JR SPEAKS
The Artist Breaks Down His Iconic Work
JR, the French photographer, has generated popular acclaim for his innovative perspectives and dazzled the art world with his concept, philosophy and design. Last week, PROVOKR did a story highlighting a retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum, where the following videos are being shown. Here, in five videos, JR breaks down these iconic shots with in-person artist interviews for each one.
GIANTS
JR chronicles the travel through Tijuana and the landscape which inspired him to take the photograph. He talks about straddling the US-Mexican border and discovering which areas made him more inclined to capture the aspect on migration which covers his subject matter and relationship with social media. His work invited people to visit the site where he built scaffolding to take the shot. A lot of people came. He talks about the relationship between his art and terrain.
CASA AMARILLA
JR talks about the construction of Casa Amarilla, a building in Buenos Aires with nature coming from and through its walls. The concept of this house was to create a safe haven, which would repel crime and invite the needy. He talks about building the structure and its influence on the community.
PORTRAIT OF A GENERATION
Portrait of a Generation is a project which documents the caricatured image of people in Paris on 28mm lens. The portraits creates an image for the people who JR captures and portrays them in exaggerated ways to give character to the people and city of Paris.
MIGRANTS, MAYRA
This is an exploration of exchange and social building between people across the Mexican-American border. It documents the image of Mayra, who covers the entire spread of the land, to reveal the disparity between Mexican and American immigrant life. The image shows 50-100 people holding a towel of the image of Mayra to show unity and kinship across the border.
GUN CHRONICLES, A HISTORY OF AMERICA
JR takes murals to reflect the conversation and issue of gun violence in America. He did this as a cover for TIME Magazine and created a representation for people who needed a voice in the topic of gun control. This series follows areas all across the country and opens the space for conversation in society as well as innovative work in the world of art.
