An Expanded Edition of JR’s Monograph Recounts the Power of Socially Engaged Art

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Traveling to different regions across the globe, French artist JR envisions grand projects that call to humanitarian issues and collective action. At the forefront of his practice is a persistent query, rooted in a palpable yearning for change and strong belief in the power of art.

JR: Can Art Change the World? chronicles the artist’s phenomenal range of participatory efforts, from mural-laden buildings to photographic installations to performance art. Originally published in 2015 and later updated in 2019, an even newer edition featuring a half-decade of JR’s latest works is slated for release by Phaidon later this month. The 2024 version includes a whopping 390 photos and illustrations, as well as a foreword by George Lucas.

Among the four new chapters included in the expansion, you might recognize more recent projects such as “Tehachapi,” a poignant collection of murals focused on the lives of incarcerated individuals, and impressive optical illusions from the artist’s ongoing “Trompe l’œil” series.

Pre-order JR: Can Art Change the World? in the Colossal Shop to be one of the first to page through the monograph.

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