JR

'ONE WISH TO CHANGE THE WORLD'

The french born photographer and street artist, self called "photograffeur" 

His graffiti often targeted precarious places like rooftops and subway trains, and he deeply enjoyed the adventure of going to and painting in these spaces. After finding a camera in the Paris Metro, JR and his friends began to document the act of his graffiti painting. He began wondering about the vertical limits, the walls and the facades that structure cities.

 After observing the people he met and listening to their message, JR pasted their portraits up in the streets and basements and on the roof tops of Paris. Between 2004 and 2006, JR created Portraits of a Generation, portraits of young people from the housing projects around Paris that he exhibited in huge format. This illegal project became official when the City of Paris put JR’s photos up on buildings. At the beginning of his projects, JR wanted to bring art into the street: "In the street, we reach people who never go to museums." 

In 2007, with Marco, JR put up enormous photos of Israelis and Palestinians face to face in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities on either side of the Separation Barrier. Upon his return to Paris, he pasted these portraits up in the capital. For the artist, this artistic act is first and foremost a human project: "The heroes of the project are all those who, on both sides of the wall, allowed me to paste the portraits on their houses." Israeli and Palestinian men and women who have the same jobs accepted to laugh or cry, to scream or pull faces in front of JR’s lens. The portraits created were pasted up face to face, in monumental format on either side of the Separation Wall and in several surrounding towns. 

In 2008, JR undertook an international tour for Women Are Heroes, a project in which he highlights the dignity of women who are often targets during conflicts. JR admits to not always understand but feeling and crying because of what they told him. JR chose the locations due to thinks he hear in the media which shocked him. In this project he also wanted to give people their own galleries. The project create a link between the women and the media, as the media had no clue what was going on and had to be far way to see it, however come up close and talk to the women to understand it. This all provoked curiosity. Also JR  created books to give to the community however to get one you had to get it signed by one of the women. This creates interactions between them and strength the community. 

JR talks about his inside out project and his hopes for peace and changing lives... 
http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_one_year_of_turning_the_world_inside_out.html

JR  wants to constantly challenge the perceptions which the media create about people. Whats to make things you make think impossible possible, as easily as possible. He says art can not change things but can change the way you think about this and the way you think about things can change the world. He goes on to say its, what we see changes who we are and all together we can change the world together. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAy1zBtTbw