20 Years of ArtUP

Art in Unexpected Places: 20 Years of Transforming Mountains into Museums.

Jessi Hackett

December 03, 2024

Twenty years ago, Aspen Skiing Company (now Aspen One) and the Aspen Art Museum posed an intriguing question: " How are we uniquely positioned to make art accessible and memorable?" From this simple yet profound inquiry, Art in Unexpected Places (ArtUP) was born, transforming lift tickets into canvases and mountains into museums. Under the visionary leadership of Aspen One owners Paula and the late Jim Crown, the program embodied a revolutionary approach to experiencing art in nature.

"It’s incredible to think this program has been going for two decades,” says Michael Miracle, Aspen One’s Senior Director of Community Engagement. “But when you put it in the long-standing context of Aspen and Snowmass’s connection to the art world — from Charles Eames attending the first Aspen International Design Conference in 1951 to Andy Warhol guest editing an edition of Aspen, the “magazine in a box,” in 1966, and the fact that Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass predates Snowmass the ski area—our resort community was in many ways as much founded on art as it was founded on skiing.”

Indeed, the roots of Aspen's artistic identity run deep. Herbert Bayer, a student of the Bauhaus movement, designed Aspen Skiing Company's first logo more than 75 years ago, setting a course for the integration of art and skiing that would define the resort for decades to come. With the Aspen Art Museum hosting cutting-edge exhibitions and fine art galleries dotting the streets, art was already woven into the fabric of Aspen's identity. The goal with ArtUP was to take this cultural heritage to new heights—quite literally.

Grounded in the belief that art should be universal—cutting across class, race, and politics, and rooted in accessibility —Art in Unexpected Places hinges on contemporary art’s spirit of spontaneity. In the words of Jim Crown, “like Aspen, art holds transformative potential. While standing in exactly the same place, everything is suddenly different and ripe with possibilities.”

In 2005, the program launched with Yutaka Sone as its inaugural artist. Sone's lift ticket design put the viewer in a snowy on-mountain scene in pursuit of a telemarking “Ski Madonna” whose inspiration happened to be local mountaineer Christy Mahon. Later that winter, the artist created a performance piece at Buttermilk, where he launched a giant pair of dice down the halfpipe. When the dice got stuck, local kids initially helped with a push. When the dice began to rip apart, the kids used the plastic siding to “snowboard” to the bottom. It was a playful mayhem—art leading to the extremely unexpected—that no one who saw it has since forgotten.

Paola Pivi's Lifelike Bears, 2021-2022

Love Love Art lift ticket art at Aspen Snowmass

Since that rollicking beginning, the mountains have served as a canvas for some of contemporary art's most compelling voices. Takashi Murakami brought his playful artistic style to the slopes in 2015-2016, while David Shrigley's wit and irreverence during the 2012-2013 season encouraged guests to view their surroundings through a more whimsical lens. That same year, Mark Grotjahn's mask sculptures perched atop all four mountains of Aspen Snowmass, their boxy, cheerful forms weathering the elements like ancient totems reimagined for the modern age. More recently, the works of Rashid Johnson explored nature, escapism, and artwork with utility—some artwork quite literally traversing the mountains as a top-sheet design on skis.

“I’m always looking for local cracks where we can showcase art or for gaps where an artist is able to insert themselves in this world. It contributes to the broader conversation about the role of art in public spaces,” says Aspen Art Museum Director of Curatorial Affairs Daniel Merritt when talking about the impact of the program. “Skiing and riding generate a level of mental clarity because you’re detached from the world or day-to-day at a higher altitude.” When else are we able to observe and experience art with such openness?

The program has never shied away from addressing pressing contemporary issues. In 2018, Paula Crown's SOLO TOGETHER series featured a striking 10-foot-tall red Solo cup at the top of Aspen Mountain, prompting visitors to contemplate the environmental impact of our throwaway consumer culture. This commitment to environmental consciousness continued with Claudia Comte's 2022-2023 collection, which offered five distinct perspectives on the climate crisis.

A more direct environmental statement came during the 2022-2023 winter season with the Melted Gondola. Created by local artist Chris Erikson and inspired by James Dive and The Glue Society, this installation at the summit of Aspen Mountain served as a stark reminder of climate change's threat to winter sports and mountain ecosystems.

The program has also embraced joy and wonder through collaborations with artists like FriendsWithYou in 2020-2021, whose experimental pop visions and commitment to spreading positivity delighted visitors of all ages. Their work, alongside Carla Klein's expansive landscapes during the 2009-2010 season — demonstrates the program's range, from playful to contemplative, abstract to environmental.

ArtUP celebrates its 20th anniversary in the 2024-2025 season through a renewed partnership with the Aspen Art Museum, and with Los Angeles-based artist Alex Israel’s work in-resort. The season's theme, "long love art," echoes Aspen Snowmass' winter brand campaign, celebrating more than 75 years of world-class terrain, culture, and community. It's a fitting tribute to a program that has, for two decades, fulfilled Jim and Paula Crown's vision of art's transformative potential.

This innovative program continues to cut across what divides us, sparking something within us when we’re out skiing and riding. In making contemporary art accessible to all who visit the mountains, Art in Unexpected Places has created a unique intersection of nature, culture, and community that defines the Aspen Snowmass experience.