Charlotte Celebrates Earth Month With “Subcritical” Exhibit From Marek Ranis
“Subcritical,” a display of new photographs, paintings, sculptures and video installation by UNC Charlotte’s Marek Ranis, explores the power, patterns and beauty of rock cracking — a foundational process shaping the planet and unexpectedly responding to climate change.
This exhibit, in celebration of Earth Month, will be on display at Hodges Taylor (located in The Rail Yard South, 1414 S Tryon St., Suite 130. A public opening reception is 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, April 4; it can be viewed April 5-9 by appointment.
“Subcritical” was created through an intense three-year collaboration between Ranis, a professor in the Department of Art and Art History, and geoscientist Martha Cary (Missy) Eppes, and it was funded by the National Science Foundation and the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture.
Eppes, a faculty member in Charlotte’s Department Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences, is a Fulbright Research Scholar whose pioneering research has revealed the unexpected impacts of changing climates on rock fracture.
“There is no rock on Earth that does not have fractures,” Eppes has written. “Fractures impact every conceivable process shaping the Earth’s surface. They control how rivers cut into rock, how glaciers erode, how volcanoes erupt and how landslides occur.”
An NSF grant enabled Ranis to embark on an expansive artistic field study with Eppes across the United States, Canary and Faroe islands and Israel. His creative work – rooted in climate discourse since 2002—has often drawn from global scientific collaborations, and this exhibition is a powerful visual exploration of climate science through art.