I heart interpretation

Saturday, July 22, 2006 10:20 PST

I am experiencing what I like to call an “interpreter’s high,” a feeling of elation and energy that follows a successful evening program. After speaking to an audience of 94 park visitors, I’ve stripped out of my sweaty polyester uniform, and am trying to cool down with a glass of chilled pinot grigiot (have I mentioned how hot it is right now?)

I love giving the program: Beyond the Overlook, the Art of Tourism and National Parks. It’s a combination of my two great loves, art and the outdoors, and a testament to the past three years as a park ranger and art student. I advertise the program as one about “artists and photographers of the national park” but really I trick them into coming to an MFA-like thesis presentation, critically analyzing tourist stereotypes at overlooks and viewpoints, as well as the role of artists in national parks. I introduce such terms as “sublime” and “beauty” (thanks ADP: Philosophy) and contemporary artists like Nikki S. Lee (the tourist project), the Center for Land Use Interpretation, and Roger Mannik’s tourist photographs. I also force the visitor to ask questions like: who determines where an overlook would go? Why do we always smile and pose in front of monuments and landscapes (even if we’re in a bad mood)? How can visitors experience the national park besides driving from viewpoint to viewpoint? But I do think the program is really a seamless blend of natural resource interpretation (glaciers, hikes, NPS history) and art.

I’m proud of it because 1) it’s a combination of two seemingly distinct interests 2) I think it’s a great message/challenge to the typical visitor and 3) whenever I present it, I realize how much I love education, interpretation, and public speaking.