Ski passes have never been the sexiest thing to look at. Traditionally, they were more like Pay & Display parking tickets, with mini-coat hangers sticking out the top.
Then came the Oyster card-isation of the ski lift stations, which meant we had to carry smart cards in our pockets, the shorter amongst us hiking up our legs like urinating dogs as we passed through the barriers. These cards were mostly ugly too, carrying ads on the back. Or else they were deeply unoriginal, showing a mountain peak from the resort you were in, that is one you could actually see in real life without needing to burrow into your pocket.
So beanies off then, to the Aspen Ski Company and Aspen Art Museum, who each year commission a different artist to dramatically aesthetically enhance the back of their lift tickets. This year they have chosen Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami, whose awesome pass designs are shown above and below.
But one of our favourite past artists to feature has to be the British visual satirist David Shrigley, who released these gems for Aspen in 2012…
Anne Collier’s Motown-inspired Aspen passes from last year are pretty cool too…
As are Mark Grotjahn’s Aspen sculpture designs…
And Mark Bradford’s poster-inspired designs…
They’re definitely keepers rather than the usual ones you’d hand back at the end to claim your deposit. For the future potential eBay value alone, that is.
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