ELKO, Nev. - The California Trail Interpretive Center presents a temporary exhibit, “EIDOS: Contemplating the Pioneer Experience," by San Francisco Artist Ann Belden. EIDOS commemorates the Trail Center’s 5th anniversary taking place this year.
The exhibit is a landscape installation on the Trail Center’s grounds and hiking trails. EIDOS presents seven stations, made of artifacts representing possessions that would have been discarded from wagons, as oxen and mules became too weak to pull their loads.
Eidos is defined as “the formal content of a culture, encompassing its system of ideas, criteria for interpreting experience, etc."
“Faced with knowledge of the incredible hardships ahead, how did pioneers find a common logic that convinced them to carry on?" Belden said. “What about the Indians? What was their eidos? How did they interpret their experiences?"
The exhibit includes pioneer tea service. Complementary hot tea is available at the Center’s Front Desk. Visitors may bring their cups of tea with them as they walk from station to station.
“We encourage visitors to experience this provocative exhibit, and to visit the seven stations located on the Center’s grounds and trails," Supervisory Park Ranger Alex Rose said. “If you are tired, rest at the station’s chairs, and contemplate the experiences of those that came before."
Belden has created art installations throughout the United States, including the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper, Wyoming. “I dream of someday creating work in every state in the Union," Belden said.
The exhibit was made possible with support from a Trail Center partner, the Southern Nevada Conservancy.
For more information about the California Trail Interpretive Center, call (775) 738-1849. Visit the Trail Center online at www.californiatrailcenter.org or https://www.facebook.com/californiatrailinterpretivecenter/.
The California Trail Interpretive Center is located eight miles west of Elko on I-80, Hunter exit 292. The Center is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
