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🇨🇭 Switzerland /Culture & Society

Artist JR: “I’m increasingly convinced that art can change the world”

From Le Temps · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • French artist JR says he is becoming increasingly convinced that art can change the world.
  • His Inside Out project uses large public portraits to highlight causes including children affected by drones in Pakistan, the invisibility of Indian women and undocumented immigrants seeking legal status in the United States.
  • JR visited Switzerland’s Images Vevey festival as his work Gesto was being shown at the Venice Biennale and a new project awaited inauguration by the pope.

“I’m increasingly convinced that art can change the world,” JR says as his work continues to move between major cultural institutions and public spaces. His Gesto is currently on display at the Venice Biennale, while the pope is preparing to inaugurate his next project.

The French artist made a brief visit to the Images Vevey festival for an exclusive interview. The festival also marked 15 years of Inside Out, the project JR launched after receiving the TED Foundation award in 2011.

Inside Out turns citizens’ portraits into public statements. JR prints the images and places them in public spaces, linking them to causes that concern the people portrayed. The project has addressed children affected by drones in Pakistan, the invisibility of Indian women and efforts to regularize undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Vevey is also tied to earlier stages of JR’s work. In 2010, he pasted a giant photograph of a minaret onto a former silo after Switzerland banned such structures. In 2012, he launched his Unframed project there, although the supplied article ends before describing its full outcome.

I’m increasingly convinced that art can change the world.

· JRThe French artist describes his growing belief in art’s power during an interview connected to his work and the Inside Out project.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Temps in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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