The French photographer/artist JR has been well-known for a very short time. It all began in the year 2000 at the Charles-de-Gaulle-Etoile subway station in Paris. JR, then 17 years old, discovered a camera that had been left behind. JR decided to use the camera to document street artists in action. For three years, he followed the graffeurs, presenting his images in the streets and on the rooftops around Paris. To save money, he pasted up Xeroxes of the photos, then spray painted frames around them so they would not be confused with ads or political posters. He thus created the illegal exhibition Expo 2 Rue, turning the city into a gallery.
Just a few years later he gained recognition and permission to post his work. Dominique Bertinotti, the mayor of the 4th arrondissement, made available the outside walls of the Espace des Blancs Manteaux; and Jean-Luc Monterosso, Director of the MEP, presented Portrait of a Generation on the walls of the Maison Européenne de l…