LIKE AN ELABORATE STAGE FOR an audienceless performance, spectacular natural caves formed and transformed over the ages in the unseen world of the underground. When modern humans came into this subterranean world, first as explorers, then as tourists, they brought with them elements from their surficial realm, from cement and electricity to postcards and fried chicken. From the first lantern-led tours through Mammoth Cave in the early 1800's to the drive-through caves of today, the two hundred or so caves in the country that have been opened to the public (out of over 30,000 caves discovered in the United States so far) have been transformed by the interests of tourism and the fancy of cave owners and promoters.
Most modifications to the natural cave are of a practical nature, made in order to accommodate visitors. New cave entrances are blasted to allow more convenient access, pathways are installed to allow visitors to move easily along the otherwise uneven cave floor, and lighting of some type is installed to make the formations and pathways visible.
The cave developers that go beyond these basic alterations begin a sort of architectural discourse between the strange natural underground features with sometimes stranger-still man-made forms. The effect is the creation of unprecedented, and even sublime spaces, reflecting the complex relationship between humans and the non-human natural world.
The Center's exhibit, Subterranean Renovations: The Unique Architectural Spaces of Show Caves, displayed in Los Angeles October 2 to November 29, 1998, featured color photographs of twelve of the most compelling examples of this unique form of underground architecture. Represented were the lunchrooms at Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Cave, light show theaters at DeSoto and Meramec Caverns, the reception room at Truitt Cave, with its working fireplace, and the the abandoned bandstand and dance floor, deep within Wonderland Cave and Club in Bella Vista, Arkansas.
A booklet published by The Center explores this phenomena in greater detail.