УДК: 7.038.6+7.067:792+

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2022-3-161-174

Full text (PDF): Download

Marina E. Vilchinskaya-Butenko

Cand. Sc. in Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the Department
Saint Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design
Saint-Petersburg, Russia
E-mail: marina.gutd@gmail.com

Street art and theatre: the pervasive art of JR

Abstract

In this article, street art is understood as an alternative comparing to institutionalized art in the city space. In this context the article discusses a number of art projects of the French street artist JR. His street art projects are analyzed: “Women Are Heroes” (Rio de Janeiro, 2008–2009), “Portrait of a Generation” (Paris, 2004–2006), as well as collaborative projects – the art series “New York City Ballet Art Series” (New York, 2014), the film ballet “Les Bosquets” (New York, 2015). It is noted that the specifics of the pervasive art of JR is determined by: (1) the synthesis of arts – an organic combination and equal interaction of photography, ballet choreography and cinema in a single artistic production, which aesthetically organizes the spiritual environment of citizens’ life; (2) blurring the boundaries between high and low art, which the artist achieves by (a) involving an accidental (more often – unprepared) viewer into the world of art, (b) integrating a specific local community as a full participant, into the artistic process of creating an art object in the city space; (3) combining the commercial aspect of the artist’s creativity and independence in artistic experience (in particular, in collaborative projects with the New York City Ballet). It is noted that collaborating with the theatre, as well as previous mature projects, JR attempts to prove his idea that the purpose of art is to make people think and change perceptions.

Keywords

Pervasive art, street art, theatre, collaborative projects, JR street artist.

For citation

Vilchinskaya-Butenko M. E. Street art and theatre: the pervasive art of JR. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2022, no. 3, pp. 161–174.

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2022-3-161-174

References

  1. . Bryant G.Sh. Interview: Gary Baseman. Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20150815201847/ http://www.crowndozen.com/main/archives/001409.shtml 
  2. Baseman G. Available from: https://www.widewalls.ch/ artists/gary-baseman/artworks.
  3. Blanché U. Qu’est-ce que le Street art? Essai et discussion des definitions. In: Cahiers de Narratologie: [Online]. 2015. no. 29 Available from: https://journals.openedition.org/narratologie/7397. 
  4. Schacter R. Ornament and Order. Graffiti, Street Art and the Parergon. London: Routledge, 2014. 312 p.
  5. Zorya A.A. Iskusstvo hudozhnikov “ulichnoj volny” kak ob’jekt iskusstvovedcheskogo issledovaniya [The art of “Street wave” artists as an object of art criticism research]. In: Estetika strit-arta [Aesthetics of street art]: ed. by K.A. Kukso. Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design, 2018, pp. 18–22. 
  6. Нegel G. Lekcii po estetike [Lectures on aesthetics]. Тrans. B.G. Stolpner. Moscow: Yurajt, 2019. 550 р. 
  7. Cadwalladr C. JR: “I realised I was giving people a voice”. The Guardian. 2015. October 11. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ 2015/oct/11/artist-jr-i-realised-i-was-giving-people-a-voice-les-bosquets-french-banksy. 
  8. Torgovnick May K. “I wanted to put my eye in there”: JR on his collaboration with the New York City ballet. Available from: TED blog. 2014. February 6. https:// blog.ted.com/jr-on-his-collaboration-with-the-new-york-city-ballet/.
  9. Evallyo V.D. Estetika haosa v fil’mah Kiry Muratovoy rubezha 1980–1990‑h gg. [The Aesthetics of chaos in Kira Muratova films of the 1980th – 1990th]. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2021, no. 3, рр. 128–141. 
  10. Thompson N., Remnant J. JR – Can art change the world? Paris: Phaidon Press, 2015. 295 p.

Received: 04.01.2022

Revised: 01.07.2022

Accepted: 29.07.2022