I'm interested in the ways in which our experience of national parks are pre-packaged and institutionalized. The awe-worthy views are designated by yellow signs with camera icons. Millions of dollars are spent every season maintaining scenic byways with pullouts so that we can ingest a concise cliff notes version of the park, composed of only the most relevant points of interest, in a single afternoon's drive. Constant Live View cameras are set up at various places in the park, so that one can check in on say "Half Dome" on your lunch break. I think that these trails, roads, resorts and institutions all make national park experiences more broadly accessible they encourage a sense of awe and homage to the natural world. Thats great, but I also think there is a very sweet and rich irony involved with the manufacturing of awe for the natural world. Our daily perceptions are always structured and regimented, but I believe that in these lineal spaces where human interests meet "natural" extra-human places, such as parks, we get a clearer idea of where these filters and mechanisms are at play.
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