French photographer and graffiti artist JR, began his career tagging in Paris. When, he was around 17, JR found a camera and started to shoot fellow graffiti artist and document their work. Soon thereafter, JR ventured throughout Europe to connect with other artist and also to capture with his camera the variety of culture beyond France. JR has travelled to several countries shooting portraits of individuals. These shots were processed and developed then, printed and posted in public locations. JR now encourages for all to participate, The Inside Out Project has become the largest participatory art project in history. Over 150,000 people from over 108 countries have submitted portraits. The portraits are mailed to Inside Out and they, develop the shots. Then, Inside Out mails the photos back to the photographer and with the help of others in the community the photos are posted.
Wow. I really want to go see the documentary now.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how it is very easy to destroy graffiti that seems intentionally destructive (like bathroom wall writing), but much harder to destroy somebody else's face on a wall, especially when it's something that they consider a deeply personal expression of themselves within a larger community.
Thanks for posting.