ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the concept of spaces of attention in the context of the material rhetoric of public parks and other sites. It examines the landscape of the Museum Park at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina. The chapter aims to contribute the scholarly discussion of material rhetoric and its enactments, exemplifying how artifacts, such as sculptures and installations, can function rhetorically to invoke a collective sense of civic and cultural understanding. It also provides a critical analysis of how the inside/outside and regenerative/transformative enactments of the Museum Park engage visitors rhetorically, thereby creating spaces of attention in which they can consider and experience the human/nature interface in new ways. The chapter discusses the extent to which the material rhetoric of museum parks may lead to the development of environmental consciousness and community identity, as well as the tensions associated with this process.
