“Travel changes you,” Anthony Bourdain once said. “As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you”. French artist JR is well-travelled, maybe not quite to the level of the late chef, writer and documentarian. But like Bourdain’s musings on travel, JR looks to leave a mark on the places he visits, whether it be a warehouses in Miami’s Wynwood District, at the steps of the Vatican Church to the Pyramids of Giza.
Phaidon has teased an upcoming monograph documenting JR’s collaborative projects from around the world. The book is being billed as the most comprehensive publication on his work to date and includes recent work with the New York City Ballet, film director Agnès Varda, and Time magazine. The self-described photograffeur is known for overlaying massive monochromatic images on public spaces in an attempt to shift perspectives of how people look at the world. In the past, he’s been hailed as an “inspiration for those trying to create socially engaged art and make a difference in marginalized communities,” according to the Smithsonian Magazine.
JR: Can Art Change the World? spans 384 pages and features a foreword by legendary filmmaker George Lucas and a commissioned graphic novel by comic artist Joseph Remnant. The book is available to pre-order for $49.95 USD at Phaidon.
