Edward Ranney: Star Axis
Renowned photographer Edward Ranney is best known for his documentary images of the Peruvian landscape, architecture, and archaeological sites. Based in Santa Fe, NM, his keen eye has also captured important locations around the Southwest, including Charles Ross’s Star Axis.
Star Axis, located outside of Las Vegas, NM, is a monumental earth/star sculpture constructed on a mesa. A student of astrology, Ross has spent decades constructing the monument to align with the geometry of the stars. Edward Ranney has visited the site since the start of construction, documenting the process and the ways in which the monument frames the surrounding landscape.
Spanning over four decades, Ranney’s silver gelatin prints highlight important details of the site-specific artwork. A diptych from 1983 captures the sky during the day alongside a long-exposure image of the moving stars at night. Focusing on Ross’s intervention of the natural elements, a 1979 image captures the piles of rock debris from carving into the land. While recent images from the past five years exhibit a finalized building, including the shadows cast by the angular architecture.
Edward Ranney (b. 1942, Chicago, IL) is internationally renowned for his photographic documentation of earthworks, archeological sites, ancient landscapes and architecture.
Ranney is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including NEA grants (1974 and 1982), a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (1977) and Fulbright Fellowships (1964 and 1993). His work is represented in public and private collections including The Museum of Modern Art, New York and San Francisco; The Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe and Houston; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and The Art Institute of Chicago. His photographic books include Stonework of the Maya (1974), Monuments of the Inca (1982), Heights of Machu Picchu (1998), and Prairie Passage (1998).