Marek Ranis

Like Shishmaref, 2016, HDV, 16min 

Stewardship, 2015, HD, 23 min.

From a small creek in our back yard to North and South Carolina rivers to the Atlantic Ocean, we recognize that individual actions and values affect not only a local but also a global community. A perception of the environment and our human role in it is mediated not only by an understanding of environmental science, but also by faith.

Stewardship is a collection of interviews with local spiritual leaders representing expressions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism within Charlotte NC

Kill The Boer Kill the Farmer , 3 channel video Installation 2014, 35 min video loop

Kill the Boer the Farmer popular slogan and Chant in South Africa during the struggle against apartheid, it was develop in 1990’s and is still popular among leaders of SA government including current president of the Country Jacob Zuma and the members of South African leading political part ANC African National Congress.

Since 1994 ( the end of apartheid ear and the beginning of new democratic South Africa) about 4000 white South African farmers were brutally killed during so called Farm Attacks ( Plaas Moorde) . This video installation is a result of my artistic research and investigation trying to understand reason and nature of those crimes. This video project is a result of over 7000 km of travel to most of the South African Regions and over 50 interviews with farmers . agricultural leaders security specialist, academic researchers political, crime victims.
My focus was group was only white population of South Africa : Afrikaners or and Boers who see them self now after 1994 in new S Africa as oppressed minority but who almost 20 years ago where the ruling powerful minority. Powerful White Man of South Africa is now a victim…
Oppressor find him self to be a victim?
Brutality of farm attack, which includes mutilation and torture, killing of women and children, is difficult to understand and explain. This film bring multiple voice trying to create as much as possible define the reality and perception of life in constant danger of white South African farmers in 2013. Since 1994 about 500,000 thousand mostly black South African where killed as result of violent crime. According to ANC farm killing are only part of larger crime problem in the country.
There is probably not on e single explanation for those crimes, the reasons and arguments presented by the interviewers are often contradicting. This constant contradiction and confusion is purposely imbedded in the narrative of the film Multiple issues presented in this film such as : historical revenge, race , land reform, violence as tool political intimidation, violent tribal culture, identity, rainbow nation, global economy, food security , migration, apartheid are just part of this almost never ending monologs of white people of south Africa trying to understand their history and the future in South Africa their country.

The Game, HD Video, 10 min., 2013

In this project, I participated in the creation/staging of events that are the basis for the film, and created the film itself. The Game presents an interdisciplinary collaborative performance created by visual artists and dancers-actors. The creative team was composed of two visual artists and a group of performers (team leaders are Maja Godlewska, Daniel Han and Marek Ranis). The Game, both a performance and a film, explores similarities between the competitive nature of art and sport. Both sports and art are a reflection of life. We all are part of the game, often without a chance to rehearse. We compete, strive for success, we overcome obstacles. In sports, the rules of the game and of fair play and the measure of success are clear. There may be a sense of community, but often the winner takes all. In art and in life, things are more complicated. Players enter in the middle of the game, often unknowingly. Success means many different things, obstacles evolve every day; integrity of the participants comes from within. It is up to the players as to how they play. Obstacles/hurdles/barriers, made from plywood over metal structures, covered with protective padding, vaguely alluded to the actual structures used in track and field disciplines. Performers responded to such a man-made landscape. They created evolving rules of their idiosyncratic game, interacted with each other, competed and collaborated, loved and hated, won and lost. Obstacles served as metaphors of barriers or walls, at times as mere challenges, at times as opportunities to meet and work together. The game was full of humor; it was at once absurd and engaging. An original musical score and a narration were created for the film.

Hold On, 2010, video DV, 3 min. 11 sec.

The Hold On video contains original footage from the Polar landscape and NASCAR auto racing, the most popular motor sport in the United States. The sound is an audio scan of a radio exchange between a driver and his crew. An extreme sport entertainment is combined with images of the sublime Polar environment of the ice fiord in northwestern Greenland. The audible radio exchange is about the strategy of the race, unfolding in the real time of racing. The sound in the background is a transformed original recording of the race edited into the loop. This short movie is based on a surreal juxtaposition of subjects and images, which are connected by the notion of time, movement and ecology.

Kivanrepu, HD video, 7 min., 2010 - video/video installation

This video project is a 7-minute loop and is a part of the Albedo – Greenland series of works, produced as a result of my artist-in-residence experience in Greenland in 2009. Footage: recorded in the Upernavik (Kivanrepu is Upernavik spelled backwards) Ice Fiord in northwestern Greenland; Sound: recorded during a NASCAR race, North Carolina, U.S.A. In the video loop, the sublime images of icebergs and their reflections are contrasted with a modified sound from the most popular motor sport in the U.S.A – a NASCAR race (National Association of Stock Car Racing). I recorded the sound during the actual race.

Wave Around, DV, 5 min., 2010.

A religious song performed by the Inuit Upernavik Choir (Upernavik, Greenland) is confronted with footage of NASCAR fans tailgating before the race, waiting for their ritual. This clash of audio and video, which may appear comic to some, is also subversive. Many Greenlanders in their post-colonial mindset look forward to global warming, which will help them gain economical independence from Denmark. They will access their natural resources, currently under the icecap, through excavation and drilling. I felt that the devotion of the NASCAR audience to their sport or favorite drivers could be compared to an almost religious enchantment, the same way the images of slowly-drifting, giant icebergs can stimulate transcendent experience, especially when accompanied by a spiritual song

Machines 4 Living, HD Video, 3 min. 55 sec., 2010

A short film about architectural utopia and a largely unfulfilled promise of modernism. For the first time in modern history more people live in urban centers than in rural regions of the world. Yet the early 20th century ideas and solutions for providing humane housing for a majority of them are still an abstraction. Le Corbusier, one of the most celebrated architects of the last century, is portrayed as an old elephant. Le Corbusier (as an old elephant) is telling us a story about his life ideas and principles and dreams, while images of the Eastern European apartment buildings of my childhood and sounds of communal living from around the world are interjected as he speaks. Ideals of modernism meet the reality of Eastern Europe and the reality of life throughout the world for the underprivileged masses. Was the genius misunderstood? Was the genius evil? Is he still relevant or was he just a mad designer of human zoos? Do we understand elephants? The soundtrack includes one of the last recorded interviews with Le Corbusier. Elephants were filmed in the Wroclaw Zoo, Poland.

10/07/01, HD Video 5 min. 30 sec. 2011

The title refers to the date of the beginning of the current war in Afghanistan. 10/07/01 was inspired by the idea of endless war with terrorism - the term popularized by the American administration and the media. The video footage of bombing of Afghanistan is from the archives of the Pentagon and is edited with original footage from drag racing, one of the most popular motor sports in the U.S.A. (Two cars are racing on two-mile-long parallel tracks. Thanks to jet engines, the cars reach a speed up to 530 km/h). Each such race, lasting only 4-5 seconds, can cost a racing team up to two million dollars and requires a tremendous amount of fuel, causing significant pollution (fumes, noise). The film implies a connection between American foreign policy, consumerism and the entertainment industry. The war known to most only through the media, becomes yet another spectacle; with its repetitive quality and undefined goals, it creates an endless narrative, a gruesome, pointless form of entertainment.

Mob, video DV, 8 min. 2012

Original footage from a U.S. cheerleading competition is combined with an audio from a soccer game in Poland, where fanatic and highly organized soccer fans are singing and chanting racist and nationalistic slogans. This film explores the relation between popular sports and the nationalism and militarism often associated with mass sport events. Early 20th century fascism and its relation to sport and body culture (as in Leni Riefensthal’s Olympia) inspired me when working on this project. Currently large-scale sporting events in Eastern Europe frequently become a stage for some to express dangerous, often fascist sentiments. In contrast, cheerleading competitions in the United States, although highly competitive, are family oriented and peaceful. Where is the tipping point when the extreme emotions of a mob overpower a civil society?

Tourist, video DV, 10 min., 2012

A video project inspired by the 19th-century idea of black tourism, and a contemporary debate about ecology and a changing balance of world power, with the new fast-growing economies of Asia or South America. The viewer is meandering between the slums and markets of Mumbai, India and a dying Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The accompanying sounds of the streets of Mumbai and the sound of a breathing diver reinforce the sense of alienation and a superficial perception of reality. The confusing network of global connections and dependencies becomes a maze, where we all are tourists, struggling to comprehend the new post-colonial and post-white-dominance reality of our times. This film starts with a short clip from a U.S. cheerleading competition, which sets the cultural viewpoint for the viewer. The post-production of the original footage aims at creating the impression of a low-quality family vacation video, poorly edited on a VHS tape.

KTM Sublime, video DV, 7 min., 2008

(KTM international airport code for Kathmandu, Nepal) Kathmandu is for many Westerners just a gate, or one of the final steps leading to one of the most sublime experiences. Before one can see the roof of the world in the Himalayas, the tallest mountains on earth, one needs to stop in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal and the nearest International Airport to Mount Everest . It is also, for most of us, just an exotic sound and a set of colorful National Geographic pictures. Yet Kathmandu is an overpopulated city with major infrastructure and pollution problems. This city is struggling, like many “third world” countries’ metropolises, with poverty, unemployment, and significant political tensions. Many Nepalese never see the mountains up close, unless they are from the mountains region. But millions of Kathmandu residents depend on the water from the Himalayas or are part of the tourist industry, which is the most important aspect of Nepalese economy. Kathmandu is a place where aggressive capitalism coexists with communist ideas against a Hindu and Buddhist backdrop and under the king’s watch. Western and Eastern ideologies coexist regardless of fighting political factions. The city is balancing on the edge of an environmental catastrophe; at the same time a growing demographic reflects the great hopes and vitality of this place. Katmandu is overwhelming, a place that’s difficult to comprehend with its traffic noise, mélange of rural and urban life, commerce and spirituality.

Self Portrait , 2013, 8’ x 4’ x 1,5’, vintage mirrors, plaster graphite

Albedo, Larsen B, 2004, 68"x72", acrylic on line 

Albedo C20, 2005, 68" x 72", acrylic on linen

Acrylic C22, 2005, 68" x 72", acrylic on linen

Albedo C16, 2004, 48" x 48", acrylic on linen

Albedo C14, 38" x 38" acrylic on linen

Albedo C33, 2005, 38" x 38", acrylic on linen

Albedo 23, 2004, 38"x 38", acrylic on linen

Albedo C24, 2004, acrylic on linen

Albedo B33, 2004, 38"x 38", acrylic on linen

Albedo B22, 2004, 38" x 38", acrylic on linen

Albedo B21, 2005, 48" x 48" , acrylic on linen

Albedo B24, 2005, 38"x38", acrylic on linen

Albedo B19, 2005, 38" x 38", acrylic on line

Albedo C10, 2007, 16"x24", mixed media on paper

Albedo C11, 2007, 16"x24", mixed media on paper

Albedo C12, 2007, 16"x24", mixed media on paper

Albedo C13, 2007, 16"x24", mixed media on paper

Albedo C14, 2007, 16"x24", mixed media on paper

Albedo C14, 2007, 16"x24", mixed media on paper

Albedo C16, 2007, 16"x24", mixed media on paper

The Game, HD Video, 10 min., 2013 In this project, I participated in the creation/staging of events that are the basis for the film, and created the film itself. The Game presents an interdisciplinary collaborative performance created by visual artists and dancers-actors. The creative team was composed of two visual artists and a group of performers (team leaders are Maja Godlewska, Daniel Han and Marek Ranis). The Game, both a performance and a film, explores similarities between the competitive nature of art and sport. Both sports and art are a reflection of life. We all are part of the game, often without a chance to rehearse. We compete, strive for success, we overcome obstacles. In sports, the rules of the game and of fair play and the measure of success are clear. There may be a sense of community, but often the winner takes all. In art and in life, things are more complicated. Players enter in the middle of the game, often unknowingly. Success means many different things, obstacles evolve every day; integrity of the participants comes from within. It is up to the players as to how they play. Obstacles/hurdles/barriers, made from plywood over metal structures, covered with protective padding, vaguely alluded to the actual structures used in track and field disciplines. Performers responded to such a man-made landscape. They created evolving rules of their idiosyncratic game, interacted with each other, competed and collaborated, loved and hated, won and lost. Obstacles served as metaphors of barriers or walls, at times as mere challenges, at times as opportunities to meet and work together. The game was full of humor; it was at once absurd and engaging. An original musical score and a narration were created for the film.

#011106- D657, 2003, 68"x 72", acrylic on linen

#0111017-D657,  2002, 68"x72", acrylic on linen,

#11107-D657, 2002, 68"x 72", acrylic on line

#011109-D657, 2002, 64"x72", acrylic on linen

#011105-D657, 2002, 64"x 72", acrylic on linen

#020303-D657, 2002, 64"x72", acrylic on linen

#011206-D657, 2002, 64"x 72", acrylic on linen

War, 2003, 48"x 60", jacquard, cotton

 WAR Carpet, 2003, 15'x 20', satellite image of Iraq printed on vinyl withcarpet padding, installation during War show

Sunrise, 2001, 72” x 72” x 17”, mixed media, clay, shredded US currency

Extreme IV, 2001, 8’x 4’x 1’, shredded US currency, clay, climbing grips,

Extreme Elevation II, 2001, 8’ x 4’ mixed media, wood, shredded US currency, plated climbing grips

Extreme II, 2001, 24” x 24” x 6” shredded currency, plated climbing grips

Extreme VI, 2001, 18”x36”x 6”, shredded currency, plated climbing grips

Niche, 2001, 7’ x 6’ x 1’,  shredded currency, mixed media, climbing grips,

Niche, detail

Goal, 2000, 62” x 62” x 7”, mixed media, clay, US shredded currency

Corporate Ladder, 2000, 7'x 6'x 5', wood, mixed media, clay, metal, 

Corporate Ladder, detail

Landscape with Commercial Nostalgia, 2000, 23'x 25'x 1', mixed media, wood, clay, recycled billboard,

Bagina, 2000, 60" x 60" x 8", mixed media, clay, recycled rifles

Tabula, 2000, 66" x 48" x 12", mixed media, clay

Local Landscape, 2001, 2x(6'x7'x1') mixed media , shredded US currency, wood, clay, climbing grips,

Local Landscape

nascar ,1998, 14’x 8’x 6’, nascar race car parts, wood, clay, mixed media, sound Installation- mixed sound from racing cars and race track

nascar, detail