Photography as a Text

 This year's TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) prize winner was JR-- a French somewhat-anonymous street artist. JR takes photos and displays them on entire sides of buildings or rooftops and in other public places therefore creating a museum out of normalcy. The photos are more than just snapshots of people but convey a layered and profound meaning. He did a Face-to-Face project in Israel and Palestine where he paired a photo of an Israeli person next to a photo of a Palestinian person both people had the same occupation in common. People in these countries that were exposed to the art couldn't tell Israeli from Palestine and it humanized the peoples of these countries. It widened the audiences' perspective of the people from the other country. The people in JR's photos often make facial expressions that are a caricature of how the media portrays them-- this is what evokes such emotion from the art. Communication through the art of photography is something that will probably increase as it is becoming a movement. JR said, "I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we'll turn the world... INSIDE OUT." He set up a website http://www.insideoutproject.net/ that photographers can upload photos to and they can get a poster sent back in which they can put up themselves. The point of the art project isn't for JR to receive credit but for injustice, prejudice, and a new perspective on humanity to be exposed. This movement shows just how powerful images are as texts.



This is a photo of JR's work from the Face-to-Face project.

 This is a link to JR speaking about his work and making his TED Prize wish.
http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_s_ted_prize_wish_use_art_to_turn_the_world_inside_out.html

This is a short clip explaining the Inside Out Project.
http://vimeo.com/20543283