“JR: Chronicles”

Street art’s earliest manifestation—graffiti—began in the 1970s as a form of self-affirmation by teenagers from the Bronx and Brooklyn (which is to say, culturally marginalized individuals), who put their stamp on NYC with tags that were essentially elaborately written autographs, many of them mural-size. Some 20 years later, a French artist going by JR put a new spin on street art by including members of the public in it. He took photos of ordinary people around the world, and then pasted enlarged versions of their images on the sides of buildings as well on political hot spots such as the wall separating Israel from Palestine, and the fence along the Mexican–U.S. border. This show marks the first major exhibition in North America of JR’s multi-disciplinary work, which also includes videos, films and dioramas.