The wrinkles of the city. Los Angeles. Ediz. illustrata: Los Angeles, Edition bilingue anglais-espagnol - Tapa dura

In his effort of creating a new way of connecting the streets with the system, JR continues to follow his unique way of changing the world. After The Wrinkles of the City Shanghai here comes the second chapter with The Wrinkles of The City LA. Street Wizard, Jedi of the Photography, JR’s project coagulates with his other global projects which make him a Gatekeeper of the rage of the street with the decadence of the American empire. For the first time in the heart of America, in the City of the Angels, JR’s unique way of operating devastates the mecca of youth and the unofficial embassy of the American culture conquering the streets bringing hope and love for a new era. Each JR’s large-scale photo mural has its own history and reason to be there. To have a critical look at the work of JR is to enter a world where every action has its meaning, is to understand the message that the artist wants to send to anyone who approaches, accidentally or deliberately, one of his portraits. This time, the purpose of the project was to meet witnesses of the changes that have occurred in the city or in their own lives. Los Angeles is the place where the Hollywood myth was born, with its stars system, the glamour and the beauty being part of the identity of the city. For this project, JR wished to oppose the wrinkles of old people living in LA and the marks of their past with the image of perfection or regenerated beauty of the XXIst century. After the mind-blowing success of the first chapter here comes a collectable table book and a collection of images from an artist – winner of the TED Prize in 2011 – who will remain in the history of photography and contemporary art.

JR owns the biggest art gallery in the world. He exhibits freely in the streets of the world, catching the attention of people who are not typical museum visitors. His work mixes Art with Act, talks about commitment, freedom, identity and limit. After he found a camera in the Paris subway, he did a tour of European Street Art, tracking the people who communicate messages via the walls. Then, he started to work on the vertical limits, watching the people and the passage of life from the forbidden undergrounds and roofs of Paris. In 2006, he achieved Portrait of a Generation, portraits of the suburban thugs that he posted, in huge formats, in the bourgeois districts of Paris. This illegal project became official when the Paris City Hall wrapped its building with JR s photos. In 2007, with Marco, he did Face 2 Face, the biggest illegal exhibition ever. JR posted huge portraits of Israelis and Palestinians face to face in eight Palestinian and Israeli cities, and on the both sides of the Security fence / Separation wall. The experts said it would be impossible. Still, he did it. In 2008, he embarked on a long international trip for Women Are Heroes, a project in which he underlines the dignity of women who are often the targets of conflicts. At the same time, he created the project The Wrinkles of the City. JR aims to use the wrinkles of the inhabitants of a city to retell their history and memory of a country. He chose to visit cities where immense amounts of change have been experienced, such as Cartagena in Spain, Shanghai or Los Angeles. In 2010, his film Women Are Heroes is presented at Cannes in competition for the Camera d Or. In 2011, he received the Ted Prize, which offers him the opportunity to make A wish to change the world . He created InsideOut, an international participatory art project that allows people worldwide to get their picture and paste it to support an idea, a project, an action and share their experience. JR creates Pervasive Art that spreads uninvited on the buildings of the slums around Paris, on the walls in the Middle-East, on the broken bridges in Africa or the favelas in Brazil. Some elderly women become models for a day; some kids turn artists for a week. In this type of Art scene, there is no stage to separate the actors from the spectators. After these local exhibitions, the images were transported to London, New York, Berlin or Amsterdam where people could interpret them in the light of their own personal experience. As he remains anonymous and doesn t explain his huge full frame portraits of people making faces, JR leaves the space empty for an encounter between the subject/protagonist and the passer-by/interpreter. This is what JR s work is about. Raising questions."