Rest Areas of the Southwest: New Mexico

Rest areas are a unique US feature that I first discovered in my childhood summer road trips. They were first established in the sixties within the US interstate road system and are currently managed by the DPT of each state (thus the variety of designs and conditions). They mostly sit empty, slowly being replaced by commercial gas stations and food chains, or by new large single buildings. Having lost their function they become all about form, the empty symmetries attempting to control nature, as per a bygone ideology seeking to conquer the terrain. Symmetry, emptiness, and beauty confront their own meaninglessness in relation to the landscape. Following is a small selection from the collection.