Texas isn’t beautiful from ground-level only – it’s beautiful from high above and worthy of being considered art. To prove that point, a traveling art and science education exhibition of satellite images of Texas, “Texas as Art,” will open Friday, May 31, at the Juanita Harvey Art Gallery at Midwestern State University.

“Texas as Art” is the brainchild of Rebecca Dodge, emeritus associate professor of Geosciences at MSU Texas. The exhibition is a series of digitally enhanced satellite images created by Dodge that show the various ecoregions of West Texas. The images in “Texas as Art” are designed to engage the viewer, through art, with the diversity of Texas landscapes as seen from Earth’s orbit, including the expression of natural ecosystem elements, geologic features, and the expanding human footprint on the natural landscape. Each image’s caption has a QR code that viewers can scan with a phone to learn more about the image and the geology of Texas.

A gallery reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 28, with Dodge giving a short presentation on the exhibition at 6:45 p.m.

Dodge’s exhibition won second place juried art prize in 2022 in the Arts Council of Midland Open Show. Her artwork was created through a grant from AmericaView to the MSU Texas geoscience program and is part of the educational outreach exhibit “Texas as Art,” which included exhibitions at the Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross University in Alpine, Texas, and at Texas Tech University.

The Juanita Harvey Art Gallery is inside the Fain Fine Arts Building at MSU Texas. The exhibition will be on display through Friday, June 28. Gallery hours are from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Contact Professor of Art Steve Hilton at 940-397-4270 for more information.