Skinwalker Ranch ‘Photographer’ Donates Photograph Collection
Collection of the University of Maryland Art Gallery / Christopher M. Bartel
Photographs from a military veteran, Chris Bartel, of Skinwalker Ranch are being donated to the University of Maryland Art Gallery (UMAG. The collection will be curated in a selection featuring “Historical Genre” photography. The Ranch has both an official history and unofficial history going back at least a hundred years.
The site has a rich history in Native American culture and is just one of the reasons the photography was chosen, according to UMAG Associate Director Taras Malta.
“Number one is its rich history in Native American culture and Native American lore. Number two is, you know, the interest in the government is using it as a site to possibly research UFO and other kinds of paranormal phenomena. Number three is just the sheer grandeur and beauty of the spaces and environment. There’s a climate as an ecosystem. And then number four is Chris’s personal experience.”
Stories about the land stem from the legends of the native people. One legend is that the Ute tribe was cursed by Navajos, leading to the skinwalkers known to reside in the area. Over the last 200-years, everyone from native to white settlers reported mysterious events in the region.
Collection of the University of Maryland Art Gallery / Christopher M. Bartel
Belief is the land to be filled with portals connecting to other places in space and time.
Matla said of Bartel’s experiences, “He has definitely told me that when you’re on the ranch, you feel as though you’re being watched. During his daily patrols, he felt that there was something there, something observing him, something maybe even guiding him.”
Reports of underground explosions first appeared in 1944 and peaking around 1968 (the height of nuclear testing during the cold war). Nasa, one-time, built an observation post nearby to help with magnetic field research in the area.
The collection, titled ‘Christopher Bartel: The Skinwalker Ranch Portfolio, 2010-2016’ will hopefully be open in late January 2021.
This story was first reported on by Mystery Wire.
