A catalogue to delight both eyes and mind
On Thursday evening, the catalogue dedicated to the current “Kitzbühel Winter.Wunder.Land” special exhibition was presented at Kitzbühel Museum, together with Kitzbühel Ski Club. An announcement by Mayor Klaus Winkler was met with great interest: “All Kitzbühel Ski Club members can visit the exhibition for free.” It is open until 19th April.
“As an art historian, I never thought that I would present an exhibition together with a ski club”, said Michael Rainer on Thursday evening in the well-attended auditorium of the Kitzbühel Museum. “I am all the more pleased, however, that this is what our collaboration has resulted in,” added the curator of the current special exhibition, “Kitzbühel Winter.Wunder.Land,” the theme of which is not only perfectly suited to the museum, but also to Kitzbühel Ski Club, as the club (and the history of its logo) is the subject of one of the exhibition rooms itself.
The evening, which brought together culture and sport in a relaxed setting, marked the presentation of the 112-page catalogue for the ‘Kitzbühel Winter.Wunder.Land’ special exhibition, which can be visited until 19th April. And after Kitzbühel Mayor, Klaus Winkler’s spontaneous announcement of granting unlimited free admission to Kitzbühel Ski Club members, there is a good chance it will soon be stormed by a slew of visitors. “I hope that many local members will take advantage of this offer, because there is an array of impressive exhibits that not everyone is familiar with.”
Michael Huber, Ski Club President and Hahnenkamm Races Organising Committee Chairman, was delighted: “I think it's incredible that our mayor is inviting all club members. Just imagine if all 10,000 came! That being said, we will advertise it accordingly.” He was also impressed by the highlight of the evening: “The catalogue is amazing! And at my request, it is printed in two languages – German and English.” Museum director Wido Sieberer was naturally happy and appreciative: “Ski Club President Michael Huber’s interest in history is a well-known fact, so it was easy for us museum people and archivists in the city archives to work with him. The cooperation was and is always very good, and we would like to thank the KSC for their support in presenting the exhibition catalogue.”
The Kitzbühel Winter.Wunder.Land exhibition, curated by Michael Rainer, showcases the oldest photographs of the town and their 19th-century print templates. It reveals the mechanisms of marketing and popularising the clichés of winter sports that are still in use today and reflects on the early mass-media proliferation of how the town and its surrounding landscape was advertised to the wider world. “It focuses on the period of when the first winter and winter sports photos were taken and Kitzbühel was re-invented as a winter sports resort. That was before 1914,”says Wido Sieberer. From these photos and pictures, including some by Alfons Walde, an image of Kitzbühel was created that was used for the promotion campaign. The “Kitzbühel brand” developed from this in the 1920s and 1930s, manifested, for example, in the Walde mountain goat logo.
The catalogue, designed by Johanna and Stefan Rasberger, is a one-of-a-kind publication to browse through and enjoy. It contains texts by museum director Wido Sieberer, deputy Marianne Erber and curator Michael Rainer, which are dedicated to the development of the Kitzbühel logo, the Walde chamois goat. The 55 pictures from wintry Kitzbühel in the past, some of which date back to the 19th century, are a delight for both eyes and mind.
“We would like to recreate many of the catalogue images next week during the 85th Hahnenkamm Races,” says Michael Huber and hopes to take advantage of the chance to promote the culture of his hometown while the ski world has its sights set on Kitzbühel: ” We will write to all accredited guests of honour, of whom there are around 4,000, and draw their attention to this exhibition. Because many of them are in town for days on end and the museum is open from Tuesday to Friday between 14 and 18 hrs during Hahnenkamm Week. The catalogue is available in the museum shop for 19.90 euros.
