Guerilla street artist JR is one of those artists whose work speaks not only to the privileged few who can afford million dollar paintings but to the masses that it documents. His art is the kind of art that us human beings on this complicated and confusing planet can learn from, and begin to feel from. Inclusive, hands on and democratic would be just a few adjectives to describe his work. Using the streets, trains, cities and buildings, the public space is his canvas. Without bias he visually describes political, socio-economic and cultural differences and conflicts bringing to mind the sheer audacity of it all. We have been played. His brilliant project based in the Middle East is a classic example of his ability of this.
Example: Photographs of a teacher from Israel and a teacher from Palestine, blown up and posted on each side of the walls that separate them, the viewers have no idea who was who. Like a tug of war, he confronts, and people engage, confronts and we engage, all end up questioning the relevance of the issues. JR has also collaborated with the Cuban artist Jose Parla, commenting creating giant murals on decaying city walls throughout Cuba and documenting them their book “Wrinkles of the City, Havana, Cuba”.(buy below) “I would like to bring art to improbable places, create projects so huge with the community that they are forced to ask themselves questions.”- JR, Beaux Arts Magazine
The Wrinkles Of The City: Havana, Cuba By JR & José Parlá $33 on Amazon
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