Google Reader #10

http://www.lenscratch.com/2013/03/tom-wik.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lenscratch%2FZAbG+%28L++E++N++S++C++R++A++T++C++H%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

I've recently become interested in the subject of facades, both what they tell us and what they hide. I think that everyone has an image of themself that they choose to let the world see and then a more authentic self that takes time and effort and risk to get to know.

We can do something similar with our physical spaces. In my project with Apopka, the spaces I'm photographing generally have a defensive or secretive facade. A place like Baldwin Park appears sterilized and mass-produced.

The facade of the homes in this blog post are able to communicate that these are individual private residences. I do like the ones where the exterior of the house is shrouded in shrubbery; it makes the home feel more cozy. In the description, the artist says that such an image says, "Don't bother friending me," but I disagree, at least for the homes where the foliage appears natural or messy. From my perspective, those houses say, "If I let you in, then you're something special, and what happens here is not for the whole world to see."

Some of the other houses and their landscaping look too perfect and too fake. In this case, the facade says that image is more important than substance, and it works to hide what lies behind it.