abstract - version 1

Our society has become accustom to a fabricated idea of nature. The American West has become a figment of a Hollywood dramatization. It is a backdrop. It is a postcard. It is a screensaver. It is a myth. Our natural landscapes have evolved into digital fiction. Arguably the biggest myth of nature is its personification as Mother Nature. She is a duality: damsel and heroine, caretaker and child. She was created to embody our hopes and dreams for the future but our actions towards her are dualistic as well.

During westward expansion, men marveled at Mother Nature's beauty yet dismantled her every form. This cycle has not changed for the past 150 years but Mother Nature’s narrative has. She is shaped by the dualism of her antagonists having been created by American culture and evolving with American culture. Thus, her current form is its own digital fiction. She is a fantasy and a contradiction. She is a digital trope.

I will explore society’s detachment from our natural environment by making a post-western 360° film. I will speculate on Mother Nature’s current form in the American Western psyche by performing as her contemporary persona in the film. I will be filming in the natural landscapes of Colorado to meditate on my own connections and disconnections with my natural environment. I will address the dualities of both Mother Nature and ourselves through a series of lenticular prints and the creation of digitally fabricated sculptures that function as 360° video viewers. These sculptures will address the evolution of individualized cinematic experiences and confront individualism as a foundation of 21st century digital culture.