JR and his incredible artworks
This artist is my favorite one and he really excites me.
I believe that some artists hold the world with their hands. They affect people, they show some details to them, in there they build a bridge from someone to someone or something to someone, and after that, the time is not exactly the same again. For me, one of these artists is JR, Jean Rene.
The French street artist, JR started with graffiti at the age of 15. Today, he covers the walls of many cities around the world with black and white photos (huge ones). When we look at the point it has come from since then, it can be said that there is basically his desire to leave a mark in public. In JR’s taking photos which generally have some faces and eyes, focus to the places and they connect with these urban places they are attached to.
Honestly, I didn’t know which artworks of JR to tell you about. Because they are all so successful, but Tehachapi in California, Women is Heroes in Brasil are my favorites ones. It is clear that they are trying to convey a message.
Tehachapi is an idea of collaborative art project in prison yard. JR created the artwork with prisoners and guards. He and his team photographed the prisoners, on by one and he recorded their stories. Later, some prisoners, guards, studio workers, and JR all together worked for pasting photos in the prison yard. From above, you can see everyone from there stand shoulder to shoulder. I’ve never looked at prisons in this way.
Women is Heroes is power of vision. The short story is that the Army takes three students because they don’t have IDs on them and leaves them in a hostile neighborhood. In there, a Brazilian suburb, which belongs to the big drug gang, three children are left to die. At the end of this event, which affected all the Brazilian people and also JR. Later, JR goes to Brazil to take pictures about these people. Photographs of almost everyone associated with these three children, such as his mother, grandmother, and more, were hung on the walls of the neighborhood. The gaze encompassing the whole hill…
JR is definitely turning streets into art spaces. He brings people together. He offers them new perspectives. He allows them to ask questions. Each of his works is connected with the story of that place. As Jr said, the important thing in these photos is what you do and what message it gives where you paste it.
This is JR’s perception-altering art.
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