Street art has always been a frowned-upon medium by artists and authorities alike. Over the last few years though, that prejudice has been fading away with street-artists becoming a more accepted medium of expression, I think mostly thanks to the Banksy‘s of the world who are using this as a means to draw attention to social ills.
The Parisian street-artist, JR, who considers himself “neither a street artist, nor a photographer” has used both mediums to create some pretty amazing work. He’s known affectionately as “The man who gave slums a face”, and over the past few years have taken his art to the streets, which he qualifies as the “largest art gallery in the world“.
Now he’s been acknowledged by some of the most influential philanthropists in the world, by winning the 2011 TEDPrize. The prize consists prize money of $100,000 but more importantly also allows the winner One Wish to Change The World with the support of the TED community. Read the story on the NYTimes website.
It’s thanks to these persistent artists and social activists that good things are happening in our world, inspiring people globally to take a stand against social ills.
Here’s some of JR’s work:
You can also watch the trailer for “Women are Heroes“, part of his latest “28 millimeter” project.
Urban Guerilla 