Photography Graffiti
I love photography. There are
so many cool things you can do with the lighting, the angle, the effects, the location. Unfortunately I am a bad photographer. The best I can do is a slightly unfocused boring shot. I have resorted to just looking at photographs taken by professionals. One of my favorite photographers is JR. JR was born in France and has the largest art gallery in the world! JR does some inovative things
with his photographs. He takes pictures of ordinary people and shows them in a thought-provoking way. Most of the time, the photos are "pasted"
onto sidewalks, buildings and rooftops. Some of my favorite projects he has done are Face2Face, Inside Out Project, and Wrinkles of the City.
We are all aware of the conflict between Palestine and Israel. They have been fighting almost constantly since Israel's formation. JR went to both
Palestine and Israel and photographed people making happy and funny faces. He then put these photos onto the security wall that separates the
two countries. Mind you, this was illegal. He then challenged people to discern if the people in the photographs were Palestinian or Israelian. No one could tell the difference.
The Inside Out Project is many different communities trying to raise awareness of different groups of people. In Russia, they have 50 posters hanging outside of government buildings to help promote awareness of LGBT mistreatment. In Venezuela, 220 portraits of mothers and grandmothers who have lost a child/grandchild to violence hang walls. In Minnesota, 128 portraits of students and supporting teachers hang on the school. There are many more projects under this umbrella Inside Out Project, they all have a different humanitarian cause to promote.
Wrinkles of the City, are basically pictures of old people. With lots of wrinkles. The point of this display is to show the changes the elderly have seen as well as the city itself. Many of these photos are pasted onto old and decrepit buildings that are just as old or older than the people in the pictures. According to his website, JR wanted take the buildings and people who may have lost "social insignificance" and show their importance again and all that they have survived and how it has changed them.
Even if you're not an avid art fanatic, you should check out JR's website (www.jr-art.net). If you need to do a school project on art and humanitarian causes, this is perfect. Whatever, you should check it out.
