pins and badges, sculptures and books.
This exceptional collection came to the Mammoth Ski Museum in 2004. Beekley envisioned having his collection housed in a museum and Mammoth's ski town and museum made the perfect home.
Museum curator Kendra Knight sifted through the entire 10,000 piece collection of ski art to put together the current exhibit. Wandering through the art is such a trip—Knight has divided the art down into categories of photography, painting, posters (at least 700 large ski posters), New Yorker magazine covers, ski competition, books, sculpture, fashion and pins, and arranged them on vividly hued walls and panels that allow the art to pop right off the surface.
One of the most interesting facets of the exhibit is the flip display of historic ski periodicals beginning in the 1800s. The pages show the genesis of skiing—in its evolution from transportation to hunting, war and sport.
Knight, of course, is well known in Mammoth for her macro giclee color photographic images of flora. She started at the Museum in July to curate the new Beekley show, and in September was named Director/Curator of the museum.
Ruth Harrell, Development Director of Mammoth Lakes Foundation, which administers the Mammoth Ski Museum, said that of the 10 talented people who applied for the position at the museum, Knight stood out. “Kendra is so creative and her ideas for moving us into the future are exciting and I look forward to every next step.”
“This museum is a jewel for the community. It draws attention to the (Cerro Coso) college, one of whose goals is cultural enrichment for the entire community. The museum embodies that.”
Knight's creativity is so apparently alive when one walks through the exhibit. The flow is natural and each panel reveals a new discovery. Each panel is of manageable size and content that one can read the comments and look at the art and it never seems overwhelming.
Knight at the movies
Moreover, Knight has plans to make the Museum more community-centric, starting with film night, every Friday at 6 p.m. November features ski films starting with Downhill Racer, then Better Off Dead and Aspen Extreme, a silly, campy romp. December will have a quartet of holiday films, including It's a Wonderful Life. January is snow and snowboarding month and February celebrates ice skating. Film night is a mere $5 ticket. Movies and popcorn (from an antique popcorn maker) and wine (by donation) will be available to make the experience complete. Kids welcome and the $5 admission comes with the ability to tour the exhibits.
She's also planning shows for local artists once a month starting with Valentine's Day, which is themed, appropriately, “Love on the Lifts.” Participating artists in that show will be Lori Michelon, Laurel Stanford and Antoine Kaufman.
And what museum worth its art doesn't have a café? Next spring, Knight says, there will be a museum café.
McCoy photo exhibit
The Ski Museum's grand reopening on Oct. 27 introduced the town not only to the wealth of ski art in its vaults but also to the most recent of photographer Dave McCoy's color photographs that he has shot from his Rhino. The founder of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and force of skiing in the Eastern Sierra is a prolific photographer whose boundless joy in the landscape is infectious when one views this exhibit. His photos will be on exhibit for at least a year. McCoy's video, Mammoth Dreams, shows daily at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. There is also a half-hour video of Mr. Beekley running on a video player.
The Mammoth Ski Museum is open Thursday through Monday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 November 2007 )
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Copyright © 2009 The Mammoth Times All Rights Reserved
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