October 4, 2024
Art
Books
Social Issues
Jackie Andres

All images © JR, courtesy of Phaidon

The 2024 edition of “JR: Can Art Change the World?” chronicles the artist’s phenomenal range of collaborative projects.

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 […]

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