Blog Post #3

In the TED talk “How painting can transform communities” by Haas and Hahn, they discuss their community art projects and how they carried them out. I know from the community art from around where I live is exactly like what they do, which can be summed up in the word beautification.
Community art is limited in several ways right off the bat. First by the exact community it’s in, this is going to be something that many of them will see every day, so it has to be something that they’re all going to enjoy seeing. Most if not all of the murals and community art in my town is something that we actually seek out seeing whenever we walk or roll past. It’s practically like a beam or beacon of beauty in a drab post-industrial city that relieves the mental strain of life for even just a moment.
Second, feasibility. As they described in the TED talk, they took on a monstrous project that has an incredible amount of detail in it. There were many times that they felt overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of all the work that had to be done. I believe it’s safe to say you shouldn’t take on a project that will make you go crazy, if it’s too big and too detailed you’ll easily overwhelm yourself and possibly even get discouraged.
Third, funds. Let’s be honest; money doesn’t grow on trees. Paint isn’t cheap, and neither is labor, so unfortunately your project can really only be as big as your budget.
Regardless of how it’s limited, community art can undoubtedly become the gem of a neighborhood. While yes, it may not do anything to physically or financially ease the lives of the people around it, it does bring communities together and gives something visually comforting. Art isn’t something that speaks to the wallet, it speaks to the mind, body, and soul. It’s a way to improve your mental health, which is just as important as your bodily health.