See the slopes through the eyes of artists at
Park City Mountain, Stowe Mountain Resort, and Whistler Blackcomb
this winter season
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Nov. 2, 2023
/CNW/ -- Epic for Everyone will come to life in a new way this
winter with the launch of The Gondola Gallery by Epic: an outdoor
art installation and film series that celebrates the unique
backgrounds of skiers and snowboarders. To mark the start of the
2023/24 winter season, Vail Resorts commissioned visual artists,
Lamont Joseph White, Jim Harris, Levi
Nelson, and Chief Janice
George and Buddy Joseph, to
create original artwork that wraps four total gondola cabins across
Park City Mountain in Utah, Stowe
Mountain Resort in Vermont, and
Whistler Blackcomb in British
Columbia, respectively.
Debuting today at Park City Mountain and Stowe Mountain Resort,
the art-wrapped gondola cabins are a visual representation of the
different ways skiers and snowboarders experience the mountains.
These one-of-a-kind art installations are an invitation and a
message of inclusion to all. An engaging film series spotlighting
each artist's personal journey and artwork from concept to creation
is now streaming on epicpass.com/gondolagallery. The next art
installation and film series at Whistler Blackcomb will be released
in the spring of next year.
"It is important for the future of this sport to create
meaningful conversation around barriers to entry and inclusion,"
said Kenny Thompson, Chief Public
Affairs Officer for Vail Resorts. "Every skier and snowboarder has
their own unique story of how they came to the slopes. These
artists have made it their mission to share their experience with
the world through deeply personal artistic expressions, and we are
grateful for the opportunity to display their work at three of our
mountain resorts this season."
UPLIFTED by Lamont Joseph
White in Park City
As an artist and painter, Lamont
Joseph White uses his canvas to broaden outlooks and
initiate discourse to effect change. Born in Manhattan and raised in Queens, skiing was not a natural part of his
upbringing. It wasn't until his mid-twenties that White finally
took to the slopes and began his relationship with the mountains.
With each visit, he saw a blank canvas that inspired him to
dedicate his art to amplifying representation and inclusion in ski
and outdoor spaces. Now a Park
City resident, Lamont launched his painting collection,
"Skiing in Color," in 2020 and aims to spark conversation about
representation with the debut of UPLIFTED for The Gondola
Gallery.
Wrapping cabin #1 on Park
City's Quicksilver Gondola, UPLIFTED is inspired by the
concept of joy and community, featuring fantasy-like yet cohesive
deconstructed design and pop art hints. As a seeker and
expressionist, and knowing that representation and inclusion would
factor strongly on the gondola, Lamont's painted subjects will be
boldly projected from the gondola as it floats across the
mountainscape throughout Park City Mountain this winter. The piece
is polyptych, with four individual paintings coming together to
form one continuous scene wrapping the gondola.
"My art represents a goal, which is the normalization of Black
and Brown faces in ski and mountain spaces. That goal is my
inspiration for this piece. These are the spaces I live and
recreate in," said White. "My hope is that viewers and riders feel
uplifted by my work, whether that's feelings of joy, challenge,
inclusion, or other emotions."
Lamont's artwork will also adorn the walls of Miner's Camp, one
of Park City Mountain's on-mountain dining venues, this winter
season. Additionally, there will be posters of Lamont's artwork on
sale throughout Park City Mountain retail shops for guests to take
home.
CREATING YOUR LINE by Jim
Harris in Stowe
Jim Harris is an accomplished
printmaker known for his rhythmic and expressive linework prints. A
former ski photographer and writer, Harris met a life-altering
challenge during a snowkiting excursion in Patagonia, which led to
his paralysis. After the accident, it took over a week to reach
definitive medical care back in the
United States, where Harris underwent spinal fusion surgery
that resulted in a gradual but promising recovery. Starting with
the return of motion in a single toe and later the activation of
leg muscles, Harris has pushed toward a remarkable recovery as a
walking paraplegic able to ski again while finding new
opportunities to be involved in adventure storytelling as a
printmaker.
With "CREATING YOUR LINE," Harris has transformed the sit ski
and wheelchair-accessible cabin of Stowe's Mansfield Gondola into an invitation
for people of all abilities to create their own lines on the
mountain. Harris created this print by carving the reverse
image into a wood panel, coating the surface in ink, and passing
the panel through a hand-cranked printing press, which transfers
the ink from the surface of the wood onto the paper. His artwork
beautifully depicts the landscapes of Stowe Mountain Resort and the
surrounding landscape.
Harris shared his intention behind this artwork, stating, "My
hope is that the gondola sparks curiosity towards discovering
something new and welcoming in a familiar place. Any way that we
can invite more people in, I think is a positive change."
There will be posters, postcards and additional merchandise of
Harris' artwork on sale throughout Stowe Mountain Resort's retail
shops for guests to take home.
WINGS OF THUNDER by Chief Janice
George and Buddy Joseph at
Whistler Blackcomb
Chepximiya Siyam' Janice George and
Skwetsimeltxw Willard 'Buddy' Joseph are accomplished
weavers and teachers from the Skwxwú7mesh
Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) in
British Columbia. A trained museum
curator, Chief Janice George is a
hereditary chief and co-organized the first Canada Northwest Coast
Weavers Gathering. Joseph is the former director of Squamish
Housing and Capital Projects and currently consults on similar work
for First Nations communities. The duo co-founded L'hen Awtxw
Weaving House to share the teachings and practice
of traditional Coast Salish wool weaving.
Whistler Blackcomb is located on the shared unceded
territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and Lilwat7úl
(Lil'wat Nation). In celebration and appreciation of the history,
art and culture of the Squamish
people, WINGS OF THUNDER will wrap one of the cabins of
Whistler Blackcomb's Peak 2 Peak Gondola.
"The art is an original design and uses geometric motifs
from our Salish Weavings," said Chief Janice. "The colors represent
the power of the Thunderbird, a grandfather figure who cares for
the Squamish people, and
spirituality of the ancestors. Our hope is that guests feel
inspired by the Squamish history,
art and design that is alive and well today."
Images of the final artwork and the film series at Whistler
Blackcomb will be released in the spring of 2024.
RED by Levi Nelson at Whistler
Blackcomb
Hailing from the Lil'wat Nation, Levi
Nelson is an artist whose work explores traditional motifs
from Indigenous culture within a Western understanding of art.
Nelson's work can be best described as Contemporary Indigenous Art,
with his preferred mediums being oil paint and mixed media works on
canvas. Most recently he has exhibited work in the "Reconcile This"
group show at Arts Whistler, and his work can be found in numerous
prominent art collections across Canada and the U.S.
Whistler Blackcomb is located on the shared unceded
territory of the Lilwat7úl (Lil'wat Nation) and
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) in British Columbia. Nelson's piece, RED,
will be featured on the Peak 2 Peak Gondola and represents
traditional elements of the Northwest Coast and Coast Salish in
Canada. "Red is a sacred color
within Indigenous culture, representing the life blood of the
people and our connection to the Earth," said Nelson. "These shapes
come from and are inspired by my ancestors. To be inside the
gondola, looking out through an ovoid or through the Ancestral Eye,
maybe you can imagine what it's like to experience my territory and
see home through my eyes."
Images of the final artwork and the film series at
Whistler Blackcomb will be released in the spring of 2024.
View The Gondola Gallery by Epic
High-resolution images of the art-wrapped gondolas
can be found here. More images will be released this winter
season, showcasing the gondolas spinning at each of the resorts
over snowy terrain. To watch interviews with the artists at Park
City Mountain and Stowe Mountain Resort, access behind-the-scenes
content and follow along for updates on The Gondola Gallery by
Epic, please visit epicpass.com/gondolagallery. Follow @epicpass on
social media to be one of the first people to see the artists'
stories brought to life at Whistler Blackcomb next year.
About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts is a network of the best destination and close-to-home
ski resorts in the world including Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, Park City Mountain, Whistler
Blackcomb, Stowe, and 32
additional resorts across North
America; Andermatt-Sedrun in Switzerland; and Perisher, Hotham, and Falls
Creek in Australia. We are
passionate about providing an Experience of a Lifetime to our team
members and guests, and our EpicPromise is to reach a zero net
operating footprint by 2030, support our employees and communities,
and broaden engagement in our sport. Our company owns and/or
manages a collection of elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand,
a portfolio of vacation rentals, condominiums and branded hotels
located in close proximity to our mountain destinations, as well as
the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson
Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Retail operates more than 250 retail
and rental locations across North
America. Learn more about our company
at www.VailResorts.com, or discover our resorts and pass
options at www.EpicPass.com.
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SOURCE Vail Resorts, Inc.