profile
Aspens Legacy
By JILLIAN DARA
The Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies recently opened at Aspen Meadows Resort, displaying an important tribute to the iconic artist's career.
Recognizing the rich legacy of Herbert Bayer, the polymathic artist who designed the 40-acre Arpen Meadows Resort campus, the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies opened in June of 2022 at the Aspen Institute with perhaps the most important tribute to Bayer to date.
"The visitor shift has been astonishing," says Lissa Ballinger, Acting Director of the Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies. "People are having meaningful and profound experiences in there-not running in and running out."
Herbert Bayer
MOON BRIDGE 1974
The inaugural exhibition was dedicated to the evolution of Bayer from a magazine designer to an advertiser, painter, photographer, sculptor, interior designer and architect-immersing gallery visitors into the many chapters of his career in a center that spans 7,000-square-feet. The displays showcase Bayer's work from his native Austria to landing in the states in New York to his first work in Aspen, depicting owls and Aspen trees and eventually, light refractions and Bauhaus motifs.
DISPOSITION 1940
Though this particular installation is only on display until April, a new exhibit will open in June 2023. "Concept of a Visualist: Herbert Bayer's World Geo-Graphic Atlas" examines Herbert Bayer's 1953 World Geo-Graphic Atlas, a landmark work of visual education and modernist design. Commissioned by Walter Paepcke to mark the 25th anniversary of Container Corporation of America, the World Geo-Graphic Atlas was first presented at the 1953 International Designs Conference at the Aspen Institute. In the 70 years since its publication, the Atlas has come to occupy a key place within graphic design history. The exhibit, which can also be viewed in other Aspen Meadows campus locations, is a collaboration with art historian Benjamin Beres, Associate Professor at Loyola University New Orleans and Bayer expert Bernard Jazzar.
ASPEN MEADOWS SCULPTURE
Born out of Walter Paepcke's vision to create a cultural utopia, Bayer supported the growth of modern Aspen, says Ballinger, on the artist's work upon his arrival to Aspen in 1946. "The connection between the Bauhaus and a ski town is a unique correlation that isn't replicated anywhere else in any ski town in the world period," says Ballinger.
Though the Aspen Institute is dedicated to preserving Bayer's legacy, showcasing Bauhaus-inspired architecture and exterior sculptures, Bayer's work can be viewed all around Aspen. His work includes iconic posters and pamphlets-Bayer was commissioned by Paepcke to promote Aspen to designing the first Sundeck on top of Aspen Mountain, and completing renovations of the Hotel Jerome and the Wheeler Opera House.
"He helped to support the growth of Aspen as we know it today-a cultural hub," says Ballinger.
ASPEN MEADOWS RESORT
Set on 40 beautiful acres surrounded by pic turesque mountain views, Aspen Meadows Resort is a secluded sanctuary where nature integrates with art. The original home of the Aspen Institute and the birthplace of the Av pen Idea (a bulaner of mind, body, and spirit), the resort brings Aspenis past and present to life with ongoing special programs, unique art and history, and ample access to the outdoors and mountain recreation. Part of the Salamander Collection, Aspen Meadows has undergone a malti-million-dollar renova-tion project to upgrade all guest guest rooms-98 all-suite accommodations.
ASPEN MEADOW RESORT
Aspen Meadows is rich in art, architec tural and cultural significance. In the early 1950s, Walter Paepcke, the founder of the Institute, commissioned Bayer to transform farmland into a secluded destination where visitors could take a step back from their hurried lives and reflect upon a variety of Important issues they faced. Describing the property as a "total work of art, Bayer wuve outdoor walkways through his land-scape architecture to remind visitors of their relationship with nature, mind and body which became known as the Aspen Idea. The grounds are rich with Bauhaus architecture and outdoor sculptures, and there is also an extensive collection of artwork found inside every building.
ASPEN MEADOW RESORT
Michael Soomi, president of Suomi Design Works, a hotel design studio, worked with the resort to revamp the 98 guest suites. The inspiration? Aspenk roots in Bauhaus-inspired architecture. "Suomi Design Works approaches every project with significant time and energy spent both understanding the site, stakeholders and locale, as well as crafting a unique narrative-based concept, out of which the design grows, Suomi says.
WITHIN THE HOTEL
[In Aspen,] there exists a very rich history of Bauhaus-inspired buildings, artworks and furnishings, many by Herbert Bayer and other notable founders of the Bauhaus school, which became the basis out of which we developed our concepts for the resort's room renovation, "he continues. "Our design builds upon the Aspen Institute's unique legacy and storied origins and is meant to feel as a continuation of the that history."
WITHIN THE HOTEL
Suomi says the artwork is original hand embossed photographs taken and developed by noted Bauhaus photography Prof. Franz Berko while he was living in Aspen in the 1960s.
Staying true to the Bauhaus aesthetic means that the resort's room renovation incorporated the Bauhaus color palette of primary red, blue and yellow, as well as restoring special "legacy" furniture and decor, such as Saarinen tulip tables and Bertoia bind chairs.
There's also hidden stories within the walls or in the case of Aspen Meadows, the floor. "At our guestroom entry foyers, we integrated a unique type of highly durable textile flooring into our terrazzo tile where we recreated an iconic pattern by Anni Albers, who was one of the Bau-hans' original students," Suomi reveals "Much of Anni's original textile designs are featured at the Aspen Institute, (a world-renowned nonprofit for humanistic studies located in Aspen.]"
Contact Us
For advertising inquiries, please contact [email protected]