I feel that it is important for communities to be beautiful, and for citizens to be able to take pride in the appearance of their buildings and surroundings. The man-made structures in the places we live serve as the constant setting and background for our daily activities. Because we are continually surrounded by human-crafted things, I believe that slight improvement in the visual aesthetics of each thing could make a dramatic difference in every person’s life. If something is going to be built, I think it should be made beautifully. Incorporating artistic details into every space, structure, or building should be encouraged and, in some cases, should be funded by the community through the local governing bodies.

Generic, unsightly buildings seem to cause people to lose respect for their community and the buildings themselves. This loss of respect could greatly affect the mindset of the people and possibly be a factor in a rise in crime. Also, a lack of applied creativity and effort pertaining to appearance can make a person have negative thoughts towards the community as a whole. Contrary to this, beautiful surroundings could lead to a greater respect for the community and those involved in it’s upkeep.

In order to show how I feel about the importance of incorporating artistic and pleasing visual details into a community, I chose to create a photo and caption series. I took the pictures used for this project in some of the places around my home, or places that I commonly drive by on my way to school. I put certain pictures next to each other so it was easier for the viewer to compare them. The pair of pictures may be of basically the same thing, but one is slightly more creative, or prettier than the other. It was my intent that the viewer would be able to look at each picture and notice the difference in their feelings toward each one. Without saying anything, I would like my audience to realize that one of the pictures is more aesthetically pleasing and evokes more respect for the community it belongs to.

It is my wish that through seeing the pictures I have prepared, and through thinking about the surroundings around their home and workplaces, my audience would gain a greater appreciation for the art and creativity applied to architectural details and other small, but important, details around a community. I hope that a greater interest in the overall appearance of one’s environment will gradually lead to a clean, well-designed community. In a place like that, the people would respect their surroundings and appreciate living there.

While working on this project I realized how varied the buildings and structures can be within a relatively small distance. All the pictures used were taken within a few miles of each other or less. I noticed that elaborately and nicely decorated or created things could be standing very close to plain, ugly things. However, the mood was very different in places with pleasant surroundings than in those with unpleasant surroundings.