Stela 21, Tikal,

1970

Photographing Incan ruins while on a Fulbright fellowship in Peru, Ranney discovered photography of stonework as a way to communicate both his aesthetic and scientific interest in ancient American civilizations. He continued this project with his depictions of Mayan ruins in Guatemala and Mexico. Stela 21, Tikal takes as its subject a columnar stone shaft adorned with both text and image that served to glorify the martial deeds of Mayan kings. Ranney crops the photograph to focus on the bound foot of a war captive of the city-state, emphasizing the carving’s physicality. Governor’s Palace, Uxmal tightly concentrates on the twenty-five-foot-high entryways to the famed building. The slanted edges of the arrow-shaped arch parallel the line between shadow and light, underscoring the interplay of the monument and its environment.