Monday, July 6, 2009

JR's Street Art of Rio's Favelas

French photographer and street artist JR has produced another awe inspiring public art project in Rio. Known for his massive scale black and white portraits, JR recently covered a hill side shanty town with his trademark imagery. The photos make the houses almost seem alive with the intricate emotional details of his subject’s faces popping out.

So may people ignore the favelas and the favelas have eyes and are looking back at the rest of the city compelling everyone to look back...and hopefully pay attention.







2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I started my search about parkouring and urban guerilla artists and found myself reading your blog. I'll be teaching an introductory American Studies course this fall and I'm fascinated by Dolores Hayden's work, Nedra Reynolds' The Geography of Writing and De Certeau's The Practice of the Everyday. I'm hoping to get students interested in the ways we interact with our landscapes (urban, suburban, or rural) that transgress the designers' original intentions. Whether it's through paint, words, acrobatics, or simply everyday habits, I'd like them to imagine how they might creatively inhabit their surroundings. Your blog has introduced me to JR - love this work - and I'll suggest it as a site for students to visit...Thanks! lhs

Anonymous said...

Absolutely fantastic. Thank-you for posting. The photographs were fantastic. I love the concept.