Museum offers MORe to explore this snowy season
We’ve officially fallen back in time, but the Museum of the Rockies is now offering two new exhibits that turn the clock back a little further. One captures the wilds of a more recent past, while the other takes viewers to an artistic dawning in 20th-century Land of the Rising Sun.
Experience the natural world through the lens of famed photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen with A Life in the Wild. Open through Dec. 31st, the showcase takes viewers on a journey into the haunts of iconic species whose struggles for survival are metaphorical fulcrums for reflection in the 21st century.
Every single image in Mangelsen’s portfolio has been taken in the wild under natural conditions; the result of him waiting for the “picture perfect moment” across decades and often in hostile conditions. Such a body of work can only be achieved by having a heightened sense of animal behavior, an uncanny feel for being able to read changing atmospherics in the environment, and patience.
The exhibition includes Mangelsen’s ‘Catch of the Day,’ one of the most widely circulated wildlife photographs in history, showing the exact moment that a spawning salmon, trying to leap over a small waterfall along Alaska’s Brooks River, soars right into the awaiting jaws of a massive brown bear.
Also on view through Dec. 31st is Seven Masters: 20th-Century Japanese Woodblock Prints. As the once-isolated nation of Japan entered the 20th century and began to assimilate a new, Westernized culture, demand for certain traditional handicrafts fell off significantly – among them, the iconic woodblock prints known in the West as ukiyo-e. Publishers and artists slowed production and created fewer new designs. Yet what seemed at first to be the death-knell of a unique art form without parallel in the world turned out to be the dawning of another, as the path was cleared for a new kind of print: shin hanga.
Seven Masters focuses on as many artists who played a significant role in the development of the new print, and whose works boldly exemplify the movement. The exhibition features the spectacular beauty portraits of the artists Hashiguchi Goyo (1880-1921), Ito Shinsui (1898-1972), Yamakawa Shuho (1898-1944), and Torii Kotondo (1900-1976); striking images of kabuki actors by Yamamura Koka (Toyonari) (1886-1942) and Natori Shunsen (1886-1960); as well as the evocative landscapes of Kawase Hasui (1883-1957).
Finally, MOR’s Taylor Planetarium continues to host showings in a limited capacity. Sunstruck and Flight Adventures are now playing multiple times daily. Planetarium shows are included with Museum admission. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please note: Because admittance is limited, MOR encourages visitors to make advance reservations. Walk-ins admitted if availability allows. Face-coverings are required for entry into the Museum and Planetarium.
MOR is now open from 9am–4pm daily. For more information about the Museum and to make a reservation, visit www.museumoftherockies.org. Closed Thanksgiving Day. •
