Whether working in the favelas of Rio or the shantytowns of Kenya, JR’s photographs have captivated audiences around the world. JR’s work reflects the continuous struggle of the human condition, global poverty, religious tensions and the core issues of the urban struggle. Via his giant photographs, he forces people to directly confront these issues. We have been fans of JR since he put a piece on our building and helped beautify downtown LA.
JR’s work first appeared in Paris, where he captured images of the residents of lower class Parisian slums/suburbs and plastered their photos across the more bourgeoisie sections of East Paris. He then shifted his attention to the Middle East where he took photographs of both Palestinian and Israeli individuals. He would juxtapose the portraits forcing the two conflicting groups to visually confront each other on a daily basis, while exposing their similarities.
Next he embarked on his most ambitious project, “Women are Heroes”, in which he traveled across Africa, Brasil, Cambodia and India photographing the women of each region. Not only were the installations an art project, but the images were printed on waterproof vinyl, so they served a double purpose of roofing for the residents. The same project spawned a documentary of the same name that screened at Cannes.
Currently JR is working in Shanghai on “The Wrinkles of the City” a project based around the effects of urban expansionism and urban decay. The Chinese government has yet to interfere.
Most recently the work of the “photograffeur”, a term JR uses to describe himself that is a combination of photo and “graffeur” the french word for graffiti, have caught the attention of TED. TED, a nonprofit based around spreading ideas via Technology, Entertainment and Design, awarded him with their prestigious TED prize for 2011. The winner of the TED prize is given 100,000 dollars to help facilitate a wish they have. Prior award winners have ranged from former US president Bill Clinton, author Dave Eggers, documentarian Jehane Noujam, and physicist Neil Turok. Although JR has not yet revealed his wish, he has commented that it will be something dealing with “guerilla art”.
JR’s 2011 TED Prize has sparked controversy amongst media outlits and other critics of JR’s methods and practices. First the ambiguity in which he works, hiding his identity and never revealing his real name and secondly JR’s open canvas which often produces legal problems, make his selection controversial. Despite his critics, JR’s projects bring mass media attention to corners of the globe that most individuals completely disregard. His photos feature people who are commonly neglected by society, those who are impoverished, women across the globe, individuals marginalized by urban development, etc. and bring their issues and needs to the attention of society via street art.
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